Homeschooling Day in the Life: Lydia, Homeschooling Mom to Four, Who is Passionate About Interest-Led Learning
A homeschool day in the life looks different almost every day, right? Over on our Instagram page, we love to give you a peek into lots of homeschool days regardless of how they change day to day.
Today, we’re going to give you a peek into the homeschool day in the life of Lydia, homeschooling mom to four, who is passionate about interest-led learning.
We can all learn and be inspired by one another, regardless of our homeschool approach. It’s not about looking good for social media, it’s about the connection going on inside our homeschool walls and sharing with others what works for us.
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We might all homeschool a little differently, but we can always look for ideas from each other that inspire, encourage and equip us in our own homeschool days. So each week we create blog posts for you to access later of each of those “days in the life”. We hope you keep coming back for more inspiration. Keep going, mama! These days at home are so worth it!
Meet Lydia
Lydia @happilyevercaffeinated is a homeschool mom to four wonderfully creative kids ages 16, 14, 12, and 9. She’s a 20+ year Air Force wife, the curator of her “mobile” home library, and adventurer wherever God has put her.
Lydia prefers to let her children’s interests drive their learning experience and tailor resources to their needs. She believes anything can be used to teach anything and loves the challenge of creatively weaving together subjects and hands-on learning with her children’s current interests. Regardless of grade or age, Lydia believes in allowing her children the time and space needed to develop not just their passions but their strengths and character.
Interest-Led Unit Studies
We’ve are very much interested in-led unit study homeschoolers! What does that mean? Either I choose a book or topic or my kids choose, and we do a deep dive into it integrating as many subjects as we can.
Back in December we took the kids to Disney World & 2 of my boys became obsessed with the tricks, illusions, songs, and history of the Haunted Mansion as well as other Disney rides. Since then, they’ve set about researching everything they could think of, following rabbit trails & learning how it all works. Then they started recreating them!
They’ve learned about: Optics, convex/concave, light, & lots of physics concepts, engineering, technology, how to research, budgeting, project managing, grit & determination, patience, fairy tales, art, music & poetry, composition, vocabulary, & more!
I pulled in videos and movies for them to watch. They poured over books & learned about how science concepts were applied to the ride. We discussed different types of fairy tales & recognized universal truths in them. I am blown away by what they’ve accomplished & learned and how it all began on vacation. So while we didn’t follow a curriculum, we covered a lot of ground.
Would you use a Disney ride as a jumping off point for learning?
Homeschooling High School
Homeschooling High School is a blast, you guys. I’ve loved watching my son lean into the areas he’s really interested in & learn to question, think deeply, and make connections.
Do we still do unit studies? Absolutely! Last year he combined English, History, & Film Studies into a unit & this year it’s History, Geography, and English. While he uses an IEW curriculum for writing, he incorporates his other studies into it whenever possible. But History & Geography are no curriculum subjects for us. He chooses the period & I gather books, documentaries, speeches, primary sources, and podcasts to create a rich & engaging unit (which equals 3 credits.) some people are organized & schedule meetings with their high schooler but we tend to just have a running discussion going.
And to continue our project-led learning style, his final geography project was born out of a fun thing he & his brothers made up in their free time. He’s creating a fun YouTube-inspired video describing his created country in an alternate world continent highlighting all he’s learned. Land formations, politics & govt, history, trade & agriculture, arts & culture, religion, sports, foreign policy, food & lifestyle, etc are covered in his made-up country. Not only that, he’s learning new tech, editing, writing, & presentation skills.
So yes, you can have fun, dive deep, and do unit studies in high school.
Along with Spanish & German, he’s also taking an online chemistry class & his math is also outsourced. We cover health throughout the high school years with mostly podcasts, a few books, & a lot of discussion. And he practices jiu jitsu.
What are your fears of high school? Would you approach high school subjects without a curriculum?
Film Studies
Let’s talk Film Studies. First, is it a real thing? Yes. 💯 I minored in Film Studies way back in college & it was as academically challenging as an English class.
Why study it? It’s not only a form of art, it’s big business. But even more than that, film is a mirror and a compass; it reflects the culture & times in which it was made and it helps shape the attitudes & values of society & the direction it’s heading. Like it or not, it’s a part of life.
In our homeschool, we use it to visualize history, connect topics to current events, and study a different culture & time. But we also practice critical thinking because everything in a movie serves a purpose & that purpose is to communicate a message. What message? How does the light, the angle, the music, the cinematography etc convey that message? What about the script, character, plot etc., and all the things you study in literature?
And here’s the kicker: our kids are growing up in a digital, visual world with constant messaging. Film studies helps us practice identifying visual messages in a fun & engaging way, preparing them for when we aren’t around.
So we watch movies for fun but then talk about them, notice connections, hear things differently, and ask questions. We compare books to movies, too, but there’s so much more to Film Studies! Plus, change it Spanish & it’s a great way to practice a foreign language! I’m not advocating you watch every & any movie. I’m discerning as to what we allow into our hearts & minds.
Does this change your perception of film? Would you include Film Studies in your homeschool?
Homeschooling Over the Years
Homeschooling feels like it’s constantly changing on me. Just when I think we’ve got a good rhythm, something changes & we start again. Just when I think I’ve figured out what works for us, someone needs something completely different & I’m back at square 1. They grow & have different needs. I don’t stay in the same season either. And so just when you feel like you’ve “made it,” know something new is around the corner.
But at the same time, so much stays the same once you’ve done it for a while. Your heart still feels like it’ll burst with the love & pride & joy you have for your kids. It breaks when they struggle & can’t seem to find their way. And they always need you, but not always in the same way.
Other things that have stayed the same: our family culture built around books (and movies.) My oldest son’s love of WWII. I have 2 insect-lovers & that’s just how they’ve always been and still are, constantly catching & observing insects. One of my boys loves Ancient History & mythology. He’s loved Ancient Egypt since our first unit & he dove deeper last year on his own, creating new projects I wouldn’t have thought of. We love a good feast & still cook them together during a unit (not pictured is our latest: a Gothic feast!) The zoo has always been one of our happy places & as of last spring, it still is. We love a good adventure, whether it’s the ocean or a state park, we love exploring as a family. We’ve been raising Storm Troopers’ suspicions since they were little & even got questioned last December—the Disneyland/World obsession is not new. My little maker who just had to make a Muppet style puppet still makes puppets & loves Jim Henson.
So much changes. I feel the time crunch with my oldest—he’s graduating in 2years! Another son enters high school next year. I see how fast time is flying. But I also see God’s goodness in how their passions, interests, & strengths are revealing who God created them to be & how good He is to us. And I feel so blessed and thankful to have gotten a front row seat.
Homeschool seasons change. Our kids change. We change. And yet, many things stay the same. Through it all, God is faithful.
Our Day Comes to a Close
Well folks, I’m beat. And this is pretty much how I feel every night. Thanks for having me today! It’s been fun sharing a DITL of our crazy homeschool with you.
If you want to see more creative unit studies, interest-led, strength-based project style learning, along with high school ideas, & a whole lot of randomness, I’d love to see you over at @happilyevercaffeinated You can also find me on Substack (same name) where I write about homeschooling, units, & film guides.
That’s all, folks! (Anyone else use Looney Tunes in their homeschool? Music appreciation, physics…) 💗
Thank you so much to Lydia for sharing your family’s day with us!
If you want to see more Day in the Life photos and videos, be sure to check out our Instagram profile. There are highlights of each takeover at the top.