Homeschool Learning

This week Heart of the Matter is asking homeschool moms...

What is the one thing you learned that you didn't expect from homeschooling?

We start our homeschooling journeys with expectations of ourselves and our children. Sometimes they are unrealistic, sometimes they are pretty accurate. What are some of the aspects of homeschooling that surprised you? Did you find you were harder or easier than you expected? What have your children taught you? What can you share with new parents regarding expectations? What do you wish you'd known from the beginning? What has been the greatest 'personal' lesson you have received through your homeschooling journey?

When I started my homeschool journey, I had the notion that I was just going to do school at home. I could tailor the lessons from the textbooks to my kids learning styles but just stick with textbooks, worksheets, and standard tests. What was I thinking??? Seriously, I have no idea why I thought that the education I received in college about teaching would really work and was the only way to do it. Teachers do what they were taught to do and the schools are failing. So why follow those failing principles at home?
As I said, I have no idea what I was thinking. I have come so far from those first days of schooling. I have learned that, at least for our family, homeschool is a way of life not just something we do. I have learned to find a learning/teaching opportunity in every situation and activity. Along with that, I have learned that textbooks are not the only way to learn. For us, the textbooks have become a supplement to what we are learning. It seems so backwards and wrong compared to my original way of thinking but I have seen great fruit from doing it this way.
I also learned about the amazing flexibility that comes with homeschooling. When I started this adventure, I thought you had to stick to the normal school schedule. I quickly discovered that you can start late in the day if need be, take days off as needed, start earlier in the year, end later in the year, or adjust to whatever our needs are at that moment. Also, what I did last month may not work this month so I can change things around so everything does work and then next month tweak things again.
Some days are hard and some days are easy. Sometimes school takes a lot of work on my part (like when I design a unit study around a 4th grader, a 3rd grader, and a 1st grader), and other times, not so much.
The most amazing thing I have learned through this endeavor is how strong a relationship you can build with your children and the relationship they build with each other when you get to spend every day with them.