Homeschool Independent Learning

What homeschool independent learning looks like with multiple ages from elementary all the way up to high school. Including extracurricular learning.

An overall theme for this month has been homeschool independent learning. It’s something we’ve worked on for all our years of homeschooling. Busy, blessed and – forced rest! That is what our homeschool looked like this week.

(f you’d like to have a peek our daily and weekly homeschool, I’d love for you to follow Hodgepodgemom on Instagram.)

~ This post contains affiliates links to this resources we adore. Please see our disclosure policy.

What Homeschool Independent Learning Looks Like

Homeschooling always offers independent learning in many forms. Since we have so many ages, we’ve always encouraged our children to be researchers. We offer them opportunity to develop their curiosity. That began early on with our morning room time habit. I shared details in How Morning Room Time Builds Learning Skills for Later.

This month, independent learning has looked like this with our elementary children.

Bringing the day’s homeschool lessons along on our weekly, family trip to the chiropractor. With help from big brother! Often homeschool subjects are done in the car while I am driving. A little pre-planning and they can often be finished with school work by the time we get back home.

Independent Electronics Learning with Kits

I’ve shared about this before but I’ve expanded on the electronic kits we love at The Curriculum Choice: Electronic Experiment Kits for Your Budding Scientist.

Afternoon reading in the sunshine (a habit built with Afternoon Quiet Time for All Ages).

Weekly homeschool planning meeting with all our ages ? and Jiminy Cricket ✔️ #HodgepodgeHomeschool

You might remember that we have weekly homeschool planning meetings with our multiple ages. From fifth grade up our children use planners. So, the older three know what they are to accomplish each week.

My one middle schooler (who is soon to be a high schooler) has a love of planning. She fills out her Homeschooling with A Plan in Place Student Planner and follows it. She has also been doing most of her homeschool in her bedroom where it is quiet. She tucks herself away from the busy and noisy Hodgepodge. So her independent learning is both physically removing herself to be independent and self-directed learning.

Homeschooling High School: Independent Learning

And for our high schoolers, independent learning is way it is. I oversee their school work, discuss with them what they are learning, sit in on high school video courses (because I love learning too!)

Homeschool senior moment – senior thesis (and laundry in the background)

Homeschool Senior Thesis

This is a Tapestry of Grace assignment that she has been working on for a few months.

Homeschool Senior Moments

A few big ones to share. We are well into the second semester and just 16 weeks until the official homeschool graduation ceremony. Our homeschool will finish in less time than that and May will be filled with senior recognition at church, two piano recitals and more.

• We ordered the cap and gown!
• She is registered for campus preview weekend at college and for a music audition.
• We are filling out all the paperwork for our state homeschool convention graduation ceremony.

I can’t believe that this time next year we will be doing all this again for our son! He is already signed up for the ACT. This is going even faster in the junior and senior years.

Extracurricular Independent Learning in Homeschool

Our two piano gals have been hard at work in prep for two tests of their skills. They attended a piano solo festival where each played for a judge. Each was judged on finger placement, rhythm and more. Both received a superior mark! This weekend they will both take theory exams. And, they are working towards their May piano recital. Our senior will have her own senior piano recital.

Georgia State Capitol Field Trip

We had the privilege of attending Georgia Religious Freedom Day at our state Capitol a couple of weeks ago. Our two eldest girls will also be paging at the Capitol one day soon.

What an amazing day at our Georgia State Capitol! Georgia Religious Freedom Day breakfast with Faith & Freedom Coalition – where we were privileged to hear from Dr. Alveda King, Pastor Kevin Williams, Pastor Rafael Cruz, Chief Kelvin Cochran and the @benhambrothers (Many thanks to our beloved Virginia Galloway!) Then over to the Capitol to lobby for religious freedom plus the prayer rally and Decision America tour with @franklin_graham – God bless America, land that I love, stand beside her and guide her, through the night with a light from above.

Make Up Monday

It’s Make Up Monday ? enjoying the regular and catching up on others. Some are still going! Pictured: A Reason for Handwriting, Explode the Code, Rod and Staff English, Learn Math Fast, 4th Grade Write It Your Way by @doverpublications and a digital course on Swift 2.0 at Lynda.com

Every once it a while we take a catch up day. We declare it and we simply fill up the day with lessons – with lots of short breaks in between, sipping of hot chocolate and sampling of favorite snacks to keep up going.

Forced Rest

When your brother and sister-in-love come to rescue with homemade Thieves essential oils lozenges – heart-shaped! ❤️ Happy Valentines Day ❤️ from the getting well crew at Hodgepodge. (Lots of fluids, essential oils and rest!)

We have been so very blessed with good health through the fall and winter months! However, we had a week of forced rest while we got over sickness. We got caught up on every Star Wars movie plus some old Max and Ruby favorites we hadn’t seen in a long time.

A Sampling of Homeschool Art for All Ages

A photo round up of art for all ages – 1. 5 Days of Chalk Pastel Art 101 2. Space Shuttle 3. Jupiter 4. Cherry 5. Happy Election Day 6. Our new Easter Chalk Pastel Art for All Ages. Not pictured: Normal Rockwell Chalk Art Tutorial.

How do you incorporate independent learning in your homeschool?

-Published February 2016 and updated December 2024