What Local Homeschool Families Say Is Really Working

(And the Advice They Wish They’d Heard Sooner)

At a recent CORE Parent Symposium, Chico Homeschoolers was invited to lead the welcoming workshop—and what unfolded was one of the most honest, encouraging conversations we’ve had in a long time.

Families didn’t come to compare curriculums or prove they were “doing it right.”They came to share what’s actually working, what feels hard, and what they’ve learned along the way.

The result? A room full of practical ideas, lived wisdom, and deep compassion for the reality of homeschooling. Here’s what families told us.

What’s Working Right Now

Across every grade level and family style, a few themes kept showing up: structure, flexibility, connection, and honoring each child’s needs.

Families shared that these strategies are making a real difference:

Creating supportive structure

• Using whiteboards, calendars, and daily plans

• Keeping organized binders for each learning period

• Sorting assignments for the day

• Having a schedule prepared before each learning period

• Block scheduling and having a rhythm to the day

Making learning more human

• Bite-sized lessons with lots of breaks

• Slowing down instead of rushing

• Taking time every day to focus on a child’s interests

• One-on-one time reading and exploring ideas

• Independent work time paired with connection

Getting help and mixing methods

• Taking classes at places like Reading for Life and Discovery Nook

• Adding structured tutoring

• Using online curriculum and supplementing as needed

• Working with teachers they love

• Tag-teaming between parents or caregivers

Supporting emotional regulation & connection

• Redirecting when kids are melting down

• Scheduling breaks

• Making time to connect

• Working with each child separately

• Collecting and organizing finished work so progress feels visible

Making life part of school

• Nature time

• Movement

• Life skills

• Cooking in advance to reduce stress

• Getting out of the house at least once a week for school

• Remembering that watching a documentary counts as school

Above all, families kept saying:“We adapt to the day.”

And that flexibility—paired with gentle structure—is what keeps things working.

Best Advice From Parents Who’ve Been There

When we asked families what advice they would give someone else, the room filled with the kind of wisdom you only get by doing this day after day.

Here are some of the most powerful reminders they shared:

• Take it one day at a time

• You are doing better than you realize

• Give yourself and your kids grace

• Don’t be afraid to slow down or switch curriculum