Skip to content

Local mother shares homeschooling tips

'As homeschoolers we can really indulge in that opportunity to just be consistent and let them have those peaks and valleys,' says local parent

With the first day of school just weeks away, many parents are struggling with their two options of either distance or in-class learning. 

But for Bradford mother Cori Dean, there has always been a third option: homeschooling. 

Homeschooling is different from distance learning in that homeschooling is parent led, and customized. Whereas distance learning is teacher-led, taught by parents at home. 

Dean has lived in Bradford for 21 years and has four daughters between the ages of 11 and 20, who she has been homeschooling since they started school. She never planned to homeschool, but sort of fell into it after learning about it through a neighbourhood friend. 

“We thought, well that would be kind of fun, and one thing led to another, and here we are 17 years later,” she shared. 

Once she began homeschooling, she became involved with the homeschooling community in town, including the local homeschool bookstore owner. She eventually took over the business, Maple Tree Publications, which she has been running for the past 12 years out of her home, mostly through online orders, with customers all across the country. 

Over the past month, Dean says she has been fielding calls and messages from many parents in the community, assisting and coaching them with plans for homeschooling this fall. 

“We are, as a homeschool community, inundated with lots of questions,” she said of the recent inquiries. 

In Ontario, homeschools are  unregulated in terms of what students are required to learn, Dean explained. 

“But for the most part, parents want to homeschool because they want to be able to tailor an education to their students,” she said, noting it's customizable to each child’s individual needs and interests. 

There are no requirements per curriculum, but the Ministry of Education guidelines indicate they must be able to provide an adequate education at home. 

“There are all kinds of ways to homeschool,” Dean explained, with different methods and curriculum options. 

“There are families that prefer to just stay home and not to share teaching with other people, and there are others who spend almost all of their day outside the home teaching with other people, so it really depends on what works for a particular family,” she said. 

Dean is in contact regularly with other homeschooling families in the area, and pre-COVID would frequently meet with other children in the area for shared learning experiences. 

For the most part, she does 60-70 percent of her schooling at home, with the rest done outside the home, through classes like swimming, piano, dance or co-ops with other parents. In a typical week, her children were interacting with around 100 other homeschooled children. 

But since the pandemic started, her kids have stayed together, away from the other families. 

“We’re going crazy, my kids are all cooped up,” she laughed. “We’re not used to sitting in one place, so it has been very restrictive. It is more isolating.” 

Homeschooling curriculums, she says are built and made for families. 

“It is made for a family style interaction,” she said, noting it is designed for parents who do not have teacher training, so parents can learn along with their children. 

Dean’s advice to parents who may be considering homeschooling is to remember that the pandemic is a small ‘blip’ in history, and the highest priority is to ensure all kids have love and stability at home. 

“If parents need to go and send their kids to school so they can go to work and have that stability, then God bless them,” she said.

But for those with health concerns or family living at home with compromised immune systems, then “It’s okay to just do something very simplified. There’s not a need to be overwhelmed by the academic side of life, because the academics are second to food, shelter, family stability, and physical and mental health.”

When she works with families, she speaks with them about two subject streams: disciplinary and discretionary. 

Disciplinary subjects like math and language arts that are built skill upon skill. Discretionary subjects are things  like history, science and geography, where there is more flexibility on topics studied. 

She believes kids grow academically in spurts, working at different paces. 

“As homeschoolers we can really indulge in that opportunity to just be consistent and let them have those peaks and valleys instead of forcing them to follow a timeline,” she said. 

Normally, Dean advertises and hosts ‘Homeschooling for Newbies’ courses, and travels across the country to speak at various conferences and events. 

“I have done these from coast to coast, but for the most part, I like doing them in my living room,” she said. “I love them, I get to meet new people and I love hearing about their journeys.” 

With COVID, she had to make the in-home sessions virtual. The last one she held was in July and plans to host another in September, featuring live Q&A's and online videos. 

When asked how her kids feel about homeschooling, she says for the most part they are happy. 

“It’s worked well for us,” said Dean. “I know it won’t work well for everybody...it’s a lifestyle.”

Her children have friends that are both homeschooled and attend school. Her eldest daughter is in her third year of university at Waterloo, “And she really thrived throughout,” noted Dean. 

Her second daughter just completed Grade 12, and will be doing a ‘victory lap’ this year. 

“She did want to do an overseas leadership training program,” said Dean, but due to the pandemic will instead work and take some extra courses. 

The education materials Dean sells from her store are primarily Christian based, Charlotte Mason style which she says are similar to Montessori. 

“The bedrock of homeschooling is fuelled by the Christian community,” she said. But that doesn't mean her customers are all Christian. 

"We sell to Christians, Muslims, non-religious people, anyone," she explained, noting the subject matter would be interesting to anyone. 

Dean enjoys her job and meeting new people, while helping them get started with their homeschooling journeys.

“And that’s what really thrills me, is to see families thriving,” she shared. 

Dean is happy to chat with fellow parents who may have questions about the homeschooling model or education materials. 

You can get in touch through the Maple Tree Publications Facebook page here or send her an email at [email protected] 


Reader Feedback

Natasha Philpott

About the Author: Natasha Philpott

Natasha is the Editor for BradfordToday and InnisfilToday. She graduated from the Media Studies program at The University of Guelph-Humber. She lives in Bradford with her husband, two boys and two cats.
Read more