For the record, I’m guessing your kids are pretty well-rounded. Unfortunately, I’m not your mother-in-law though, am I? And I’m not Great Aunt Gertrude either. Bummer.

If your shoes feel anything like mine, you probably have a few homeschool critics in your life who are overly concerned with your kids’ education. Once they ascertain that indeed your child does know how to read, write, and compute, inevitably they scoot along to the net assumption: “well, then, something else must be lacking.” Surely then, our kids are to be found remiss in socialization or failing to become “properly adjusted.”

While I have seen homeschool kids who aren’t well-socialized or “properly adjusted,” I’ve seen just as many public-school kids in the same rowboat with a single paddle. But this is entirely beside the point because I guarantee that your critics aren’t interested in this little factoid from a rando former middle-school-teacher-turned-homestead blogger (me)!

Like it or not, we homeschool families are under a special microscope reserved especially for us. Don’t you feel special? Any gaps, lapses, or quirks exhibited by our kids will be considered on account of their home education (yes, it’s all our doing) while those same gaps, lapses, or quirks are considered just-the-way-of-things amid kids who exhibit them in the public sector. This has been my general experience at any rate, with many a lovely exception, including delightful strangers who have congratulated me on my choice and sacrifice to homeschool our children. I am forever grateful for these out-of-the-blue, joyous declarations to our children that they “sure are lucky kiddos!” God bless the grocery store cheer-spreaders. But sadly, these gorgeous creatures seem to be on the endangered species list.

If only there were some quick little quiz to take or a tracking tool to help us assess just how well-rounded our homeschooler (or regular schooler) really is, or isn’t! Well, look no further my snarky friends! Whether you’re concerned personally about your child’s overall development, or whether you just want to get a few choice people off your back before you loosen your teeth off that death-grip they’ve got on your tongue (well done, Mama!), I’ve created a fun little tool that should do the job nicely.

Just print the tool below and fill out to see at one glance how well-rounded your kid is becoming. That’s right, our kids are still developing! Imagine that. I’m seriously considering making copies of my kids’ filled-out charts to hand to *certain* parties whose hobby it is to ask loaded questions such as “but . . . are they getting enough socialization?” Ok, I’ll self-edit that idea. 😆 But I’ll think about it and smirk a little, just the same.

---

Our ~Six A’s Assessment Tool~

Important Considerations:

#1. More marks are not necessarily the merrier.

It doesn’t so much matter if each wedge of the pie chart has four items or ten. The goal is more about distribution of efforts rather than weight. Think of this tool like a teeter-totter. Are some slices of the pie a whole lot fuller than others?

#2. Quality matters as much if not more than quantity.

The goal is not more, busier, faster. If you can see that your child’s schedule is a bit off-kilter, I strongly encourage you to see where you can pull back before you add on. Think redistribution rather than overload.

*NOTE: if your family is hurried, stressed, or exhausted, I encourage you to pull back rather than add more. I highly recommend these two books for simplifying: Simplicity Parenting and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

#3. It’s ok if your child’s pie graph is a *little* uneven!

While we are going for balance, there does come a time when we would be wise to allow our children to start specializing toward their stronger passions. For example, if your child is in a traveling sport or is on her way to becoming a concert pianist, she may not be able to continue towards those goals with other items added to her schedule. However, beware of family passions rather than personal ones for your child. In other words, be careful that you do not overlook a passion in your child simply because it isn’t on your radar from your own upbringing. I see this often: artistic families that never involve their children in athletics, and athletic families that never involve their children in the arts. It goes all the different ways. Take an honest assessment and proceed with wisdom.

#4. Treat this tool lightly.

At the end of the day, this is just a fun, little tool I made. It is not an exhaustive analysis of your child’s upbringing and education.

#5. Adjust gently, if needed!

If you discover things that need tweaking in your family focuses, don’t overhaul overnight! Decide on a few things you’d like to change, swap, implement, or cut and take daily steps to find balance for your children and family.

The Six A’s Defined:

Athletics:

Any athletic activities your child has partaken in within the last year, such as: swim, gymnastics, dance, team sports, backyard athletics, etc.

Arts:

Any artistic endeavors your child has been a part of within the last year, such as arts & crafts, art classes, music lessons, culinary arts, theater, speech, poetry, creative writing, etc.

Abilities:

Any practical skills your child has practiced consistently or gained within the last year, such as domestic chores, handyman tasks, cooking, gardening, animal husbandry, auto shop, etc.

Affections:

These are the things that matter most at the end of the day, week, year, and childhood; your child’s heart and soul development. Affections are not about WHAT your child is doing, but rather WHO your child is becoming. Affections include faith development, character, morals, values, personality traits, passions, and the fruits of the Spirit.

Adjusted:

Any social activities/routines/events that your child has regularly participated in within the last year, including church groups, homeschool co-ops, classes, team sports, social groups, Bible studies, play dates, parties, etc.

Print this tool here!

Here’s our filled-in chart for the Captain!

What was our takeaway from this tool?

Overall, our son appears to have a well-rounded education and childhood. 😆 Whew! I better write to Great Aunt Gertrude. On close inspection, academics seem to have a slight edge of focus in our family (mark of retired-teacher mom), and the arts appear to be falling just a bit behind, which surprised me since I personally gravitate much more to the arts than to athletics! So, our adjustment plan is to add an art activity to the schedule (we’re thinking carpentry projects) and slack off on lessons every once in a while! How’s that for a homeschool goal?

Extra-Credit Analysis for Each Content Area:

To dive deeper into your child’s education and development, look at each of the Five A’s individually and divide further.

For ACADEMICS: Are you covering a wide range of subjects, or is any one content receiving the bulk of attention in your homsechool?

For ATHLETICS: Is your child involved only in team sports, or only in individual athletics? Can you switch up your plan seasonally for your child to gain exposure to both, if she hasn’t already?

For the ARTS: Is there a range of art exposure in your home and family culture? Is your child only involved in music, or dance, or theatre, for example? Or does she tend toward the messier arts of paint and paste? Has he gotten his hands on leather, clay, or carpentry tools yet?

For ABILITIES: Are you raising an independent child? If you continue as you are right now in your parenting and teaching, will your child become an adult who knows how to properly care for herself? Prepare himself meals? Keep a tidy home? Procure food in an emergency situation? Change a flat tire? Fix a squeaky door? File her tax return?

For AFFECTIONS: Are your child’s affections mainly self-focused, family-focused, friends-focused, or God-centered? Is your child developing a strong moral character?

For being well-ADJUSTED: What is the pulse of your child’s social life? Does she interact with a wide-range of age groups, including younger children and older adults (such as elderly neighbors or grandparents)? What does his time with peers lean towards? Are most of your child’s interactions structured in team sports or classes or does your child have mostly unstructured playtime with friends and family? Or is there a healthy mix of both?

---

I hope this post provided some inspiration and fun! Thanks for reading!

Love, ~Candace Arden