World 03 · Air
Structure in the morning. Their projects in the afternoon.
These are the paths we've wandered, and how we found our footing. We're not unschoolers, and we're not doing school at home either. After three years of trial and error we landed somewhere in between — a few non-negotiables every morning, and a project system where the kids pick what they explore. And honestly, they have taught me as much as I've taught them. — three years in, still revising
How we got here — the full story →A Day in Our World
Slide through a morning, an afternoon, and dinner.
We don't run school at home.
We learned that the hard way.
Why we're here
Elementary math is about an hour a day. Around twenty minutes to introduce the lesson, with 25 or 30 kids listening. Maybe your child gets called to the board — or maybe they're like I was, hiding in the back, hoping not to be. Some examples, then fifteen minutes for a worksheet — and the answers get gone over together, because one teacher can't sit with every kid.
In a classroom
60 min ÷ 24 kids
2.5min
per kid
One-on-one
60 min ÷ 1 kid
60min
— the whole hour
One hour of class. How much of it actually lands on your child?
It's great if your child understands it. But what about the child who doesn't? How do they get help — and if that happens every day, then what?
And this is not a teacher problem — I love teachers and support them wholeheartedly. Good teachers fight this math every day with small groups and centers, and it's still minutes per kid. It's a numbers problem: California averages about 24 kids per elementary classroom, second-highest ratio in the country, and research says the real benefits show up at 18 or fewer. The system doesn't give teachers those numbers. That's a big part of why we're here.
How We Homeschool
Six things that survived three years of trial and error.
Chores first, then reading and journaling. Every single day, no debate. Everything after that can flex.
Nothing fancy. Chores get the house handled and set the tone for the day. Then reading and journaling before anything else gets going.
It's not a long block, but it happens every day — and honestly, that predictability has done more for my kids than most of the curriculum I've bought.
We sit down and talk through what they're curious about, come up with three or four project ideas, and they pick one. Their choice, our structure.
For my son, a project runs about three months with a goal date. My daughter's run a week or two — she's younger and needs more of my help. Either way it's the same deal: pick it, work it, finish something.
There has to be something to show at the end. Not "we learned about music" — a real, finished thing.
My son chose music, so music was his exploration for three months. He finished two songs and posted them on Spotify — real songs, out in the world. Next up is film editing, and the goal is finishing our family travel videos.
I realized early I couldn't teach everything myself. My wife started helping with the math — she taught herself calculus; I struggled with pre-algebra. When she got busy, I found tutors.
A good tutor is expensive, and I couldn't afford one daily. But honestly, what I've learned over the years: you have to pay a good tutor what they're worth. It's hard to find someone who truly cares about your kids, wants to help them, and makes things easier for them to understand.
My starting point was the college format: you see the lesson once a week, then you go home, do the practice work, put in the repetition — and if you're stuck, you go to the tutoring center. So my kids see their tutor once a week, one-on-one — math for my son, English for my daughter. In between, my job is simpler: make sure they do the work and show up ready. I assist the tutor. That made the cost manageable, and the learning more targeted — we can go faster, slower, whatever pace my kids need.
The goal was never for them to finish anything fast. It's always: do they understand the concept enough to move on? Are they comfortable enough to move on?
My wife still vets the curriculum, though. She's the one who found Beast Academy — lessons presented comic-book style, and my son actually likes opening it. If she says a math program is good to go, I'm not going to argue.
Markets, gardens, kitchens, trails. We'd rather learn fractions doubling a recipe than filling a page.
Funny enough, this one was on the page before we were fully living it. It's the idea that was true from the start — and the project system is basically this idea with a goal date attached.
I thought I could schedule my way out of the socialization worry. I couldn't.
I spent hours going through the vendor list. We tried a YMCA class where, most days, my two were the only students — check that off the list. What actually worked was slower: park days, play dates, the same families showing up until they became friends.
Your first year is mostly finding out what doesn't work. That's not failure, that's the process.
Five worlds, one journey. Choose where to go next.
So don't forget, as I have forgotten — no one knows your kids the way you do. It's only through trying things, and watching them, that you'll find what fits your family. We'll keep sharing what works and what doesn't as we go. If you have any questions, or if we can be of any help, feel free to reach out — hello@jentfamily.com. Cheers to you and your family on your journey!
