Faces of Homeschooling - The Copley Family

This week's edition of Faces of Homeschooling features the Copley family, veteran homeschoolers (they've been at it for 19 years!) who manage to run two businesses while homeschooling and providing foster care for several children.

 I first met Julie when my family began our homeschooling journey a few years ago. At that time, Julie and Irl's Home Works business had a storefront near my home where books were sold and classes were offered. I spent quite a bit of time there as Lexi took dance, acting, and participated in a summer camp. Julie was a great resource for me- she answered lots of questions I had about curriculum and homeschooling in general. Julie and Irl have graduated three children from homeschooling and their experiences have given them wisdom. I'm grateful that Julie took the time to share some of her story with us.

Introduce your family.

Julie and Irl Copley
Cliff, Irl's oldest son, and Sara, his wife, and our two grandkids, Violet and Arlo.
Melissa, Irl's step-daughter
Our bio kids: Kurtis (24), Katherine (18), and Karl (15).
Our adopted kids: Christina (21), Jade (10), Raven (10), and Tyler (7).
Two long term foster kids: Shawn (10) and Braxton (11) who has CP and is blind and deaf.
Plus 2 other foster kids. From Kurtis on down, all live at home still except Christina.
My mother also lives in our home.

What brought you to homeschooling?

We have now been homeschooling for 19 years, starting with 1st grade for Kurtis.  We had been looking for alternatives for schooling Kurtis.  He was bored in Kindergarten and had a hard time with peers. I attended an Usborne book party and stayed until midnight discussing homeschooling with the consultant.  From that point on we were hooked on homeschooling.  We enjoyed the families that we met and have always felt that is was the best thing that we could do for our family. I am not against a brick and mortar school because they are also in our life with foster kids, but homeschooling our own kids has been the way to go with our adopted kids since several have special needs.  Christina did Insight Virtual school all throughout high school and now Shawn is doing Lawrence Virtual as a foster child to meet his special needs.

What do your days look like?

Since we also have two businesses and try to work in homeschooling, our days are very flexible.  Usually, I do try to get homeschooling done in the morning.  Jade and Raven are now able to work on their own and do their Horizons Math and Easy Grammar and Daily Grams first thing.  At that time I will sit down with Tyler and get him started on Singapore Math and Explode the Code while I work with Shawn on his K12 Math and phonics.  We follow up with writing projects, history using Story of the World with History Pockets and holidays.  We use Magic School Bus videos for science along with using Evan-Moor science workbook pages.  All the kids basically participate in the history and science together, although Shawn does do social studies and some science online.  Some days we are lucky to just get math and English/phonics done. 

After school is done, the kids usually read, play outside, play with Legos, or do crafts.  I do not let the kids watch TV; movies are earned.  They have lots of educational activities that they can choose from.  They also help with chores and learning how our businesses are run.  From Jade and Raven on up, the kids do their own laundry, help with dishes and cooking, break boxes down, take trash out, etc.  I hope to start Jade and Raven with customer check-out this year.

Tell us about what your older children are up to now.

I have graduated 3 kids from homeschooling.  Kurtis graduated 6 years ago and attended University of Kansas for a computer science degree.  He started his own programming business and is working on releasing his first computer game soon.  He has several partners within his business and has learned more being on his own than from his college classes.  Christina graduated two years ago and is attending Johnson County Community College for a degree in criminal justice.  She recently moved out on her own and is also working at Freddy's and AMC.  Katherine graduated last year and is also at Johnson County Community College in the Chef Apprenticeship / Pastry Chef program.  Katie has been working since she was 15 in a local bakery.  She is just starting at the Pig & Finch in Leawood as their Pastry Chef.

What do you love most about homeschooling?

The best thing about homeschooling is that I have been able to allow my kids to follow their own interests.  If my husband or I are unable to provide instruction in certain areas, then we look for classes or opportunities for the kids to pursue these interests.  Kurtis had opportunities in music for his flute and piccolo.  He was in various symphonies, band camps, and private instruction. He also loved Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout at 13. Christina enjoyed volleyball and swimming.  Katherine has always been drawn to cooking classes.  Karl enjoyed fencing. All of them have taken foreign language classes or various history and science classes outside of our home.  Their "socialization" is met through these activities and various activities offered through our homeschool group.  Our kids are more socialized with adults and kids of all ages versus the peer-only idea of socialization. 

What do your kids love most about homeschooling?

My kids have enjoyed homeschooling because of the self-paced learning.  Kurtis said this was his favorite part of being homeschooled.  All are able to compare homeschooling to brick and mortar school except Katherine and Karl.  Katherine was truly the most "unschooled" child in our family and is now excelling in the honors program in college.  Karl will start Johnson County Community College next fall.  Kurtis has stepped in and taken charge of his schooling for me this year.  He is helping him with Chemistry and Physics, Algebra, and Writing.  Karl is taking a Literature and History class outside our home this year.  I have been unable to keep up with the younger set while homeschooling the older.  It has been wonderful to have the older kids step in and help the younger.  Any given day in our home you will find Katherine teaching the younger girls to cook and Karl helping them with math.  These truly are my favorite moments with homeschooling.  Having all the kids to come together to help run Home Works at conferences is also another favorite moment of mine.  They all are great with each other and I truly cherish the fact that we are a close knit family even with all the ups and downs of having foster kids in and out of our lives.

Tell us about your businesses.

We started our plumbing business, Copley Plumbing, LLC, in 1994.  In 2006, we bought Home Works because we loved homeschooling so much.  It has grown from two spaces at the MPE Conference to six spaces of new and used curriculum.  We also try to attend 2-3 other conferences in other states.  We tried running a retail shop for a year but it just wasn't what the homeschooling community needed at that time.  I now concentrate on selling online and attending conferences.  It is too hard to sell out of my home to the direct homeschool community due to city regulations and having a large amount of special needs foster kids.  My days tend to also consist of lots of social worker, therapy, and family visits for them.  It can be very hard to balance the needs of my family and the needs of a business.  It does help to have my mother here to help with kids or take books to mail out.  And, luckily, we have a nurse to come in and help with Braxton. 

(Visit the Home Works website here)

How do you stay sane?

The older kids and my mother help by watching the younger kids so that Irl and I can get away for the occasional dinner.  Irl is great in knowing that I need my time, too, and so I get away for a Mom's Night Out with friends.  In turn, Irl gets out and plays table tennis every Sunday.  We do have a gym membership but, unfortunately, only the older kids seem to use it right now.  Right now, Irl and I just keep going and do what we have to do to keep things going in the family.  They are the most important thing in our lives.

What advice do you have for families who are just getting started?

Homeschooling has been the cement in our family's life.  The most important thing to remember as a homeschooling parent is to be patient.  Enjoy the time with your kids.  Let the kids enjoy learning.  Don't worry about covering everything.  Teach the kids to learn on their own because that is what life is about; we are always learning something new all the time.  Let the kids figure out what they want to be, not what you want them to be.  Homeschooling is such an awesome opportunity to give our kids.  I believe that all parents are able to homeschool if they are honest about their limitations, but they also have to realize that it is putting the kids first in their lives.  There are days that I want to be out in the world with adults but realize that these kids are my responsibility.  That is also the time that I know I need to take a break and that's okay, too.  Have patience, it will all work out!

Thank you, Julie, for sharing your wisdom and encouragement!