Homeschool

The first year of homeschooling, under normal circumstances, can be very stressful. I want to help you make it a better year than my first year. Yes, our first year was so hard, but we stuck it out and here we are six years later. I want to share our first year homeschool tips, let’s all be successful together.

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The most common thing you will hear, especially from newer moms, is that they don’t think they are doing enough, they don’t think they are a good enough teacher. But let me tell you something, you are enough. You know your children better than anyone!

There are so many resources available now, more than ever before. You can find everything you might need if you search online. Whether you are shopping for full curriculum, or looking for something to add to your curriculum or plans.

First Year Homeschool Tips

Teachers aren’t perfect either. You don’t need to be perfect.

You are going to make mistakes and you’re going to think you are failing. But in the end, happy, well adjusted kids are what matters. Not finishing a read aloud that is on the curriculum reading list.

You don’t want to overschedule yourself.

Joining a homeschool co-op or homeschool meet up is a great way to meet other homeschoolers and have people who are going through the same things.

You might want to have your child enrolled in every extracurricular activity so you feel like they are with other kids, and being socialized. Guess what? You don’t need to. Between hanging out with friends and a homeschool meet ups you might find yourself already socializing a lot and not needing the extra stress of more activities to rush off too.

Be flexible.

Know that you are not forced to use the curriculum or method you started with. You can change your mind as you go along because you are learning what works.

Keep the Learning Interesting

If you and your kids are falling asleep during that curriculum read aloud it might be time to put it down. You want everyone to enjoy learning, pick up a great book, like Charlotte’s Web. Then you can watch the movie afterwards to compare them.

What are your kids interested in learning about? Include that in your lessons. Head to the library and let them pick out books that interest them and include them in reading time.

Have Fun and Make Memories

Don’t worry about finished a curriculum so much that you turn into a drill sergeant. Try a different way to teach, be silly. Do your lessons under the table in a fort or outside on a blanket in the yard.

Spend the afternoon setting off bottle rockets in the backyard. Or spend the day at a museum or science center.

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Unwinding After Homeschool Lessons

Halfway through the school year, you might want to take a look back and evaluate how things went. Maybe things went great, Way to Go Momma! But maybe they didn’t. Maybe you need to make some changes, I know we do. Homeschool bad habits are often where our homeschool dreams go wrong.

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Let’s look at what didn’t work. Maybe you didn’t do structured lessons as much as you would have liked. Or maybe you didn’t do as many hands on science experiments as you would have liked. It’s okay. I think of January as a fresh start for our school each year.

It is time to change what isn’t working.

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Homeschool Bad Habits to Break

No Set Homeschool Time

When do lessons start in your homeschool day? Does it change daily? Is it something you are putting off longer and longer.

Picking a time to start each day can be a game changer for consistency. Here, right after breakfast and the morning routine, my kids each jump into math. Getting it out of the way. One thing we’re going to try as winter break ends is tea time language arts after a morning break (outside chores).

No Homeschool Plan

We need a plan! Okay maybe you really don’t need to know every little thing you are doing, but it will really help your days run more smoothly if you have a general idea of what you want to get done each day.

Maybe Tuesday is science day. Thursday is history day. Something like this can take the pressure off of feeling like you need to do everything everyday.

Rushing

Do you feel like you are falling behind? Even though there really is no “behind”? A homeschool bad habit is to rush through lessons. One thing I would look at instead of trying to rush your kids through weeks of lessons is to look at what you can drop.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Look at your Schedule

If you are feeling burned out, maybe you are doing way too much. Too many subjects at one time, or in one day. Maybe you have to cut back on outside activities. Your kids don’t need to be signed up for every extra curricular activity.

Not Having Fun

One thing I learned in past years was that homeschooling doesn’t have to be this strict, sit down and get it done kind of thing. Yes, we have had bad years, bad days in good years, but it’s finding a balance. The best balance has been making sure were having fun here and there each week.

Have fun by including hands on learning. Have fun by getting out of the house even if it’s just for a walk or heading to the playground.

Screen-Time Balance

This is a hard one. We have lessons online. Does that count as screen time? It doesn’t for me.

Screen time before lessons get finished throws a wrench in our whole day, and nothing else is going to get done, so I drew a hard line there. Screen time is after school lessons are finished. But you need to find where the balance is for you.

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There is a difference. There are several difference between homeschooling and school at home. Everyone is currently learning how we can educate our children with the pandemic happening, everyone is doing their best which is what is important for our kids.

Homeschooling and School at Home

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I really don’t like seeing the comments on Facebook: “Day 10 of homeschooling”, or whatever day if may be. Why? because you aren’t really homeschooling, you are doing school at home, or you are helping your child’s teacher teach them through distance learning.

Homeschoolers don’t necessarily consider distance learning homeschooling either, even when they had been homeschooling in the past. Mainly due to your child having an online teacher, you are the parent helping to make sure that your child’s emotional wellbeing is being taken care of while they partake in their lessons.

What is school at home?

School at home is replicate school at home. This is a formal, sit down at your desk or dining room table and get your school work done. Though it does seem like it sitting in front of a computer watching their teacher on Zoom with technology now.

While completing school at home you are going to be working with someone else’s schedule, most likely your child’s teacher or teachers.

What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling is the parents educating their child at home. Parents choosing the curriculum that they are using to teach their child. Homeschooling is learning outside of the public or private school environment. Essentially, homeschooling involves a commitment by a parent or guardian to oversees their child or teen’s educational development.

As the person in charge of your child’s education you are in charge of scheduling everything, for each day.

Homeschooling During a Pandemic

No one is doing the traditional homeschool thing right now. I’m not. It is not typical for us to not go to places like museums, or science science centers. We are used to spending hours at the library reading, studying a new topic, and just enjoying ourselves.

Homeschooling isn’t staying home in lockdown or quarantine, its going places, and seeing friends, joining a coop.

We are all surviving right now. Homeschooling, pandemic-schooling, virtual school, whatever might be the case for your family.

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Second Breakfast for Homeschoolers

Ok, so sometimes school work can be boring no matter what you do if you are working with boring, dry text. Thankfully homeschooling doesn’t have to be boring or dry, or from a textbook. You can make lessons fun, but sometimes your kids get bored with homeschool work anyways. What can you do about it?

When Your Kids Get Bored with Homeschool Work

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If you came to me and told me that your child was bored with homeschool work I would ask why. Why are they bored? What are you learning about, and what it the learning method? Is it because they aren’t interested?

Try Something New

If might be that you curriculum isn’t a fit for your child. Every child learns differently, whether it’s at a different pace, or requiring a different method – literature, audio, visual.

It might be time to look for a different curriculum or learning method.

It may be time to toss the books aside and head over to YouTube to watch videos on how to do something instead. Personally I do not like to watch videos, I would prefer to read how to do something. Blake, my husband, is the opposite.

Or maybe printed books aren’t working, but ebooks, or audiobook might be just what you need.

My oldest, she loves to watch documentaries, especially documentaries on history.

Learning Above or Below Level

The curriculum you have may not be at the right level for your child. It could be too challenging to not challenging enough for them. It’s just that simple. Start with books that are on their level and go from there.

The Topic

So, history can be a dry subject. It is of no interest to me, and I want to go to sleep rather than learn it. My oldest and husband, they both love history. The point? Maybe just because you or your daughter love one topic, doesn’t mean your son is going it.

Maybe you could try taking the boring, but maybe important, topic and add a level of fun, and if not fun, hands on. Something to get them learning and interested in what you are doing.

Writing in hieroglyphics is on example of getting hands on while learning about history.

Let Them Do the Teaching

Let them teach you. They will be that much more interested in a topic if they get to play teacher. My kids love to read books and then tell me all the facts that they have learned.

“Did you know…?” “Guess what X can do?” I hear this all the time based on what books my kids have borrowed from the library. I do not limit what books that check out so they each have amazing facts and information in their brains.

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