I’ve had a few people message me asking for some homeschool advice. I’ve been homeschooling since 1998. I have 4 adult homeschool graduates and 3 still learning from home. Here are a few things that I think might help out a new homeschooling parent.
1. School can be done anywhere and at anytime. You don’t have to get up and be dressed for school by 8:00am. The point of school is that your child is learning. One of my kids liked to do their school after dinner, and have more free time during the day. She learned best at that time, and was an all round more happy kid.
2. If it’s a bad day or one of you has a bad attitude, postpone school for a different time that day. Tell yourself or your kid.. we’re going to re-visit this after dinner or after you’ve taken a nap.
3. I try to push each one of my kids to get their school done first, then they can play games, build legos, whatever is their thing.
4. I schedule their school so that Friday is a fun day or light day.
#4, 5 and 6
5. One big shock to me, was that homeschool does not take 8 hours. Have some fun activities that they can learn that will substitute for book time. (free reading, crafts, art, gardening, home ec, woodworking, have an 80’s music lesson, visit an online art gallery, practice good pet ownership, meal planning, bird watching, take a walk somewhere new)
6. Take this time to show your child how to grow up and what it means to be an adult. Teach them how to cook, start a garden, do laundry, clean the bathroom, balance a checkbook, needlepoint, or change a tire. So many people do not know basic life skills.
7. Don’t try to teach or grade when you are angry. Give everyone a break.. or have them do an yoga or exercise video with you. My oldest daughter and I still talk about some of the exercise videos we did.
8. I’ve always worked from home. I involved my children in my work and I feel like that taught them life skills and a good work ethic.
9. I have some really good friends that I homeschooled with. Find yourself a group on social media, text your neighbors. We are all in this together. I would not have made it without my friends.
Schooling your children is serious business, but don’t let that scare you. You’ve been blessed with this time to really get to know your kid, to teach them what it means to be a student and a good human. It was an accident that I became a homeschool mom, but I would not have traded this time for anything. #homeschool #homeschoolmom
#6, 3.5, 2, 3, 5 and 4
#4, 3.5, 3, 6 and 5