How Do We Homeschool? 6 Tips To Make the Adjustment Easier for You and the Kids!

Things have certainly been changing rapidly in our world in recent weeks and one of the biggest changes parents face is homeschooling their kiddos.   I’ve been getting some questions regarding how we do it and tips on how to make it easier on themselves and their kiddos while getting through this crazy time.

We’ve been homeschooling for the past 8 years and while our oldest is now taking college courses through a local HS program we are still homeschooling our youngest 3.  Here are my top bits of advice to make this time much less stressful!

My crew, we started homeschooling when the giant in the purple shirt was in 1st grade!

 1. Cut yourself some slack.  Yes I put this as number one for a reason.  We tend to think that we need to be the full school day and keep the same format as the public school.  I did this to myself for 2 years and it about killed me from stress and pressure.  Then I realized that I wasn’t a public school and that I would burn out right quick if I kept thinking it.

The school day is long but how many hours are actually spent on schoolwork?  If you eliminate the recesses, lunch period, study hall, music, library, etc and focus on the basics it’s roughly 3-5 hours depending on the age level.  So just focus on the subjects that need to get done and then save some fun stuff for after as a celebration for the day.  (like a dance party aka music class, or a fun art project)

2. Have patience with your kids.  This will be a big adjustment for them too and since they are home there will be many distractions and other things they would rather do.  Consistency, redirection and patience.  Again dependent on age level, you could break up the schoolwork.  In other words, do one subject and then let them have a break to play.  Then do another, break to play or a 5 minute run around the backyard/room, etc until they get into the routine of schoolwork.  And remember they don’t sit still at public school all day either so it’s totally ok to take as many recesses as you need/want!

Yep, I even let them do schoolwork in full football gear haha.

 3.  Schedule/routine are LIFE.  There is a reason every public school day is the same.  When kids know what’s coming and is expected at that time they are more likely to get on the “get er done” train.  That’s why #2 is so important until you can establish it as a schedule and the newness wears off.  Make sure to set a schedule that works for YOU. Refer back to #1.

4. It’s ok to ask for help.  I asked so many questions of some local homeschoolers those first couple of years and it was a lifesaver.  Without them I wouldn’t have found 2 of the best programs I have continued to use for all of my kiddos.  Find online homeschool forums, check out Pinterest for loads of homeschool mom advice and tips (I have a homeschool board with tons of stuff on there!) There are lots of us out there that are happy to share our experiences.

5. Involve your spouse/SO if you can, even if that means adapting to a different schedule than M-F.  My husband works an odd schedule with shifts and weekends in the middle of the week.  I used to follow the strict M-F but after a couple of years in the beginning I wanted to quit.  My husband offered to help out and we are full steam ahead ever since.  We changed our school schedule to Th-M instead so he could be a part of it.

Or if you have grandparents that can skype/face time/video chat, give them a task to do with the kiddos to give you a breather!  It would super fun for the kids and I’m sure grandma and grandpa would love to go over reading, chat science or do art with them.

Bogey is my assistant, he’s a great listener for kids working on reading!

 6. Try to have fun with it.  Some of my best memories are teaching my 3 youngest kids to read.  Were there frustrating moments?  Yes.  Did I wonder if I was failing them the entire time?  Yes.  But we got there and now they all love to read and I did that.  Connecting with them and celebrating their schooling accomplishments in a tech/screen obsessed world has been nothing short of awesome.

Another thing I do, when my 1st grader is ornery and doesn’t want to do his work, I make a game of it.  I ask him “how about we do some jumping jacks?  Can you do 30?”  This gets him excited because he is so full of energy and I presented a challenge.  Plus he practices his counting!  After burning some energy he’s usually ready to sit and focus.

Remember that you will get the hang of it.  I know it seems scary and daunting but being patient with yourself and your kids will help the transition go so much more smoothly.  It might even become something you enjoy doing!

Feel free to hit me up with any questions you might have about homeschooling, I’m happy to answer.

Don’t forget to pop in your email to the subscribe box!  I’m chatting the importance of home and the feel of our homes up next.

And if you want to follow along, I already started the big master bath reno and am sharing sneak peeks on my IG stories.  The ORC has been pushed back to a start date of May 7th so unfortunately you are going to have to wait to see the full design until then, but those peeks are over there!