10 Practical Homeschooling Tips For Those Just Starting Out
A lot of people think that homeschooling is a big scary task. We see the structure and setup of a public school environment and we get intimidated by the thought of doing it at home.
However, homeschooling doesn’t look anything like public school and it SHOULDN’T.
Homeschooling should look however you want it to!
Below, I’m going to tell you 10 things I wish I had known when I started homeschooling my kids.
Create a designated learning space
One of the most important steps when starting your homeschooling journey is to set up a designated learning space. Having an area where your children solely focus on learning helps reduce distractions, gears them up for learning, and allows for materials to be organized in a way that’s best for them.
So what does a designated learning space look like?
Well, for each family that could look different!
There are many styles/methods of homeschooling and each style has slightly different setups. These different setups may change the way your space looks.
The basics for any method are:
- A quiet space
- Good lighting
- A desk or table (even your kitchen table is fine)
- Bookshelves for reading materials
- Craft mediums
Set a daily routine
A good daily routine is an absolute must for any homeschooling family. Without a daily routine, it is easy to slip into chaos, miss assignments, or get behind in other areas of your life.
Your daily routine doesn’t have to be planned down to the hour. It doesn’t have to be rigid at all.
If your family thrives on a tight schedule that is great but if they don’t, that’s okay too! You can make it as simple as the order in which you do the subjects.
For us personally, we don’t like having a set wake-up time every day. With my kiddos and I being ADHD, nights can be sporadic on sleep times even with a set bedtime routine. Late bedtimes mean later wake-ups on some days and that is okay because it works for us.
What we do is a set order of our day.
Breakfast, math, computer work, and then lunch and chores. We currently are using online programs for most of our schooling since we just welcomed baby #4 into the world and needed something a little easier for me through this transition period.
It can be as simple as that or as complex and hashed down as you please.
The best part is, if your schedule isn’t working, you just change it. Some people even opt to do their schooling in the afternoon instead of the morning!
Gear homeschooling towards your child’s interest
The best way to keep a child engaged is to teach what THEY want.
For this reason, I am diving deep into unit studies here in our home.
A child is more likely to focus and remember things that interest them. Now, I’m not saying if your kid hates math but loves history, just teach history. Not at all.
You need to find ways to incorporate their interest INTO math.
For example, my 4-year-old son is obsessed with the Titanic right now. I am currently planning a TItanic unit for him and my 6-year-old daughter. I will create worksheets for him geared towards number memorization using boats or icebergs. For her, I will write up worksheets that use Titanics and Icebergs for addition and subtraction problems.
By using their interests you are nurturing a lifelong love of learning.
Use STEM activities regularly
STEM is an acronym that stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
These types of activities allow kids to see how the things they are learning apply in real-world applications.
While not every kid is a hands-on learner, STEM activities are great for all kids of all ages and are great to incorporate into your homeschooling routine.
They are also great for kids with ADHD!
Examples of STEM activities are:
- Building the Titanic out of Legos
- Using popsicle sticks to build a skyscraper
- Floating drawings using dry-erase markers
- Changing the color of carnations using food-colored water
- Sink or float activities
Homeschooling doesn’t have to take all day
Homeschooling does NOT have to take 8 hours like public school does.
In fact, you should make sure it doesn’t!
The 8-hour school day that most kids face is mainly due to the need for childcare for normal work hours and nothing to do with academics. It’s proven that it does not increase academic achievement at all!
Below is a chart of recommended daily schooling times by grade.
REMEMBER every kid is different
An important thing to remember, especially when homeschooling multiple children, is that every kid is different. What works for one, may not work for another.
One reason for this is that everyone has their own learning style.
The main learning styles are Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic.
By determining your child’s learning style, you are setting them up for years of success.
Kids also learn at different paces. Some may pick up on things very quickly while others take a while to grasp simple concepts.
Don’t compare to other homeschooling families
Just as every kid is different, every family is different!
Don’t compare yourself or your family to other homeschooling families.
Everyone is in a different place in their homeschooling journey and there are SO many ways to homeschool that it would be impossible to compare.
Now, That doesn’t mean you can’t ask for tips or advice from other homeschoolers, in fact, I would encourage it!
It’s always nice to get tips from seasoned homeschoolers or even new ideas from people who may homeschool differently from you.
If something doesn’t work, pitch it and try again
I will tell you right now, that your first curriculum WILL. NOT. WORK.
More than likely, your second curriculum won’t work. Or maybe even the 3rd.
Then, you will finally find a great one for your oldest and it won’t work for your youngest.
That is just part of the “every kid learns differently.”
However, that doesn’t mean you have to spend hundreds of dollars on different curricula.
Sometimes you have to alter a curriculum a little. I, personally like to piece together free curriculum or create unit studies, especially for my younger kids.
This allows me full freedom over what they do and the ability to gear it towards them.
Sometimes when your child is fighting something, they aren’t ready for it
This is a BIG thing for me and I first learned this when I was teaching my middle child to read at the age of 4. She had been wanting to read for a while so we started working on the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book.
Now, I LOVE this book for teaching kids to read and she loved it too at first. However, after a while, she grew to hate it.
We made it to lesson 80 and had to stop. She would cry, yell, and refuse to read even though she had been doing fabulous the whole time.
She was 5 at this point and it wasn’t a huge deal if she couldn’t read yet so we just backed off of it completely.
2 months later, on her own, she was reading EVERYTHING.
While she was capable of doing it before with some effort, her brain just wasn’t ready and as soon as it was, it clicked.
A year later, she is reading at a 4th-grade level!
Sometimes their fighting back is just a cue to take a step back whether that be all together, or going back to some basics that they may need to get stronger at. They will let you know when it is just too much.
And you know what?
It is okay to take that step back and focus on a different area. Every kid learns at a different pace and one beauty of homeschooling is that you can embrace that.
It’s okay to say screw it some days
Ever have those days when NOTHING is going right?
The baby is screaming, the oldest has the eye rolls going, and the middle kid is running rampant through the house and no one is listening to a word you say?
Yep. It happens. A lot.
There are days that we, as mothers, need to take a mental health day.
There is nothing conducive to a school day of fighting and stress and it is 100% okay to call it quits on those days.
Another beauty of homeschooling is that it is SO flexible.
Monday went to hell in a handbasket? Okay. Do school Saturday instead or make up in the summer.
You control your schedule. If it is just not going to plan then change the plan.
No one else cares if you’re doing school on a Saturday vs a Monday.
I SEE YOU
If you are here and you are struggling then I want you to know I see you.
You are not alone and it WILL get better.
Hopefully, these 10 tips will help you navigate through whatever obstacles you are trying to overcome.
As always, I can’t wait to hear any questions or comments.
