A question homeschool moms get asked a lot is “How do you do it?” The beginning of the school year can be quite daunting. How am I going to do everything without losing my sanity? How do I teach, cook, clean, run errands, and still have time to make meaningful memories with my kids? The following tips will help you keep order when adding academics to your already busy schedule.
1. Work With Your Existing Routine
Starting time: Be realistic! What time do you normally get up? When do you and your kids eat breakfast? If you normally get up at 9:00am, don’t plan on starting school at 8:00am sharp. While starting school early sounds great and will allow you to finish school earlier, it may not be worth the struggle. Use the hours you already have and work within your natural waking hours. Do you really want to get up earlier and get on a better schedule? Are you determined to start school earlier than you are currently starting your normal day? Then start getting up earlier now. Make it a habit for you and your kids BEFORE school starts.
Commitments outside the home: Do you have commitments outside the home? Do you work part time? When do you usually go grocery shopping? Do your kids have practice or lessons outside the home? Write all those things down (here is a blank planning guide that I use). This will help you get a good idea of how much of your time is already filled up with other commitments. I also write in meal times (and meal prep time) since those are not ideal times to be teaching a math lesson or helping a little one learn how to read.
Time for school: What blocks of time are left in your schedule? Not a lot, right? As mothers and wives we have a lot on our plate already. Plan your school around these blocks of time. Plan independent work for when you are not readily available, but make sure you can be fully present during the times they will need you most.
2. Group kids together as much as possible.
Teaching multiple kids? There are not enough hours in a day to be a personal tutor to multiple students for EVERY subject. Young kids will be at different levels in reading, spelling, and math, but everything else can be combined. How big of an age range can be taught together? Some curriculum companies say around 3 years. I would argue that the WHOLE FAMILY can be combined in science, history, and a whole lof of other subjects you may want to include in your homeschool (such as foreign language, memory work, Bible reading and discussion, life skills, and many more). How do you combine all ages and still meet their individual needs? Blog series coming soon, I’ll link it here when it is up.
3. Prioritize Read Alouds
When all else doesn’t work, a day that my kids and I read together is still a good day. When we share a picture book or a chapter from a good story, we are still making memories. Sure, not all of the academic stuff was checked off, but in the long run it won’t matter. We can’t add hours to our day. But one of the reasons families choose to homeschool is so that they can spend quality time together. If there’s too much tension and frustration in a school subject, its ok to set it aside, read a book or a chapter together, and go outside. Sarah Mackenzie (from Read Aloud Revival) can say it better than I can. She has really helped me see the lasting value of spending time reading together. If you do nothing else, this alone can make any day a successful homeschool day. These are the moments that build a family culture and the memories we want to have with our kids.
