On a typical Saturday morning, I sit at my kitchen table, surrounded by textbooks, planning my next week. To an outsider, I might need to seek help for my book addiction. This is the life of a classic Charlotte Mason educator. There are many books.
Plan your days and prioritize what needs to be done and when. That gives me great joy. It's now.
I hate being asked about social skills. I am assuming that my children live in a cave 80 miles away from anyone outside of their immediate family.
However, it took a while to get here. Finding the rhythm of school life during the day, balancing school work with the rest of running a household, and knowing when you need to take time off to do social things can be a great way to be organized. It took several years. I also had to make a major adjustment to my own priorities, which was painful but necessary to succeed as a homeschool family.
A wise person once told me, “You can't plant a seed and then dig it up every day to see how it's going and expect some kind of success.” In other words, when you play the long-term game, it takes a great deal of faith to believe that what you're doing actually works, even if you don't see immediate results.
Increasing your confidence in your abilities as a homeschooler requires planning.
Here's what works for our family and for me personally.
prioritize school time
If you don’t make school time a priority, your kids won’t.
If you want your children to feel a sense of daily rhythm, you need to set the tone. This doesn't mean they'll always be willing to comply with everything, but they'll know that expectations are solid. When school time comes and you call everyone to order, they'll know you mean business.
Some mothers do this by playing a specific song to signal the start of school. I don't have a special song, but my kids know that they can expect me to call them to the kitchen table at 8:30 every morning when it's time for school.
In order to prepare your children, you need to be prepared yourself and know what the plan is. You need to know what you are going to cover that day.
I use a free online planning software called Planboard from chalk.com. We plan one week each for 5th graders and kindergarteners. There are plenty of toddler-friendly activities for 3-year-olds. Three-year-olds listen to all the stories, but are not yet old enough to have their own assigned activities. Some toys are only allowed to be played with during school hours. They are in specific areas of the house and we rotate them as the day progresses.
Planning for the day lets my kids know that I am serious about what happens at school and that I have goals to accomplish. Lessons are short and we try to tailor lessons to each child's age. I push when they're lazy, but I also know the signs that they're done for the day. If I overplan, I might add it to the next day, but that happens sometimes. We have made allowances in our schedule for such cases.
don't try to do everything at once
We live in a world that celebrates multitasking. For many people, trying to do four or five things at once has become a way of life. I think this is a dangerous behavior that can lead to anxiety and negative consequences.
As a mother, teacher, and homemaker, I have dishes to put in the sink that need attention, bills to pay, and roasts to put in the crockpot. I know how overwhelming it can be. I'm trying to read Aesop's Fables to my children.
The solution to this is simple. Be present where you are. Dishes in the sink are safe until the end of school hours. When it's time to fold the laundry, fold it and don't worry about that unfinished math class. Try not to overburden yourself or your children by dividing your attention between multiple activities at once.
If you are homebound and have household chores that really need your attention, take care of them before school starts. Just because school starts a few minutes later than the scheduled time doesn't mean it's over.
Get your kids involved
We tend to underestimate children. We want to make sure the lessons really sink in, so we end up doing the academic heavy lifting. This is wrong. You can't actually learn anything for your child. You have to let them do it themselves. Please set your expectations accordingly.
One area I struggle with in this regard is reading. I think my older child may be dyslexic, so learning to read was a difficult process.
Until recently, I used to read too many books during school hours. As a result, my son lost motivation. After he finished reading, he could not remember anything for the narration.
Over the summer, I decided to try something new this school year. I bought two copies of that year's book, one for each person. He follows along while I read, then takes his turn. His ability to tell me what he learned after each book turned around instantly, and he started taking initiative just by opening the book and starting to read without me having to ask.
Learning doesn't just require books. Involve your children in the process of keeping the house clean. Give them chores. They need practical life skills, and although they may complain, they need a sense of purpose and a sense of being part of the family “team.” This is just as educational as any other subject and is one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling.
Balance social and school time
I hate being asked about social skills. I am assuming that my children live in a cave 80 miles away from anyone outside of their immediate family.
But there's a small kernel of truth in that scary conversation to consider. How will your child have the opportunity to play with other children?
Homeschool co-ops meet once or twice a week to provide a variety of activities for homeschool families. Some are academic, while others are primarily content enrichment. They come in all sizes and types, and more are being formed all the time. We live in rural Tennessee and there are at least five different co-op groups within driving distance. I'm sure there are some people near you. Facebook is a great place to find these groups.
Homeschool meet-ups are often held at local libraries as well. Our town library has weekly game days and Lego groups.
Our church has many homeschool families and we have weekly activities at church for those families. If your church has a lot of homeschooling families, this is a great opportunity to set aside some playtime for the kids.
Don't register for everything
However, you need to be careful. If you want, you can have your kids do activities outside the home every day. But this is not what we want from us. This year is a time of change as my two children officially enter the school, and I have taken this opportunity to step away from the co-op that I have been involved with for the past five years.
It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one for us. I was feeling at my limit as the entire week was spent on co-op activities. If you feel exhausted by commitments outside the home, don't hesitate to walk away. You owe it to yourself and your children to learn how to recognize when you're doing too much.
Know your long-term goals
For me, the goal of education is not to ensure that children understand everything by the time they grow up, but rather that children know how to learn something and do not dislike the process of learning. . I want my children to become autonomous, sovereign citizens and lifelong learners. I want them all to know how to run a home, think for themselves, and love God. If you can achieve that, you will consider your life to be fulfilling.
