Top Five Homeschooling Tips

Lots of friends have asked me how I stay organized when I home teach AND work full-time outside the home.  One of my biggest goals within schooling at home is to prepare my children for the real world.  Getting up on time, getting ready to go, gathering the day’s supplies, and working within deadlines and timeframes are all facets of the real, working world.  I am no expert, but here are some tips I’ve learned along the way, some valuable resources, and some good advice for preparing my kids.

1.  Plan ahead.

I’m not the kind of home teacher that can fly by the seat of my pants.  I don’t have opportunity to throw out the schedule and run off in a different teaching direction because I am working while my kids are working.  Because my kiddos are in my office with me each day, I need them to be prepared for the day and what activities are planned.  That is why planning is super important.  I plan everything from what’s for lunch to what supplies are needed that day.  My kids know to check their list as they are packing up, otherwise they’ll be missing necessary  items for a certain lesson.   I used to plan full quarters at a time, getting all the pieces of curriculum coordinated for the quarter to come.  Once I changed to Moving Beyond The Page curriculum, the coordinating was done for me.  However, I still lay out the quarters within that curriculum.  I also plan day-to-day which means my kids know what to expect as each day comes.  I have also created a daily planner for each child.  It is a fun rendition of a planner (my son’s has a Lamborghini on it) that you would buy for yourself or the office and it trains kids to plan things like due dates, special events, projects, and big days.

2.  Be willing to schedule.

I use a basic daily schedule with my kids.  I have typed up their schedule and put it in their daily planner.  It spells out specifically what they should be doing at any given time.  I expect them to be self-directed, so this enables them to know what is expected and when.  It trains them to keep an eye on the clock while working and also trains them to think ahead within specified time-frames.  There are two 30-minute breaks in the day (other than our 60-minute lunch) which are motivators to stay on schedule.  If the work is done & the focus has been adequate, by all means, take a break!  They’ve earned it!

3.  Be flexible.

Uh…wait.  Didn’t I just advise you to plan and schedule things?  I did…but this tip is important.  The best laid plans will collapse, dissolve, and deteriorate right before my eyes.  I put so much energy into the planning, that I often forget to give it a little slack.  Perhaps the first activity of the day was more difficult than I originally thought.  Or, perhaps a friend drops in and we spend some time visiting with them and enjoying their company.  If I am so very rigid in my planning that the extraordinary cannot happen, then it won’t happen.  I must be willing to have some wiggle room.  If a child is running a bit behind schedule, where can I find the room to adjust?  If a kiddo is having difficulty with a concept and need more time on it, then what can I nix to accommodate? That said, I am careful not to allow the kids to take advantage of flexibility (something they poke around for sometimes).  But, if the schedule doesn’t work that day, then it doesn’t work.  It’s okay.

4.  Check the work frequently.

It was heartbreaking to both the kids and myself when, at the end of a quarter, activities were left undone or concepts were still not mastered. I had waited too long.  I expect the kids to achieve 80% mastery on any given activity/project/assignment.  If they are below that, then corrections must be made.  However, I had set up the kids for frustration because all their corrections were left for the end of the quarter.  We have adjusted accordingly, and now we check the kids’ work each day.  Sometimes they forget a page, sometimes they skip it needing help later, sometimes they avoid doing a difficult assignment.  It works so well to check the work at least once a day.  Waiting any longer is so painful for all of us.

5.  Discover your child’s learning style.

I know that sounds fluffy and somewhat like “education speak”, but it makes a massive difference in how your child learns new things.  If you’re not familiar with the various learning styles, jump over to Learning Styles Online for an overview.  There’s even an online inventory to take to discover a learning style.   You might even take time to discover your own learning style.  It highly impacts how and what you teach.  Discovering this information about my kids helped me select curriculum and plan activities that best reach their hearts.  My oldest is a Visual/Spatial/Solitary learner (prefers using pictures, images, and spatial understanding and working alone). She would rather draw, paint, or create computer graphics to show me she has mastered a concept.   My youngest is more of a Logical/Mathematical/Social learner (he prefers using reasoning, systems, and working with others).  He would choose to design and build a model, complete an experiment, or outline a process to show me he has mastered a concept.   Knowing this about my kids means knowing how they filter information, how they process it, and how they produce an end product.

There you have it:  my top 5 things I’ve learned thus far.  I have a variety of printables I regularly use if any of you are interested in more details.  I’m happy to share our daily schedule, the template for our weekly planner, our calendar template, or any other items.  Just comment below with how I can help!!!