This is my ninth-year homeschooling. There has been ups and downs, lots of frustration, lots of joy and times where I felt I just didn’t know what I was doing. Over the years I’ve learned a few ways to help keep my sanity. I started out with the coolest, all the bells and whistles, curriculum, that included way more than we needed to accomplish learning. I bought books of all topics with high hopes of my children wanting to read them with eagerness. What it all boils down to is K-I-S-S. Keep It Simple Silly. Here are my top five homeschooling tips for moms to keep their sanity.
Less is More
Believe it or not, I bought way more than I needed during the first 3 or 4 years of homeschooling my boys. They didn’t need the extra’s that came with the homeschooling kits. Don’t fill up your bookshelves just yet. Wait till they ask for a book on a topic. That way they are learning about what they are interested in.
Homeschooling is not “school”
I tried hard to replicate an atmosphere of “school” in my homeschooling at the beginning. I don’t know why, it just seemed to be the right thing to do. Once I got around homeschooling was not school, I relaxed way more with what we were doing and how much. There’s no need to set up “class”, just go with the flow and do what needs to be done. Some structure is good, but you don’t need to design it like a classroom.
Take A break
It’s okay to skip a day or two, or even a week. Sometimes, when everyone is stressed out, sick with a cold, or just to wound up over other activities don’t do school for a day or two. Your kids will be happier, and you will be saner.
plan appropriately
Keep a simple planner, if one at all. When the boys were younger and more dependent on me for schooling, I kept a planner. I made a simple schedule of what they were studying at the time and checked off what was accomplished for the day. Once they were older, the curriculum we were using was very laid out, so no planner was needed. This year they are using an online program that checks off what they have completed and tells them how much more they need to complete for the week. Having a planner now would be wasteful of my time. Now they are older and can keep up with their required schooling for the week.
look after yourself
Make time for yourself. This was hard when they were younger and needed me all the time to do school. But it’s so important to take some “mommy time” to read, crochet, or do whatever you do that calms you. Also, drink coffee, lots of coffee.
In the end I just want my boys to be happy about learning. For the most part they have been. There is always some time where they don’t want to do school, like any kid. I just kept on encouraging them to finish up so they could do the activities they wanted to do.
Do you Homeschool? I’d love to know what you do to keep your sanity. Leave me a comment!