Remember when you started the homeschool life and you pictured your kids surrounding you on the couch and hanging on to your every word as you read a classic novel? Now you’re just trying to figure out how to homeschool in the chaos.
Remember how you couldn’t wait for all of the time you’d spend together as a family? Remember how you thought you would teach and your child would diligently get their work done and then perhaps help you with your housework.
Well, I’m sure as we’re heading into the end of the homeschool year, you’ve noticed that homeschooling looks nothing like that, at least not in my house. These homeschool tips will help.
In real life, families suffer tragedies, are faced with health issues or pressing family matters that take over their lives and make homeschooling all that more difficult.
Forget trying to do school, you’re just trying to get through the day let alone try to get those tiny humans to do work they don’t want to do.
How to homeschool in the chaos
Adapt your schedule
Acknowledge that there will be periods in your life that things will be a little bit slower like a new baby and a move can upset the best of your homeschool plans. Life events will interrupt your school plans. The wonderful thing is that you decide when you’ll start or stop homeschooling. Perhaps you need to work through the summer or you have to do school an extra day of the week to get caught up.
Cut down the extras
When things are piling on your heart or pressing for your time, you may need to stop back from outside commitments like extra-curricular activities or volunteer positions. If you have to run around from one appointment to the next, that’s going to take the biggest toll on you and you need to know when you need to set a limit so you can regroup.
Stick to the basics
Cut down your subjects to reading, writing, math and whatever you think needs to be maintained daily. We want to keep our kids on a schedule but know that you may not be able to get to the messy science experiments or giant history projects.
Ask for help
See if you can get help from your husband, family members or other homeschool moms even if it’s only for a few hours a week. It will lighten your load and hopefully help you get back to some sort of normalcy. If it will help you take your mind off of your housework for one day or just one meal I know I feel relief when I don’t have to worry about cooking but we can’t eat out every day.
Treasure these moments
You get to spend time with your kids and as a mother that is the best thing ever. Will all of the days be hard? No, but they will get better. It won’t be all peaches and sunshine but know that you are strengthening your family bonds. You get to be the one they run to when they discover new and amazing things, you get to be the one who knows all of the gossip and you’ll be around to hear them talk about their problems because you’re always there.
I know some parents can’t wait for school start back up after a summer off but we’re enjoying this homeschooling journey that is definitely a privilege to be on.
Do you know what homeschool curriculum you’ll be using for next year?
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