It was an unpaved road with lots that I wish I knew before homeschooling my children!
Imagine stepping into a world where every day is an adventure, but you feel like you’re navigating without a map. That’s how I felt when I first started homeschooling my children. If you’re a new homeschooling mom, this is what you’re going to feel. If you’re a veteran homeschooling mom, you KNOW what I mean and might share these mistakes with me. In this blog post, I’m going to share what I wish someone had told me before I started homeschooling my children. One of these mistakes actually took me almost 2 yrs to realize and start fixing. Hopefully, you get to avoid my mistakes as well.
1. Go At Their Rhythm
One of the most beautiful aspects of homeschooling is the flexibility it offers. Every child learns at their own pace, and it’s important to honour that. Some days they might zip through their lessons and they might be little sponges, soaking up information faster than you can dish it out. While other days, they might need more time to catch on… and that’s ok. Embrace their unique rhythm and let them lead the way. This approach not only reduces stress, for the both of you, but also makes learning more effective and enjoyable.
We also want our children to retain the information that they’re learning since they aren’t learning to pass a test. They are learning to better their lives in the future. By making it enjoyable for them and respecting their speed of learning, chances are they are going to remember what they learned and how it could be applied in the real world.
2. Don’t Set Strict Deadlines
Unlike traditional schools, you don’t have to stick to a rigid schedule. In the beginning, I was tempted to set strict deadlines for every assignment and project. If you’re like me, you love ticking things off but I quickly realized this doesn’t always work with homeschooling. Also, I had to unlearn some of the habits and routines that I learned from school.
Homeschooling is not about racing to the finish line. It’s about the journey. Setting strict deadlines can create unnecessary pressure for both you and your children. If you had planned to do math and science on Monday but your child took a lot longer than you planned to complete their math problems, what would you do? You can push through and decide to continue with your plan to finish science or you can decide to move science to the next day. You may even decide to continue with math, the next day, and provide more support to your child.
Setting flexible goals and focusing on progress rather than perfection is going to help you and child in the long run. This way, learning becomes a journey rather than a race.
3. It Takes Less Time Than Traditional School
One of the biggest surprises but not really a surprise either is how much less time homeschooling takes compared to traditional schooling. Without the need for transitions between classes, getting everyone to focus, interruptions, etc… you can accomplish a full day’s worth of learning in just a few hours. I remember the first few months of homeschooling, we got through so much of the curriculum that I had planned out in a short amount of time that we were able to have shorter days, take days off, travel, etc.
When we had shorter days, the rest of the day can be spent exploring, playing, and just being children.
4. Learn With Them
One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to learn with them. It’s okay not to have all the answers. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to show your children that learning is a lifelong journey. Be open to discovering new things together. When your children see you excited about learning, they’ll be more motivated to learn as well.
My favorite thing to say when they ask me a question is what do they think? After discussing, I would suggest that we look it up and see. We usually go down a rabbit hole but in the end, we have the answer to their question and so much more, by working together. Homeschooling isn’t just about teaching your children; it’s also about learning alongside them and it taught my children that it’s okay to seek help when they don’t know an answer.
One example of learning with your children is when we were doing the Salty Potato experiment that is a part of Wellness Foundations Audio Series. This is a 5 part audio series where I cover the 5 pillars of wellness that we cover at Mommy ‘n’ Me Wellness. You get a brief introduction to each pillar and how you can incorporate them into your homeschool.
When we tackled the nutrition pillar, we were studying the effect of salt on our body. This is where we decided to do the salty potato experiment. When we first tried to perform the experiment, it was a complete fail. We had to go back to the drawing board and find another solution.
After doing some research and a few tests, we finally figured out how we could make this work.
You can find that experiment and any of the other activities that you can experience with your children in the Wellness Foundations Audio Series.
5. Make It Fun
Education doesn’t have to be all serious. In fact, it shouldn’t be. This is the lesson/mistake that it took me a long time to address. I still rely pretty heavily on workbooks in order to satisfy the government requirements that are imposed on us.
Incorporating fun into your homeschooling routine is going to make the journey that much more fun. Use games, hands-on activities, and real-world experiences to make learning enjoyable. I provide a lot of electronic educational games for my children because I know they love to use their devices. This was they can do something that they love while learning.
Baking helps tremendously with this because your children can have fun with you in the kitchen, practice their math and reading skills and you get a nice treat at the end of it. Just don’t forget to add some veggies in the cookies or muffins that you make. If you want some ideas on how you incorporate veggies, check out my free ressource called Sneaky Veggies.
When children have fun, they’re more engaged and retain information better. Remember, laughter and play are powerful tools in education.
6. Take Breaks
If we decide to go through the entire school day without taking breaks, my children wouldn’t be able to concentrate anymore. Children, especially younger ones, need time to recharge their minds and bodies. Breaks can include physical activity, a snack, or just some quiet time. If you would like more information on including movement in your day, please refer to this blog post. This can do wonders for everyone’s mood and productivity.
7. Every Homeschool Family Is Different, So Don’t Compare
And here’s a gold nugget of wisdom: every homeschool family is different, so don’t compare. What works for one might not work for another. I remember looking at other homeschool moms on Instagram and thinking that they really have everything organized. However, I had to realize that this was not our reality and I would have total anxiety if I had to keep the kitchen area that organized.
Trust your instincts and find what suits your family best. I used to compare what we were doing and our progress to others in our communities but that doesn’t do anything but add stress to our journey. The truth is that there isn’t a wrong way to homeschool. Embrace your unique style and celebrate your successes, no matter how small.
8. Take Care of Yourself
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, remember to take care of yourself. Homeschooling can be demanding, and it’s easy to put your own needs on the back burner. But taking care of your well-being is crucial. Make time for self-care, whether it’s a “hot” cup of tea, a walk, a workout or a hobby that you love. When you’re well-rested and happy, you’re better equipped to support your children.
Homeschooling is a wonderful journey filled with challenges and victories. Embrace it with an open heart and mind, and remember, it’s okay to learn and grow alongside your children. If you were to ask me what I knew before homeschooling, I would say that children had to cover certain topics and there may be exams. I knew nothing and I had no desire to learn any different because this wasn’t the path that I thought we would take. Fast forward to now and I cannot imagine us doing anything other than homeschooling.
Although it’s a great journey, there are some times where my children do not focus. I’ve had to come up with a few tips and strategies to get them to refocus during their homeschool day. You can find those strategies in this blog post and hopefully it can help you as well.
Happy homeschooling!
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Check out the entire video to help your child refocus on their homeschool day.
The topics covered in this video are:
0:00 What I Wish I Knew BEFORE homeschooling my children
0:37 Go At Their Rhythm/ Go At Their Pace
1:39 Don’t Set Strict Deadlines
3:12 Homeschooling Takes A Lot Less Time Than Traditional School
5:00 Learn With Your Children
7:34 Make Homeschooling Fun
9:10 Take Breaks
10:06 Do Not Compare To Another Homeschool Family
11:56 Take Care Of Yourself Mama
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