alittlebitsocial2 Homeschooling is rewarding, but it’s also challenging. Speak to anyone who has gone through the homeschooling journey, and they’ll invariably tell you that they wouldn’t change it for the world — but that getting up and running was quite the challenge.
You’ll be fine once you’ve gotten the initial teething problems out of the way. How long those problems stick around, however, is somewhat within your control. In this post, we’re going to run through a bunch of tips that’ll set you up for homeschooling success. Take them on board, and you’ll find that you’ve got a grip on things much quicker than you otherwise would.
Create A Learning Space
You’ll be teaching your child in your home (well, except for those school trips). However, it’s best not to think in terms of your ‘home,’ but rather in terms of the learning space. Putting together a dedicated learning area will help both you and your child get into learning mode, which will make the first few months easier to manage.
You’re not locked into spending all of your time in your homemade classroom. There’ll be times, especially during spring, when you want to have your lessons outside. But by and large, it’ll be the classroom where most of the action takes place. Look at creating a learning-friendly environment, ideally one that’s comfortable, well-decorated, and ready for lessons.
Play Around With Schedule
You don’t have to follow the national curriculum when you’re homeschooling; you never have to follow the usual school hours. Just because the local school gets underway at 8:45 and finishes at 3, there’s no reason why you also have to follow those hours. It’s best to set a schedule that’ll work for you. If you know that you and your child are at their most mentally alert between the hours of 11 am and 5 pm, then choose those hours.
It’s best to stick to a schedule, but don’t be afraid to make adjustments if you don’t think it’s working.
Prioritise Breaks
Children need more breaks than adults. While you might have the mental capacity to teach all day, your kids will begin to fade much sooner. Depending on their age, they might only be able to handle around thirty minutes of lesson time before requiring a break. If your child is older, then they’ll be able to manage around 45 – 60 minutes of work before needing to rest.
Since one-to-one teaching is more direct — and thus effective — than group lessons, you’ll probably find that you only need to teach for around 2 – 4 hours each day. However, remember that you can’t complete those hours too quickly. Your lessons will only be effective if your child can’t recall what they’ve learned, and that can’t happen if they’re too tired.
Consider Social Interaction Activities
Some parents worry that, since their child is not learning with other children, they’ll fail to make friends and miss out on some key socialisation lessons that in-school kids learn naturally. While you can understand why that would be a concern, it doesn’t need to be. But you might need to put in some extra effort to ensure that your child can get their fill of socialisation with other kids. For instance, you might sign them up for a sports team, art classes, or any other activity that’ll bring them into contact with other children.
Setting The Curriculum
You’ll need to put together a curriculum for the subjects you’re planning on teaching. Even figuring out which subjects you’ll include can be a little difficult. Aside from the obvious ones that you should include, the rest are broadly up to you. You might include music, P.E., and religious studies, or you might not.
In any case, once you have your subjects, you’ll need to figure out which precise elements you’ll include in the curriculum. A good starting point is to look up an example curriculum based on your child’s age. You can modify it if necessary, but it’ll get you started.
Remember that you’ll need to periodically test your child’s level, so you know which areas they need to work on.
Encouraging Good Student Behaviour
You’ll already have a good relationship with your child. However, keep in mind that when you’re homeschooling, the relationship will shift ever so slightly. You’ll be in more of an ‘educator’ role than in your ‘parent’ role. While it might not always be necessary, it can be a good idea to include activities that will encourage your child to be a good student. For example, you might have them fill out a responsibility worksheet set, which will show them what it takes to be a responsible student. Aside from helping to make your life easier, these types of activities can help your child on a long-term basis, since many of the things they’ll learn will also translate into their professional life when they’re older.
Make the Most of Educational Trips
Traditional schools do organise educational trips, but not all that often. After all, it’s quite a challenge to take 25 adults anywhere, let alone 25+ plus children. When you’re homeschooling, you’ll have no such troubles. You can — and should — pay visits to museums, art galleries and other educational facilities whenever you feel like it. And what’s more is that you’ll likely find that you have the place all to yourself, since everyone else will still be in school. Day trips can be a great way to create an engaging learning experience for your child, though keep in mind that you’ll need to have some sort of lesson plan in place. Otherwise, it’ll just be a fun day out, which is nice but isn’t going to help your child progress educationally.
Join Homeschooling Communities
Homeschooling parents worry, sometimes, that their children will feel lonely if they’re away from school. But feelings of isolation can also affect parents, especially if they don’t have a job that brings them into contact with other adults. It’s recommended to join homeschooling communities, both in-person and online. This won’t just help you to get a sense of belonging, but they can also be an invaluable source of information and guidance. When you’re having difficulty in one part of the homeschooling experience, they’ll be there to help you move forward.
Make it Fun
Finally, we encourage you to make your homeschooling journey as fun as you can. You’ve got a lot of freedom to put together a learning experience that doesn’t only match traditional in-school learning, but which is better. Plus, if you and your child are both having a good time in the classroom, then you’ll find it much easier to keep stress at bay.
So, how can you make it fun? At the bare minimum, it’s about having a positive and happy attitude. You don’t have to homeschool; you get to homeschool. Plus, there are plenty of ways to incorporate fun into the school day, including by having dance parties when everybody’s bodies and minds begin to get a little tired.
Final Thoughts
As we said at the beginning of the article, it would be wrong to suggest that homeschooling will be a walk in the park from beginning to end. That’s not going to be the case. But there are things you can do that will help to make your journey run more smoothly. By incorporating the tips above, you’ll be ensuring that you’ve done everything you can to create a positive homeschooling experience for both you and your child.
