Homeschooling 101

Hey Guys: 

I homeschooled my kids by choice for 6 years. We usually did academics from 9-11:30 am (that included breaks) and then it was time for outdoor adventures. We took a month off at Christmas, a month off at Spring Break and 3 months for Summer vacation. When my kids finally enrolled in school they had no problem adjusting to the classroom and eventually graduated :) 

I know some of you are struggling right now so I want to share my perspective and some tips to help you through this time. 

  1. Set a realistic time for academics (2 hours max). You can’t ruin your kid’s academic future in 3 months but you might damage your relationship with them trying to force them to do school 4-5 hours each day.
  2. Take activity breaks every hour. The mind is stimulated through movement so go for a hike or see how many burpees you and your child can do in 1 min. Get moving and shake off the tension. 
  3. Remove the unrealistic expectation that learning at home will look anything like what it does in the classroom. Kids may be in school for 5 hours a day but likely are not sitting at a desk with heads down in full concentration for that length of time. 
  4. Take this opportunity to teach life skills that they never would have learned otherwise. This could be cooking, cleaning, planting a garden, learning coding on the computer or changing the oil in the car. Be creative and one day they will  thank you for those skills. 
  5. Be kind to yourself. Take time to exercise, read a book or soak in the tub. You are likely working, caring for parents, teaching your kids, and losing many of the activities that give you joy. Self care is a non-negotiable in this season. Refill your cup frequently otherwise it will eventually run dry. 

When all the kids go back to school in September some will be the type who will have gotten all their home base assignments done and some will have done the bare minimum and that is exactly how it would have been if school was in session. So relax and try to enjoy the blessings that this time provides.

Hope this helps guys and if you need to chat let me know as I am happy to help!

Coach Tracey