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5 Simple Homeschool Practices

We get ONE SHOT at homeschooling our children.

I remember when we first began homeschooling - there was SO MUCH before me. So many options for curriculum. So many fun projects. So many methods. 

Looking back, I wish someone would have told me to keep it simple. Find a few beautiful things  and dive into those. Set homeschool routines with engaging activities that play into your child's strengths and interests. 

Be consistent. 

Don't discount their hearts.

Place beauty first.

It took me a couple years to get to that point of simplicity and effectiveness, and now that I have teens I can look back and see what really WORKED - and what continues to work to this day.

5 Simple Homeschool Practices

Make Reading Your #1 Priority

Yes, it really is that simple. 

Read. Encourage your children to read alone. Read aloud.

Strew books around the house.

I talk to many parents who tell me their children don't enjoy reading. Maybe it hasn't been modeled for them, or maybe a public school has beaten the love of reading out of them. 

You have a unique opportunity in your homeschool to inspire reading. 

5 Simple Homeschool Practices - READ!

(In our house EVERYONE - even the canines - read!)

Hear me on this: do not let reading aloud come in last place. In fact, put it in first place. Develop a time for reading aloud, provide things to keep little hands busy, and choose engaging books. 

Give your children a feast of books to read on their own. Create a time in your day for everyone to just sit and READ. 

Never let anything come in the way of time to read.

Now that my oldest is almost a homeschool graduate I listen to her fond memories of our read alouds. Both of my children will say, "Remember when we read that book....".

Reading has increased their habit of attention, expanded their vocabulary, and given them a gift that cannot be bought in any store.

(Check out 5 Ways to Raise Readers for more tips.)

Implement a Routine

I'm not much of a schedule gal. 

One of the reasons we began homeschooling was because I detested being a slave to the public school SCHEDULE. It beat all of the joy out of learning. It didn't inspire wonder. 

I knew, however, that my children needed a routine. They needed to know what came next each day and what was expected of them during a day. 

In the years when I had kids in elementary homeschool - and even into middle school - our routine looked like this:

Keep in mind, I needed to be flexible with this - especially with an active little boy in the house. He was going outside just about every hour to burn off steam. Sometimes we would get caught up in a project that would take all morning. 

My children always knew, however, that our skeleton of Morning Time, Math, Lunch, History, and Quiet Time was there. This guided our days and eliminated a lot of confusion and unhappiness.

5 Simple Homeschool Practices

 

Morning Time & "Elevenses"

Before "Morning Time" was the big buzz in the homeschool world we were doing a time at breakfast that included devotions, Classical music, reading aloud, and memory work. 

One year I wanted to change the routine a bit, so implemented the English tradition of "Elevenses", which was tea and a snack at 11 a.m. We used our teapot from England, made scones, and did our read aloud during this time. What a sweet memory for all of us! 

However you decide to structure this time, be sure to include things that are important to you each and every day. If you have this time each day then you can ALWAYS say you accomplished something, even on the worst of homeschool days.

Sometimes I had a little one that was crabby in the morning and needed some time alone before we got going - in which case we saved our "morning time" until lunch time. You know your children and what will work well on any given day.

That freedom and flexibility is one of the most glorious things about homeschooling!

(Read How to Make the Most of Your Homeschool Time for more thoughts on this!)

 

Quiet Time

This gave ALL OF US so much peace in our homeschool days.

Early on I believe it saved our homeschool. I wasn't used to having children in the house all day. I needed QUIET and time to recharge. I needed time to take care of household chores, sit down to read, and maybe fold some laundry. 

I went back to our naptime schedule from when the kids were little - and if they didn't feel like napping they had many options of things they could do while STAYING QUIETLY IN THEIR ROOMS.

If quiet time is just a part of your day and you set the expectation firmly and consistently, you will not have a problem with implementation.

I'm not going to say much here - but instead direct you to Why Homeschool Mamas Need Quiet Time.

(You're welcome.)

 

Take Care of Math!

Please hear me on this.

Do your research early on. Decide on a math program. Stick with it.

I fell into the trap of listening to what everyone else was doing. I fell into the trap of feeling I had to try the math curriculum with the largest presence at the homeschool convention. I fell into the trap of listening to my child when they said they didn't "like" the math curriculum.

In the end, I learned a lot by the time my second child came through our homeschool. 

We have used Saxon Math since the beginning with him - focused a lot on math facts - and math is simply a non negotiable in our house. 

5 Simple Homeschool Practices

When your child gets to the point of taking the SAT and ACT you will look back and be thankful you chose a solid math program from day one. 

If your child needs help with math -- OUTSOURCE IT! There are abundant resources online and in person now. We don't have to let our kids flounder in math. 

My prayer for each of you is a peaceful, productive homeschool.

I know the days will sometimes be long and difficult, but if you have certain practices in place you will minimize those. 

You will look back on your time homeschooling with so many fond memories and children who have benefitted from a consistent, beautiful home education.

 

Is there a certain practice that just "works" in your homeschool?

I'd love to hear about it!

 

You might also like:

10 Best Books for Homeschool Moms

Homeschool: When Being Normal Looks Weird

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make the Most of Your Homeschool Time

Have you ever had a homeschooling day where you feel as if you didn't accomplish A SINGLE THING?  

Maybe a toddler derailed your plans - maybe it was a moody teenager. Perhaps you got out of bed with the best intentions for the day, but nothing quite seemed to get done.

Does any of this ring true?

I know that there have been PLENTY of those days in our homeschool, especially in our early years when I felt  my children should guide most of their learning. I had a theory that if I followed my children's lead, then beautiful learning would occur. A lot of the time it did, but some of the time it resulted in a disjointed sense of learning and little accomplishment - aka a dreary homeschool day.

Three years ago I stumbled upon a concept that changed everything. It helped us make the most of our precious homeschool time.

This one thing guaranteed my children would have TRUTH, BEAUTY, and GOODNESS in each of their homeschool days - even if those days were derailed by circumstances out of my control. 

This one thing changed our homeschooling days dramatically - and I'd love to share it with you today.

 

That one thing is Morning Time --- or WHATEVER time of the day you want to use that is most convenient for your family!

(Maybe you want to have an "After Lunch Time" or "Mid Morning Snack Time" -- or one year we did the English tradition of Elevenses - which was having tea and snack at 11 a.m.!)

 

Why We Use Morning Time In Our Homeschool

 

  • Children and adults NEED structure and predictability. This routine improves behavior and gives our children a sense of security because they KNOW what is coming when they get out of bed each day.

  • As a homeschooling parent it has always been my goal to expose my children to truth, beauty, and goodness. Giving my children just a little of each of these - first thing in the day - lets me feel a sense of accomplishment no matter what else happens in the day.

  • We all need an anchor.  Morning Time gives my children (and me!) that anchor. It's the one thing that remains constant, and a time when we are together. Without it, a day feels incomplete. Morning Time centers our hearts and minds on those things of beauty and reminds us of our mission as home educators.

What We Include in Morning Time

Over the years this has changed based on our school plans for the year and the ages of my children, but generally we include three big things in our Morning Time.

Keep it simple. Don't try and throw too much into this time.  

Normally, a 30-45 minute time over breakfast worked well for us. You may have to adjust this is you have little ones running around.  Or, don't set your expectations too high -- allow your littlest ones to play on their own in a high chair or safe space while you have Morning Time with the others. If a teen is moody and doesn't want to come to the table one morning, don't force them - they will only negatively impact your time.

 

What to Include in a SIMPLE Morning Time

1.  Bible reading/Devotion

Choose whatever devotions work well for your children and their ages. We've used devotion books, recited prayers from Luther's Small Catechism, and simply read aloud from our Bible.

2. Memory Work Review/Memorization

Our Classical Conversations memory work was always reviewed at this time. My Challenge age daughter sometimes had larger poems she was memorizing or other pieces of memory work, and we would work on these during that time.

3. Fine Arts

We studied great artists and their works learned about composers and their works.  For a season we would do a drawing or chalk pastels lesson or learn about something in nature for a walk later in the day.

 

Morning Time doesn't have to be fancy. It just needs to be simple, consistent, and beautiful. 

Do you have a Morning Time in your homeschool?

 Tell me about it.