As a new homeschooler (<1yr in), I have spent many hours Googling how to homeschool my kids. If you’re frustrated by the lack of results that come close to answering your question … I feel ya. It sucks trying to start something new and not being able to find that little-itty-bitty-bit of directional hope you’re looking for.
So, if any of these questions are the ones you want answers to, keep reading.
- How do I start the day homeschooling?
- What do we do from the time we wake up?
- How do I get my kids to do stuff I have planned?
- Do we follow a timed schedule, a block schedule, this rhythm people keep talking about and what is it exactly?
- How do I know what we should be doing?
- What storybooks should I be having us read?
- Where do I get a list of good books to read?
- How do I get us following a schooling schedule?
- How should I plan what we do on what days and how?
- How do I plan out activities that cover what we need to learn?
Just a head up this might get a little lengthy. But my goal by the end of this is for you to have all kinds of ideas ping-ponging around in your head (the ones you’ve been desiring), get a clearer picture of how to be doing what, and to feel better about this whole homeschooling thing.
CHOOSE SUBJECTS + TOPICS IMPORTANT TO YOU + your partner + your KIDS
Grab a journal, notebook, or piece of paper, and write down the subjects/topics that are important to you and the kids. Common subjects I’ve found are:
Language (r+w)
Math
History
Geography
Science
Calendar work
Outings adventure
Music (composer)
Art (artist)
Nature study
Religious studies
Memorization
Kitchen time
Extracurricular
S.T.E.A.M
Exercise
Journaling
Foreign language
Sports
Poetry tea time
Read aloud
BUT, you don’t have to do all of them. Actually, if you’re just starting out I suggest you don’t do all of them. I made this mistake of trying to touch on a little of each subject right as we started, and I exhausted myself with high expectations (my own) that we didn’t meet, feeling frustrated with the lack of time I had to set things up, or let alone time to just think. Because I was having us do a little of everything, we ended up not doing much of anything. Don’t do that. Save yourself weeks of stress eating (just me?) and feeling like crap.
If you’re a newbie to homeschooling like we are, I suggest starting with four subjects/topics, entirely dependent on how much time you have. Because the question is … do you want to do this right, get in a rhythm, and do it short term (during this pandemic) long term?
My personality type is to dive headfirst into stuff which 7/10 (giving myself grace) ends up with me stretched thin, feeling like a failure at life, and buying stuff I don’t actually need. I’ve asked myself the same three questions each time I’ve sat down to reevaluate what I was doing; which I’ve done four times, in case you were wondering. Four. And it’s only been seven months.
And you know what, that’s ok! Homeschooling is new to us and going back to the drawing board gets us closer to a rhythm each time.
So, pick your top four subjects, put horse blinders and hide everything else from yourself (even Instagram), and do those four things smashingly well. You will be happy. Your kids will be happy. Life will feel rhythmic.
How do you know what subjects to pick? Your two musts should be language (reading + writing, which also includes read alouds), and math. The other two? Do what most interests your child right now! Wild Kratts? Geography and Nature. Girly stuff? (sorry I have two boys), Art and Science. Building and instruments? Lots of STEAM and music classes or practice.
Once you’ve got things down, reevaluate and see where you could weave in one additional subject. One mama … just one. Maybe Saturdays feel like a good poetry tea time day, it’s now summer so you can add on nature walks + journaling, or something freed up time to bake or cook together Friday nights.
Whatever it may be, make sure there’s room for you to prep, clean, or tackle that additional subject in addition to the time it takes to go through it. You want to dance with this additional subject, not be chugging two pots of coffee on-the-daily and banging your head against the wall. Choose well.
ADD IN YOUR SIGNATURE STYLE
My off the wall guess is if you’ve decided to homeschool you’ve already looked into all the styles; Waldorf, Montessori, Unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Brave Writer Life, Nature-schooling, not sure that’s a real thing, I’m forgetting some I’m sure, etc. My dad always told me variety is the spice of life, and that’s what we’ve ended up doing; a little bit of everything. We use methods that resonate with us as parents, but that the boys also gravitate towards because that’s where they’ll end up learning.
Whichever style/s you elect to use, on your Homeschool Focus list, make a note of the approach you want to use right now next to each subject. It can always change later, and likely will. Having it written down will help when you’re planning out what materials to gather from any curriculums you have purchased (the ones we use are listed here).
MAP OUT YOUR RHYTHM
Have you heard of the “Breathing In and Out” rhythm? I believe it comes from Waldorf, but it really makes sense to me and I’ve been observing how it’s a natural energetic rhythm my boys tend to flow in. Girls are more smooth sailing but follow it well too.
The idea is at specific parts of the day you breathe in (receive information and other input ie. exploring a subject, sleep, independent work, stories, meals), and other times you breathe out (interact outwardly with the things around you ie. outside play, social activities, art, creative subjects).
Now, you don’t have to follow this or get caught up in following it to a T. Multiple homeschoolers have mentioned how this flow is especially helpful with boys who tend to flow like a rollercoaster. Since I have two of them, the youngest being my wild child, so far it’s worked pretty well.
If you prefer to follow an hourly schedule, do that as long as you are all thriving under it! You don’t want to be or feel confined to a schedule then beat yourself up because you didn’t get to something on the list. Julie Bogart has an excellent episode on morning routines, the best I’ve found, and highly recommend you listen to it here – I implemented her 5 tips, along with the BIBO technique, and here’s what our simplified spring/summer *rhythm looks like (still being tested, and since we live in wild-weather-Indiana, this rhythm has to change with the seasons):
- (breathe out) kids wake up (bet 8/8:30), make beds, brush teeth, feed pets, free play or help with breakfast
- (breathe in) eat breakfast
- (breathe out) clean up, get dressed, calendar, and go outside – walk, study, play | if crappy out turn on music, play, games, exercise inside
- (breathe in) snack and read aloud and table time (English, math, geography)
- (breathe out) clean up, *chores, and free play
- (breathe in) lunch and independent work/play/educational app/tv time and I get some work in (maybe AB naps)
- (breathe out) grab a snack and go back outside if the weather is nice/indoor subject activity | bath time | start on dinner together
- (breathe in) dinner
- (breathe out) play together and pick up before bed, brush teeth, PJs
- (breathe in) read aloud and go to bed (around 9)
*chores – for us doing chores (vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, laundry) has seemed to work better after we’ve exercised the mind, and it comes at the perfect time of day when they need to move and the house needs attention. Sometimes the boys will “help”, or I pop a movie in and get it done.
*rhythm disclaimer – this rhythmic schedule is a guided plan for our day but it doesn’t mean it happens every single day. Sometimes, things get side swiped and the kids end up watching tv while I clean, I have to work so the kids watch a couple of movies and play educational apps, or we don’t do any of it and head to a play date or on an outing for the day. But I will say, giving them focused time early on in the day for lessons and quality time fills their emotional and educational tanks and helps me feel less guilty giving them a movie or educational app time while I focus on work for a couple of hours. There will be days you have to get your work done, and it’s ok, there’s always tomorrow.
And then I, quite literally, get to breathe out and in. I get time to unwind with hubby, do what I need to for the next day, wrap up any loose tasks, and I’m really trying to go to bed before 11 pm. My big goal is to get up around 5 am to have my own morning routine that fills my cup. That way I don’t feel like I’m trying to fill it during the day or when I’m with the kids. It really helps keep me centered.
Now if you’re a sudden-homeschooler, neither you or your kids are used to being home with one another days on end so I highly recommend having a little morning routine of your own, even if it’s 30 minutes, and here’s how you can create one. It will help, I promise. Even if it’s you just sitting at the table drinking hot coffee (and maybe a little chocolate) all alone for minutes, what a treat!
Give the BIBO idea a try and don’t forget to listen to Julie’s podcast, with her 20+ years experience, she puts things into an even better perspective.
The biggest thing to remember is your days will look different than everyone else’s because it’s entirely dependent on how old your kids are, any special needs, how many you have, and what things you need to get done during the day. The idea of creating a daily rhythm is for everyone to know what they’re supposed to be doing when, and since kids thrive on routines, it helps everyone.
Now that you have a plan that works to your family’s personality and strengths, let’s move on.
TIME TO TEST IT OUT
Look at the rhythm you’ve mapped out. How do you feel about it?
Do you feel good, excited, and inspired by it? Test it out! If you’re looking at it feeling apprehensive, overwhelmed or stressed, go back over it and simplify it some more. Start small. You can always add more later on.
I’ve discovered it’s been a much smoother transition into the rhythm if I get my kids involved by telling them what’s going on in their day.
I got these two chalkboards at Hobby Lobby and they’re in the living room – where we spend most of our time.
I let them (mainly VJ) know it’s not rigid, but it’s a guide we’re going to try and follow from now on and their input is always welcome. That way they feel included in the process which actually gets them excited about it. VJ’s a visual learner and having a board up like this has helped us refer to what comes next. He actually ends up remembering what’s next more than I do!
Of course, having something like this isn’t necessary. You could simply write it out on a sheet or dry erase and hang up in the kitchen or wherever the kids can interact with the daily rhythm. If you find, for instance, snacks provide a little brain food to help them concentrate before a lesson, switch it around. Do what works for you all. Our boys are 4 and 2 so getting their wiggles with a little dance party helps them sit better for table work.
ACTIVITIES + GETTING EVERYONE ON TASK
I can’t stress this enough … give yourself ample time to get materials gathered and set up for the week, and for each day. Otherwise, it ain’t gonna happen. I really try to take time on Sundays to figure out what we’re going to focus on in the coming week and compile all the stuff for the boys. If I don’t, I end up scrambling to come up with something, feel stressed, and my day feels a bit chaotic. You too? It’s definitely not smooth. Or honestly, the boys watch tv while I figure my *sh* out. So take some time, a couple of hours minimum, to print anything off and get stuff around.
If you want to really get ahead, map out what you’re going to be focusing on for the month, and then gather what you need weekly.
As far as getting the kids doing stuff … Oh, man … you have to just do it conductor style. After you go over the rhythm with everyone, from the time the kids get up you have to direct them to what they should be doing all day until they get into the rhythm themselves. And if it’s not happening that day, everyone’s on their own style of protesting, let it go and try again the next day.
RESOURCES FOR YOU AND KIDS
Next, if you’re looking for additional resources to help you through homeschooling (books, curriculums, podcasts) and educational stuff for the kids (apps, games, sites, book lists, podcasts), I’ve listed all the ones we use and listen to (and that have saved me in times of desperation) in this post, Our Favorite Educational Games, Apps + Podcasts for Homeschooling Kids 2+. Grab a coffee … it always makes researching 100x better!
So tomorrow morning, tonight, or when you can carve out an hour of time, list out all the subjects and topics that are important to you (and kids are interested in), add your preferred style/s, draft out a daily rhythm or two until you get one that feels good, and then put it to the test! Again, I’m a perfectionist/procrastinator, so I struggle with testing things out sometimes because I think they need to be “perfect” and procrastinate on actually trying – ridiculous? yes. But we have to test it out, for our own sanity and for our children. So know, while you’re figuring it all out, we’re still figuring it out too.
As always, if you need anything at all, even to talk something through, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email or connect with me on Instagram (I welcome the adult convos 🙂 ).
Blessings to you and family,
RATHER HAVE YOUR WEEKLY HOMESCHOOL PLAN ON A SPREADSHEET?
I like spreadsheets too. I created a couple of different options for us which I’m opening up for you to freely access. Choose the one you like best or create a plan that works for you!
NEED MORE CLARITY ON WHAT YOU EVEN WANT?
Sometimes it’s really tough to even know where to start when your brain is ping ponging around all these different ideas, influences, and thoughts. If that’s the case, I recommend trying out the Nurtured Mom Planning Guide I designed as kind of like a workbook to help you dump everything out of your head in a unique way, so you can feel more at ease deciding what to do or where to go next. Grab it below!
