Are you struggling through your homeschool days? Do you feel like you don’t have enough time? Are your kids resistant to you teaching them? We all have hard days, but there are some things you can do to improve your homeschool.
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1. Change Things Up
If the approach your taking now isn’t working, it’s probably time to change things up. You might just need to take a break, do some interest led learning, then come back to it.
Have you been taking a “school at home” approach? Check out some other education philosophies to see if one of those might work better for you.
Sometimes things just get stale and changing it up can re-inspire the whole family and improve your homeschool!
Related: 5 Secrets to Create a Magical Homeschool
2. Develop a Schedule
Getting a solid routine in place will help your whole day flow better! Creating predictability is so important for kids.
You are able to accomplish goals systematically and create anticipation for favorite activities!
Need help developing a routine? Check out our post for some advice: 7 Simple Steps to Create a Personalized Homeschool Schedule
3. Find Your People
You aren’t alone on this journey! Seek out other homeschooling families in your community. You and your kids will make friends and add a much needed social dimension to your homeschool.
If you can’t find any like-minded homeschooling groups, you might need to start a group yourself! Facebook is a great place to get a group started.
Related: How to Find Your Homeschool Tribe
4. Simplify
Take an honest look, are you trying to do too many things? I get it, we see the newest shiny curriculum and we think we need it. We get excited and try to read too many books and do a hands on project everyday. It can just become too much.
You don’t have to do it all! Try simplifying by reducing the load and see how it goes.
5. Plan Your Meals
Making meals can be so time consuming and it tends to take even more time when you don’t have a plan in place. Now, you don’t have to plan out a whole month, you don’t even have to plan out a whole week.
You can just plan 1 day in advance if it works better for you.
Personally, I have a 2 week meal plan that we stick to pretty much all the time. This way, we stay on budget and know exactly what we will be eating on which day.
6. Encourage Independence
This is more difficult with younger kids, especially if they can’t read yet. BUT if you have younger kids then you should only spend about 30 minutes max per lesson anyway.
You can encourage independence in younger kids other ways though. Independent play, teaching them to make certain foods, and having chores are great for them!
For older kids and teens, you can encourage them to be more independent and responsible with certain aspects of their learning too.
7. Stay Home More
If you are involved in co-op, take lots of classes outside the house, and participate in sports, you might need to cut back on some activities.
Your kids don’t have to be involved in everything. Have them choose only their favorite things to continue doing.
8. Focus on the Relationships
Don’t forget to always be building deeper connections and positive relationships with your kids. Don’t get so caught up in other things that you forget to do the most important task of growing great relationships with your kids.
Related: Create Connection in Your Homeschool
9. Celebrate!
Not just a, “Yay, Good job!” But a full on celebration for big accomplishments. Throw a little party and let them know you recognize how hard they have worked to reach a goal. It will be fun and your kids will feel awesome about themselves!
10. Read Aloud
Enjoying a book with your kids can be such a great time, even when they are older and can read themselves. You can read to them or enjoy an audiobook together.
11. Start Doing Poetry Teatime
This is such a fun weekly activity and encourages a love of poetry. Plus you can bake yummy treats and just slow down together for a little while.
Related: Fall Poetry Teatime
12. Model & Encourage Growth Mindset
Teaching kids to have a growth mindset is a game-changer! Teaching the benefits and importance of hard work, perseverance, and positive self-talk will serve your kids throughout their lives.
Favorite Growth Mindset Resource: Big Life Journal
13. Play Games
Board Games and Card Games can be so educational! They’re also fun and entertaining. Adding games to your homeschool days might be exactly what you and your kids need!
Related:
Give Them a Try!
Don’t feel like you need to do everything on this list. Instead, just try one thing at a time, if it works, awesome! If it doesn’t work, just let it go and try something else. You can get back to enjoying your homeschool days!
Did any of these 13 things improve your homeschool? Or did you find something else that worked for you? Leave a comment to share your experience!
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