Homeschooling wasn’t much of the norm until schools started shutting down. Parents were lost and confused about what to do just so their children can continue learning while keeping them busy (and sane). Now that we’re accustomed to it, we think this could work out for the best. Plus, homeschooling tips could help us power through this process.
Here are some tips for homeschooling for parents who are both just starting and those who want to sustain this learning style for their kids.
Find free educational content
Especially in the wake of schools shutting all over the country, there’s an increased need for educational support. Tons of bloggers will be offering guides and templates, and many of them will be free!
Start with homeschooling blogs for their downloadable content.
Invest in some classroom materials
If you can, it’s worth getting a big world map for the wall, or a globe to help with geography.
These homeschool classroom ideas will help the kids feel more like they’re in a familiar learning environment and they will support you when you give lessons.
Incorporate home tasks into lessons
Take a break from the workbooks and learn a skill. Help your kids learn to follow a recipe as you cook lunch or dinner together.
Talk about the science behind basic foods like the chemical compound for table salt, or what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar.
Cover the hard subjects first
If your child is struggling with certain subjects like math, teach that in the morning when they’re most alert and their mind is still fresh. Save the easier subjects for later in the day when motivation is fading.
Encourage a reading culture for the whole family
Instead of reading alone and in silence, read aloud together often.
You as a parent can read to your child, siblings can read to one another, and your child can read to you. You can also consider using audiobooks for some lessons.
Switch it up
You might not expect this item in a list of homeschool organization tips, but switching things up will help you organize your lessons and your target learning objective. Look for ways to spice up regular activities.
For example, tell your kids to answer questions in different voices. It’s funny, encourages creativity, and will get them more engaged!
Use a different room of the house for one subject, move around, and sing songs. Use your creativity to keep lessons interesting.
Take breaks
There will be times when both you and the kids get frustrated or overwhelmed especially when you work with younger children.
Don’t let it discourage you and let simple homeschooling tips for kindergarten such as this work wonders!Â
It’s as simple as taking a break. If you organize set breaks throughout the day it makes it easy to avoid the levels of frustration building. You don’t want to only take breaks when it becomes too difficult.
Don’t feel pressured to have your lessons jam packed
Kids have more breaks than you would initially realize throughout the day. Maybe they’re waiting for other kids to finish their work, or they’re walking to another classroom, those little breaks add up.
You don’t have to feel like your student needs to be busy for every minute of every day. The breaks will help you both stay sane during tough lessons.
Prepare for the lessons in advance
Even if it’s just scanning over the day’s reading materials, assignment requirements, or workbook pages, with your morning coffee, it will go a long way in preparing you for any questions your children might have.
Use sensory activities
Tailor sensory activities to the needs of your child. A student who is oversensitive to sound might be helped with soothing music.
A child with an underdeveloped sense of touch should be encouraged to use tactile sensations by touching items that are soft, rough, slimy, wet, etc.
Exercise all the learning styles
Oral, visual, physical, and auditory. Incorporate some music, get the kids up and moving, make sure they’re engaged by speaking and not only listening.
If you know what style of learning works best for your child you can cater more of the lessons towards that style, but it’s still important to expose them to a lot of different methods.
The visual of their progress is more engaging.
Have a good planner/scheduling tool
Okay this one is super easy because who doesn’t love a fresh and sleek notebook?
So homeschooling is the perfect excuse to go buy yourself the perfect planner. Maybe treat yourself to a couple special pens while you’re at it.
That way, you can properly manage your time especially if you’re both homeschooling and working.
Get inspiration and homeschooling tips from others
There are homeschooling templates online from full time homeschool parents, and you can use those templates to help guide your lessons. You don’t have to start from scratch – you can cheat a little bit.
Theme your lessons
Put a festive spin on some of the lessons to keep them topical.
We all remember the traced-hand turkey cut outs the kids bring home every Thanksgiving – activities like that are fun and still in keeping with the curriculum.
Don’t take on too much
Committing to too many extracurriculars can leave both you and your kids overwhelmed. Try some different activities and reevaluate your commitments throughout the year to see if something should go.
Takeaway
These homeschooling 101 tips are easy to follow and very much doable. It needs constant practice and determination so that these homeschooling tips would work for you and your children. Enjoy the process, and see your kids learn and grow!
Source: Pinterest, CBS, Today.com, Fearless Homeschool, Abeka, Confessions of a Home Schooler