How to Love Homeschooling
I love homeschooling. It’s been the means of so much joy in my life, and I can’t imagine the last 23 years without the fun of reading aloud with my children, making crafts together, field trips, nature walks, painting, writing, and yes, even math. I’ve learned so much through the years, but a few simple mental shifts have definitely made it more enjoyable.
Let go of comparison
All children develop at a different rate, and comparison is a major joy killer. When you see a friend whose child seems to be more advanced than yours, take a moment to ascertain if your child is growing and learning new things, or if there is a lack of effort on your part or your child’s. If the answer is yes to growth, and no to lack of effort, then forget it and move on. Wallowing in feelings of less than because of another family’s experience is a major joy killer.
Observe your child
Observe how they learn, what gets them excited, and what they want to learn. When you make your school plans around what will actually work for your child, you can avoid so many meltdowns and power struggles, and get more joy out of homeschooling.
Incorporate creativity
Children learn just as much from putting together a Tinker Crate, or following a recipe as they do from completing a worksheet, but they often have more fun doing the creative activities. Take time to understand what they need to learn and then find creative ways to help them learn it.
Don’t underestimate free time
Giving your children tech free, free time is a great way to let them learn, and give you an opportunity to regroup and observe. As they pursue their own interests in uninterrupted free time, you can evaluate what they do know and what they want to know more about.
Develop healthy rhythms
This might not seem like the fun part of homeschooling, but when some basics are non-negotiable, you can carve out more time to enjoy homeschooling. If you have to fight every day over tooth brushing and meal clean up, you will lose time that could be spent sitting on a blanket looking at leaves, or watching a great documentary together, or baking bread, activities that have tons of educational worth, but often get pushed out by too much time spent on basic routines and skills.
Our Peaceful Press elementary parent guides are designed to help you love homeschooling. You can study European history with The Kind Kingdom, world history with The Precious People, or American history with The Playful Pioneers and make this your best homeschool year!
What helps you love homeschooling? Leave a comment and share your insight.