This past weekend was the event that my entire family looks forward to…..Homeschool Convention! I know it is crazy but every year when it gets close we all get super excited. For my husband and I, we love the classes and picking out curriculum, and the kids love the food, hotel room, freedom, lack of schedule and swimming. Everybody is happy on convention weekend.
Having the quirky personality that I do taking notes and attending classes is fun for me. It is odd but I love to take notes and see how other people homeschool. Then I come home and add it to my homeschool with adjustments for our family. Let’s face it, what works for one family does not work for another!
After attending as many of the classes that I could hit (the children were not happy by the end to be picked as my guest) and taking several notes next year looks to be a little more organized. Ha! I will probably have it all figured out by the time they all graduate.
Here is a few tips I picked up:
1. Get up earlier than your kids.
Depending on what season you are in will dictate how early you should rise. If you have babies that get up close to 5:30 that may be a starting point. Try nursing/giving them a bottle and then let them sleep until 8:00am. That would give a few solid hours to work on housework, prayer, or bible study.
2. Pre-Plan Your Homeschool Day:
Pre-planning will allow you to incorporate field trips, and unit studies into your days. The whole point of homeschool is to work at your own pace. It will also help you to gather together the supplies that you will need. No more wasting time in the middle of a lesson.
3. Talk To Your Kids, Not At Them.
This one was a big one for me. I like to delegate and give responsibilities, but when they come to me with whatever is on their mind whether it is a toy, or an idea I rush them along. Instead, after hearing this in a meeting I have made it a point to sit down no matter what I am doing and give them eye contact. My children need to know that their stories and ideas are important.
4. Boys Have A 30 Second Attention Span.
I have all boys so this has been noted when giving directions. Boys need physical things to do and are not fond of talking. To implement a new strategy for my end I have tried to do something with them like play catch or take a walk. Then when they are comfortable I start a conversation. Or, just listen. You really do learn more from them by just listening.
5. Stop Wasting Time.
I’m REALLY bad about wasting time. Sometimes I just sit. No reason. Just movement at that point and time seems exhausting. The internet, phone, ipad, email, TV, and worrying are all time wasters. Of course I know they are time wasters. At times I even remind myself when I am in the middle of a TV program that I am wasting time and then later cannot complain that something did not get done. For me, I justified my time wasting because I had the kids all day and I deserved to do nothing until bed. Then the next day play catch up on my homeschool time. After seeing the error of my ways this week the facebook app, and Pinterest app have been deleted off of my IPAD and phone. I only use them on my computer, and set a timer. Secondly I choose one TV show per night, then after that I do my bed routine and wrap up a blog post or read. Then the next day I focuse completely on my home and children during the day. No cheating at all. At least for this week. If I had a 9-5 job and decided to “just take a break and look at the internet” then I would not be employed for long. My children deserve the same kind of mentality, and no more mulit-tasking during homeschool.
As moms we get tidbits of advice everywhere. Some of it is used, and some of it is discarded. What advice have you been given that you used?
Cheers!
Michelle
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