What Homeschooling Really Looks Like with Boys

Planning, organizing, pretty pictures and nice neat homeschool rooms are not realistic when teaching boys. Take the chairs out of your homeschool room because they like to stand. Don’t label and organize each book on the shelf. They don’t care how it goes back. Don’t plan out the day minute by minute, have  a general idea of what needs to be done. Finally, wipe all visions of a perfect day from your brain. That is what homeschooling boy’s really looks like.

There are easy ways to balance it all. Over the year’s I have implemented tasks that help with balancing homemaking and homeschooling.

Homeschooling is always done first in our home, then after that I take care of the homemaking. In addition to this I say with all things give yourself grace. Homeschooling won’t look like you thought, and neither will homemaking.

Energy and Motion

My sons are full of energy, motion, and active behaviors. Trying to homeschool the traditional school way was impossible. I needed to step out of the box and meet them where they are. Boys are wired differently than girls! Yeah, I know that is a shocker. Hear me out. Embrace the active behavior. Forget about sitting down to learn. Worksheets are ok for a time but not all day. Put yourself in the mindset of a boy and his current age. Then plan the lesson.

My journey into homeschooling boy’s came from a determined mama mindset. I did not want the end of the day exhausted feeling of school. Struggles and a boxed routine that came from what I thought they should be doing instead flowing with them and how they learning. Letting go of the pretty, organized pictures that I saved on Pinterest of the homeschool room. Embracing their need to move instead of requiring them to sit. Boy’s are free and full of motion.

Our day has a little bit of sitting, rotation of subjects, sometimes crazy nature adventures, one on one time, worksheets, art, and exercise time with games or movement. People ask me how I teach my own children, but I can’t imagine not teaching them. Teaching my boy’s is funny that I learned to let go. The bond we share is strong. I know them, and they know me.

Embrace the different personalities

No two children are alike. No two personalities are the same. Once this realization hit me homeschooling boy’s, all of them at once became easier. Trying to force cooperation does not work.  I know who can sit by each other, who cannot, and when to separate children to get quiet work done. Everything can not be done together all of the time. Most of our time is spent together, some is independent learning time to give some space.

Since homeschooling has made me think about the different personalities that come with each child, I am more able to assess situations. Some days the problem could be too much talking, playing, horsing around, or arguing. No two days are the same. My job as homeschool mom/teacher is to teach. If I can’t teach they cannot learn. In my bag of tricks must be different ways to mange a problem.

Homeschooling is my job. I would have to manage different personalities in a working world. Knowing how to manage with a plan keeps the drama down and enables me to do my job. Now, do I write down on a piece of paper exactly what to do? No. I have an idea of a fews ways to work with the kid’s if it seems we are not all on the same page.

Random moments to remember

Looking back is what keeps me moving ahead. Success for me looks like reading, laughing, learning, accomplishment of a hard story problem and many other daily occurrences. People that do not understand and cannot conceive of homeschooling do not see these daily successes.

Success for each homeschool mom is different. Writing down what your past success looked like and how it felt is what will fuel your homeschool. The small daily interactions that warm your heart is what keeps my loving the highly active and energetic job.

Homeschooling boy’s is easy when you embrace the energy, love their personality, and reminisce about the random moments that make it worthwhile.

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