~8 tips for Homeschooling~

There are many reasons to homeschool and many different approaches. Homeschooling is not easy, the thought of your child’s education resting solely on your shoulders is quite frankly terrifying. At the same time though because it is your child you know you will fight harder for them than anyone else. Here are some of my top tips for homeschooling:

1. Above all BE PATIENT! It may take a lot of learning but be patient with your child and yourself, you will need it! Patience helps with all things and can be the deciding factor between a good or bad day.
2. Have a clear plan of what you want to accomplish. It makes things run smoother much of the time when you have a good school plan. An important thing to keep in mind though is to leave wiggle room with the schedule. One of the greatest things about homeschool is the fact you can slow down and take your time with something if your child needs to.
3. Explore all sorts of resources. The internet can be a wonderous thing as it is filled with free resources and lots of great ideas to match with lessons. There are fun worksheets and projects galore!
4. Come up with lots of hands-on activities. A lot of people learn things better and quicker with hands-on activities. To practice an idea is easier to understand than just reading about it.
5. Know when to take a break. Sometimes you just want to get things done but there are times when it is beneficial for everyone to take a step back and take a little break. 15 minutes is sometimes all you need, then go back to what you were doing and it will be easier.
6. Join a homeschool group. Some people join groups in person around their town and some join groups on social media. You can pick and choose groups that match with your style, there are groups that are predominately Christian based and some that are Secular. It is a big help to get info from other homeschool parents and in this way you can find all sorts of resources you may not have found otherwise.
7. Study things that your kids are directly interested in as electives. Make sure your kids are included in extra activity planning. Find out if they want to try and learn a new language or study specific animals or learn how to crochet. This is a fun time that you may learn new things as well.
8. Have an area that is strictly devoted to the organization and storage of your homeschool materials. We have used a shelf and now are using a pantry to keep all of our things together and organized. It helps a lot when you know where everything is and that it is neat.

I hope some of these helped in some way. If you have any questions or want to learn about cool resources, let me know! Are there some tips you think should be included? Tell me about it in the comments!