Crash Course In Homeschooling From a 6+ Year Veteran

Okay, so you’ve been forced to homeschool because of this weird science-fiction movie we are living called “Coronavirus.” Whether you’re legitimately anxious, annoyed by the hype, worried about loved ones, stressed over finances, or anything in between — if you’ve been suddenly thrust with the bulk of your children’s educational responsibility, that is stressful! My decision to homeschool came from months and months of planning. Yours not so much! I feel for you!

Here are a few things I would say. A few steps.

1. Thank God for this opportunity. Deep breath. You wanted children in the first place so you could spend time with them, invest in them.. right? Well, here is a not-so-cleverly disguised opportunity to do just that! Is it inconvenient and overwhelming? Maybe, but it is what it is: you have precious hours to spend with your children that you did not have before. From what the old ladies say when they stop me in the Target checkout, we will miss these days. So enjoy this new (unexpected, stressful) task for what it is: a gift.
2. Determine your end goal. Here are a few options:
   1. Keep my kids from getting bored.
   2. Not be annoyed with my kids all day long.
   3. Complete the assignments from their school.
   4. Make memories together.
   5. Take this opportunity to work on a skill in my kids (reading, yard work, baking, helping with a baby, math concepts, responsibility etc)

You probably have a combination of some of these. What’s your number one objective of these choices? Because that will inform your choices about how you spend your (potentially long) days.

I’m already the weirdo who has her kids home with her all the live long day by choice, but can I make a teensy plug for option number 4? You suddenly have so much time together. More time than you would ever want to have. I have no idea what would be fun for your actual family…whether it’s a Nerf battle, or cozying by a puzzle, or playing Exploding Kittens or whatever — but include a few of these in your day.

My book —–> Memory-Making Mom!

HOWEVER. I’d be naive to tell you you can make it three weeks on Hoot Owl Hoot and baking cookies. This is more of a marathon kind of situation. With that said, here are a few guiding principles.

ps. If you have not reserved a giant stack of books from your library, do that ASAP before the libraries close, and disinfect those puppies!!

1. PRINCIPLE ONE: CONTROL. YOU ARE THE BOSS. Repeat it after me. I AM THE BOSS. When I taught school a co-worker told me not to smile before Christmas. This homeschool thing will crumble to pieces if they think it’s optional. If you intend on getting anything concrete done, you need to hold a family meeting on Day 1. I encourage people to appeal to a higher authority. Like this. “Guys, I got an email from your teacher. She or he has a VERY LONG list of things we HAVE to go through in order to not fail third grade.” Or this. “Guys, our governor is sending everyone home with their work, and he says we HAVE to complete it.” Or even to make Dad the authority. And Dad says, “You guys WILL obey Mom for the next few weeks. Period.”
2. PRINCIPLE TWO: ROUTINE. You must have a routine or things go absolutely bonkers. Even if you’re a go-by-the-flow type of Mom, you know instinctively that I’m right, remembering from summer that 14 hours can get real old, real fast. Our days got 100% better when we implemented our daily chore charts. Here is a picture of ours. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD. (This is from my friend Katie Clark. Thanks Katie!)

4. PRINCIPLE THREE: MORNING TIME. “Morning time” is a homeschool-trendy way to describe a cozy gathering in your day. We sing a song together, read a chapter book, read a poem, pray, and have tea or a snack (sometimes, when I’m on it). This is, I have a hunch, the thing I will look back and treasure most about homeschooling. You could do a mini version of this with smaller children who aren’t accustomed. You could simply read a few books, a devotional, sing a song. I like how it “starts” your school day with intention and…well… hygge, if you know what that word means. 🙂

5. PRINCIPLE FOUR: WORK. If your kids are bored, give them work. I wrote a whole blog post about this but I will tell you making kids work is magical for everyone. I have my ten-year-old sanding our back deck right now. He is getting paid! It’s a big job. Sometimes they don’t get paid.

6. PRINCIPLE FIVE: PERSPECTIVE. your life is different now. You will not – I repeat, you will not, get as much done as before. That is okay. For this teensy spurt of time, you have a different job. You may not be able to send as many emails

7. PRINCIPLE SIX: SUPPLIES. So even after you’ve done your schoolwork, they may be needing stuff to do. Here are a few ideas. ps. Your kids may not *want* to do these at a particular juncture in time. Make them do it for ten minutes. This is our rule: if you’re bored, I can tell you what to do for ten minutes. Nine times out of ten, my kids want to keep going. If they don’t, I usually let them stop.

• Scratch coding
• Mickey’s Typing Adventure
• LEGOs
• Mosaic Sticker Art
• puzzles (This puzzle is awesome for older kids and adults!)
• play Doh
• Dyed rice
• Here is a list of education companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings. Thanks to the Mom who shared this somewhere!
• If you feel like adding some curriculum, this is awesome list by Ambleside online about how to teach many subjects.
• Whittling with a pocket knife.
• Practicing sports (Yes, many of our sports are canceled. Make them go outside and shoot 30 baskets, drive 25 golf balls into a net, practice swinging their bats, etc.)
• ArtHub for kids online. If you have not checked this out, do it!
• Yoga for Kids online.
• Watch CNN10.
• Listen to a book on Hoopla while coloring.
• Playing “Chopped Jr” outside with nature supplies. My kids LOVE this. I judge a winner for each round 😉
• Doing a workout for kids.

Here is the bottom line. Do not be afraid of boredom. Lots of wonderful things happen in the boring “down time.” Yes, life is different for awhile. It’s different for us parents, for our kids, for many in other countries, for many in hospitals. We are fortunate and blessed to be at home, and our kids can learn well-needed character lessons like patiences and contentment and discipline. And let’s face it…so can we.

Good luck and God speed!!!

Follow "Smartter" Each Day on Facebook!

Follow Jessica on Instagram!