The job of homeschooling children isn’t easy. It takes preparation, patience, and an ability to roll with things as they come up. There are lots of ways to run your homeschool, so you can customize it to meet the needs of your child and your home. Here are five tips to make homeschooling easier that can be applied to any style of homeschooling.

 

Plan Ahead

As a homeschooling parent, the biggest thing you can do to make homeschooling easier for you and your kids is to plan ahead. Think about what you want to work on that week, and map that out early so you’re not stressing last minute. Then the night before make sure you have copies of print-offs you need the next day. Restock their desks with paper or pencils. Have all supplies on hand so you don’t have to load the kids up in the car and rush out that morning to find supplies. A little bit of advance work will help you feel less stressed and you’ll likely have a smoother day.

 

Build A Routine

Kids respond well when they know what to expect. Build a daily routine that works for your kids. Have a set start time every day so they know when to be at their desk and ready to work. You may not need a set end time because some kids may work through the curriculum faster than others, but it’s helpful to build an order of subjects. Every day starts with math, then science, then reading, etc. Your kids will know they can get through the subjects that aren’t their favorites and look forward to the ones that are. Plus, knowing they will have free time when they get through their mandatory assignments will help them stay on task to get done sooner.

 

Meal Prep For The Week

If you’re planning what the kids are working on throughout the week, why not take that planning to another level and plan what they’ll eat too. Meal planning and prepping will help you reduce the time spent in the kitchen during the day. The less time you have to spend making meals, the more time you can give your kids to help with homeschooling or even just quality time together.

On the weekend, take some time to plan out the week of meals. This can be a good opportunity for your kids to learn about planning, prepwork, and budgeting too. Once you have your meal plan, head to the store and grab your ingredients. Then come home and prepare your meals. If you don’t like reheating food, your prepwork could include all of the washing and chopping of vegetables so there’s less to do while cooking. If you’re comfortable with reheating, cook your food and divide it up into containers for the week. When lunch rolls around, all you have to do is pop the container into the microwave.

 

Allow For Free Time

Kids are going to need breaks throughout the day and so will you! While building your schedule, don’t be afraid to allot scheduled free time. During that time kids can read, craft, play outside, or do whatever hobby they like for that scheduled amount of time. When it’s time to regroup for the rest of the school work, they’ll feel refreshed and ready to focus again.

 

Build In Time For Extracurriculars

Being homeschooled doesn’t mean missing out on physical education or music. Build in time throughout the day to get your kids active. If they’re into sports, sign them up for a league and that can be their P.E. If they want to learn music, but don’t know where to start, sign them up with a teacher, or check out one of Happy Camper Live’s virtual music camps. If you don’t know a skill, your kids can still learn from someone else. That’s the beauty of the internet! There are so many virtual classes that can teach a new skill.

Good luck on your homeschooling journey!