There’s a surge of anxiety in the air as parents everywhere decide on what to do about their children’s education this coming term. The uncertainty of the pandemic situation has everyone looking for different alternatives, and a huge majority are leaning towards homeschooling or blended learning. Mara and I are both homeschooling mothers, and I’d love to share with you some insight on how you, too, can survive your first year of homeschool!
Ladies, it is not easy, we know this firsthand. But believe me when I say: if we can do it, so can you!
You’re on your time now
Guess what, you’re never gonna show up late for school! You don’t have to start at 8am everyday if you don’t want to. You get to decide when to begin, and when to wrap up. Ahh, the flexibility is refreshing. Hopefully, this makes you feel better already.
Your days don’t have to be as long as a regular school day. After looking over the curriculum and computing how long it would take to complete everything, I saw that I didn’t have to teach for more than 3 hrs a day. If we start at 8am we can be done by 11am. This worked for us. Do what works for you.
Routines are still key
Ok, even though you don’t have to start class at 8am, having a set routine will definitely help keep you on track. Plan out your weeks according to what looks comfortable for you and your child.
As a mama working from home, with a toddler, a 7 year old, and a husband with a packed schedule, it took a bit of trial and error to figure out what worked for us. Both of my kids are morning people. They are up at between 5:30 – 6 am (WHY?!!), so my toddler is down for his first nap by 8am. Once he’s settled, we dive in. This allowed us to work with a quieter atmosphere and I am able to solely focus on Noa.
I plan out my weeks every Sunday. This helps big time, and lessens my stress load by knowing exactly how our weeks are mapped out. So, for example, if I have a meeting in the morning during the time we usually hold class, I shift her lessons to a later time. Scheduling can be completely catered to your convenience.
Plan per semester
Homeschooling can be very lax in terms of scheduling. Mara and I are both registered with Homeschool Global. With HG you have the entire year to finish your child’s curriculum. I personally wanted my daughter to have a Christmas and summer vacation. Therefore, I planned out our year per semester. I asked myself, “How do I break down her semesters to where we are able to get three weeks off in Dec-Jan and two months off in the summer”?
Ask yourself these questions and compute.
Create or join a support group
I know a few other moms that homeschool, and they became my go-to if I had any questions. With the amount of kids learning from home this school year, I’m sure homeschool providers might take longer than usual to reply. Having other mamas you can rely on, ask questions, or simply just vent to is a lifesaver! I suggest teaming up with other moms that are using the same provider, and have kids that are in the same grade. It’s just easier this way.
Go easy on yourself!
Always remember that you are new at this! Give yourself room to learn, re-learn, and adjust. Teaching is a whole new ballgame- you are on the other end now. Well, kinda. You are learning to be a teacher, which isn’t easy, by any means. I do, however, believe that there is no better way to adapt than to be thrown straight into the fire.
Your patience will be tested. Like, for real
My daughter was in the first grade when we started.
I figured, “how hard could this be? It’s grade 1.”
OMG was I wrong. So, remember when you first became a parent and your patience was put to the test? You thought you might break, right? Well it’s about to happen all over again. No, I am not telling you this to scare you. I’m telling you so you can mentally prepare yourself. I’m also telling you so you can remember how far you’ve come since the days of being an impatient new parent. The same will happen here. You’ll be tested, you’ll probably go a little crazy, and then you’ll grow.
If you have someone to help you, include them, and agree on a schedule
Ok, so this is much easier said than done. When my husband and I decided to homeschool, I told him that he needed to help me out. Of course, he agreed. But when classes started, this guy probably helped me out about a handful of times. As much I wanted to blame him, I realized that I also didn’t really include him. I made the plans and never shared them. Then when he’d try to help out, I would just get frustrated. I was beyond annoyed with him, but I have to take some responsibility for it. I’m just gonna keep it real and say that there are things I just know I’m better at. Next time though, I’m definitely assigning him a subject or two from the start.
Take a step back
You will have both good and bad days. Let me briefly set the stage for what a rough homeschooling day looks like for me. I’m teaching Noa, and in my head she’s completely understanding everything I’m saying. Then when we move forward to the exercises, she continues to mess up and cannot figure it out. I explain the lesson several times, getting more and more agitated with each explanation. I’m saying things like, “this is so easy why don’t you get it”, which later ended with her crying. At this point, I’m pissed at her and myself (and my husband for talking me into this shit).
I had to remind myself that I don’t want my daughter to look back and remember me like this. I don’t want to ruin our bond over a lesson she didn’t pick up right away. Our relationship is WAY more important. So when I feel like she isn’t fully understanding things, and I begin to get frustrated, we take a break. We grab a snack, or separate and chill for a bit.
Same thing applies for total off days. If you or your child are having a rough day, and don’t feel like doing school, don’t. You will have days to catch up. It’s okay to take a break.
understand that There isn’t just one type of learner
If you don’t already know, find out what type of learner your child is.
This helps so much! The beauty of homeschooling is how much you learn about your child. There are things you may have overlooked or would have never even known if they had been attending regular school.
Growing up, I went to a traditional school and it was a traumatizing experience. It was hard for me to understand anything the teachers were talking about. I would start daydreaming five minutes into the lecture. I thought I was “stupid” for most of my time in school.
I didn’t realize then that the traditional setting was not an ideal space for me to learn. This was the number one reason I wanted to figure out what type of learner Noa was. I would never want her to feel less about herself if in any case she wasn’t a fast learner.
This led me to discover that Noa is a visual learner. She picks up the lessons fairly quickly, but there are times I will verbally explain something repeatedly and she just doesn’t get it. I noticed though, if there were charts, or pictures, she would understand so much faster. Knowing what works for her saves time and tears!
remember that Your child is not you
This is a big one. I’m sure some of you did amazing in school and it was probably your thing. In no way does this mean your child will feel the same way. Because you were the organized, overachieving smarty pants, you might expect your kid to have those same qualities. Do yourself a favor and don’t set any expectations. Go into this with an open mind and allow your child to take the lead, so they can show you how high to set the bar. Having goals are important, but they should also be reasonable.
There you have it. I hope this helps you! I know this can be a very daunting task, but I will say that you will be surprised at how great it feels to educate your child on your own terms. Trust the process and take it easy! With a little bit of organization and minimal yelling, this can be a pleasant experience for everyone involved.
Good luck, Mama!
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