planning

6 Tips for Homeschool Success as a Single Parent: You Can Do This!

February 9, 2021 by Guest Writer

Hi, everyone! I am a single working parent and a homeschool mom. That’s right! I work full-time as a registered nurse in an oncology ICU. I am also a mother to the sweetest 4th grader in the world, and I homeschool him. Last year if someone told me I was going to be a homeschool mom, I would’ve told them they had the wrong person. Well, here we are, 2021, and homeschooling is happening in my home!

During my homeschool research, I didn’t come across any articles or blogs about homeschooling as a single parent. I am sure there are many single parents who are a part of the homeschool community. However, I just didn’t find resources. Now I have been homeschooling for about 7 months, and I have to be honest—it’s going pretty well! Here are some tips that have helped me manage parent-led homeschool along with working and raising a 9-year-old.

6 Time Management Tips for Your Homeschool

November 3, 2020 by Arianna

As a homeschool parent you juggle teaching, housework, cooking, shopping, loving your family, and working from home daily! Perhaps you want to be better at time management, but you don’t know where to start. Time management is not as far out of reach as you might think. Here are a few tips you can implement into your routine to help you manage your schedule better.

Learn how to be a time management pro…

3 Tips for Transitioning to Year-Round Homeschooling

May 19, 2020 by Megan

A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to dramatically change our homeschooling routine. We moved from homeschooling using a traditional school year calendar to homeschooling year-round. I wrote about the reasons we chose to move to a year-round schedule in the post “3 Reasons to Homeschool Year Round.”

We have not regretted our choice to homeschool year-round, but the transition was a bit challenging. If you’re considering switching to year-round homeschooling, here are some tips to help you on your way.

Plan Your Calendar

Set Up a Routine

Homeschooling year-round will give you a lot of flexibility with your schedule, but you still need a plan. You still must meet your your required number of days or hours. I do recommend setting up a routine—it will help your child immensely to know what you expect on any given day. Some families choose to homeschool five days a week for a set number of weeks and then take a week or two off. My family has adopted a four-day-a-week schedule, and we try to take the same day off every week.

Plan Time Between School Years

It will also help your family if you plan a multi-week break between school years. I have found that I need time to mentally wrap up our school year, pack away any curriculum I hope to reuse in the future, and give myself a “breather” before starting all over again. I usually plan on a four to five week break between school years. Having that longer break also gives a “freshness” to the new school year that allows me to make changes to old routines more easily.

Communicate Your Homeschool Plan

If you are planning to homeschool year-round, you will want to communicate your plans to any homeschool umbrella organizations that you may be a part of. My family is a part of the Academy of Home Education (AHE), and every year we email AHE a copy of our planned yearly homeschool calendar which we usually create in Excel. Based on our calendar, AHE adjusts our reporting deadlines so that we don’t incur late fees.

Anticipate the Need for Adjustments

Adjust Your Curriculum

You will have to make some adjustments along the way. For example, the BJU Press spelling curriculum is set up for a five-day school week, which did not fit well with our four-day week. In order to avoid the possibility of having to take a spelling test after a three-day break from school, we decided that we needed to do spelling five days a week, even on our “day off.” It was an easy adjustment.

Adjust Your Grade Reporting

We also had to make some adjustments to our grading and reporting. Our quarters are usually 11 to 12 calendar weeks long, which at first glance, doesn’t fit very well with the nine-week grade reporting forms required by our homeschool organization. But this was an easy fix as well—we just ignored the calendar’s weekly divisions and counted every five days as a “week.”

Our family has really been blessed by year-round homeschooling, and I’m sure yours will be as well. I hope that some of these tips will make your transition easier. If you still need help, reach out to one of your local HomeWorks consultants—they are there for you!

When Life Happens, But School Doesn’t

February 11, 2020 by Guest Writer

You had big plans this morning; lesson plans prepared, schoolbooks and supplies laid out, desks cleaned and organized. Projects and tests were going to be completed, units were going to be finished—you were even going to get ahead! But sometimes, life happens and school doesn’t.

Derailed Plans

Instead of helping to solve math equations, you had to resolve conflicts between siblings. Your toddler decided to conduct his own “science experiment” in the bathroom, which caused an extra hour of work for you to clean up. So you had to replace history lessons with lessons on obedience and respect. And potty training replaced spelling. On top of all this, you had the normal household responsibilities of laundry, cleaning, and meal prep. In between, there were nap times, diaper changes, and feedings. Just when it looked like you’d be able to squeeze in some school time, you had to hustle the kids off to music lessons and sports practices. When you got home, it was time to fix dinner. It was all you could do to make it to the kids’ bedtime so you could crash on the sofa and reclaim a little bit of your sanity.

Low Ebb

Weary, discouraged, and frustrated may best describe you at this moment. You may be tempted to think that you failed because you didn’t get any schoolwork accomplished. It’s easy to think that today was a total waste because all you had time for was that other stuff. You may be surveying a room strewn with toys that didn’t get put away before bed. You might be inwardly groaning at the thin layer of dust on the furniture you didn’t get to clean. But before you unload your frustrations on your husband or on Facebook, take a moment to hear from the experiences of a fellow homeschool mom who’s been right where you are.

Hope for Tomorrow

Let me reassure you by saying that these days are not a waste. When my daughters were little, I sometimes felt like all I did was correct, discipline, chase after them, and clean up after them. I’ve also cried out, disheartened, with, “I got nothing done today!” But I also learned something: education is important, but it cannot replace godly parenting. Sometimes you have to delay school so you can be the wife and mom you’re meant to be. Our first priority must be to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Prov. 22:6). When you choose to put God and your family first, you are teaching your children an invaluable lesson. They will see that you value them—and God—more than lesson plans, good grades, or a clean house. Commit each day to God. Try to make school happen. But even if only life happens, remember that it can happen for God’s glory if we live the day for Him.

• • • • •

Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and mom of two young girls and loves homeschooling them. During her own twelve years of being homeschooled, Jennifer developed a passion for reading and writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and relishes writing during her free time.

Picnics with Friends at the Park

June 26, 2018 by Guest Writer

Need an idea for a good summer activity with other homeschool families? Plan a picnic! Picnics are fun, inexpensive, simple to organize, and provide a great opportunity to fellowship with other homeschool families. Whether it’s just two families getting together or several, you can make a picnic as structured or laid back as you want. And what better place to have it than at a local park? With play areas and plenty of green space, it’s the perfect spot to let kids burn off energy while parents get a chance to chat.

First Things First

Now for the planning part, which is the most important in order to have a successful picnic. After you and the other families decide where and when to meet, make a list of possible activities that everyone can enjoy. For example, older children can participate in a scavenger hunt. Ask some of the parents to think of different objects to hide around the park, and then either write down clues or draw a map for the kids to follow. Younger children can play games such as kickball, freeze tag, blind man’s bluff, dodgeball, and so on. They could also have a three-legged race or a water balloon toss. If the adults want, they can bring cornhole, croquet, bocce ball, horseshoes, or other simple games. Some familes can volunteer to bring the necessary items for these different activities.

Getting the Word Out

Social media, email, and texts are great ways to communicate and coordinate more efficiently. There should be at least one “point person” the group can contact with information and questions. This will help avoid confusion and ensure that all the details are taken care of. Whichever method you use to communicate, send out a simple list of what each family is bringing.

Chow Time

Of course, there’s another very important part of the picnic—the food! It may be easiest to have each family bring their own food and drinks; but if people choose to, they can sign up to bring their favorite dishes to share with everyone else. Again, send out a list of what each family is contributing. And remind families to bring their own plates, cups, plasticware, and napkins.

Go with the Flow

Now all that’s left is to come and enjoy a good time with other families at your well-planned summer picnic! Be willing to be flexible; you may find that some of the children would rather stay on the playground than join in organized activities, or that the adults prefer to eat and talk instead of playing games. That’s OK; remember, the goal is to fellowship and have fun with local homeschoolers, and having a picnic is one of the best ways to do just that.