BJU Press Blog

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How a New Homeschooler Balances Her Day

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about homeschooling. Even though I was homeschooled for more than six years, the idea of setting up my own homeschool is overwhelming. There’s a lot to think about and plan for. One topic that I’ve been researching lately is scheduling. One of the big benefits of homeschooling is flexibility in scheduling the school year. When you start and when you finish is completely up to you. But individual days need to be scheduled too if learning objectives are going to be met.

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How much flexibility should there be in the daily schedule?

One homeschool blog that I have found particularly helpful is No Twiddle Twaddle. The author, Bethany, is a new homeschool mom, and she has blogged a bit about their first year. Her post “10 Tips for Starting to Homeschool” is a great resource for those of us who are just getting started. I love the way that she adds personal illustrations to each of her big ideas.

In this post, Bethany mentions the need to balance flexibility with structure. First, she urges her readers to take advantage of the flexibility that homeschooling offers.

I found that allowing ourselves the enjoyment of the flexibility of homeschooling helped keep our family from getting stressed out by the demands of homeschooling, and it also helps my kids stay on task when they know that working hard means extra time for play.

But she also mentions the need for structure.

It’s great to be flexible, but I quickly found out that starting lessons late in the morning meant school stretched forever into the afternoon (which is no fun when the sun is shining outside). I also found that I needed to be firm about making my kid use the bathroom and eat a decent breakfast before school. You really can’t learn anything when you are taking a gazillion breaks.

Bethany’s comments about the need for balance in every homeschool was a good reminder for me. I doubt my homeschool will lack structure—I tend to be a very task-oriented person. But I need to remember to pay attention to the needs of my students. Nurturing my children is infinitely more important than crossing off the items on the daily to-do list. I imagine that schoolwork may need to be put off some days in order to deal with heart issues. And that’s OK.

The tips in Bethany’s article gave me a lot to think about. Among other things, she talks about the need for a support structure, for organization, and for being teachable and learning from our own mistakes. If you are like me and are thinking about taking the plunge into homeschooling, I recommend that you read the rest of her excellent blog post.

Homeschooling with a Newborn

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painted portrait of a mother and two children
Mother and Sara Admiring the Baby by Mary Cassatt/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

As my husband and I excitedly awaited the arrival of our third-born, I wondered how homeschooling would fit into the new family picture. Megan recently wrote a post about the challenge of transitioning to three children and about the soul-stabilizing truth of our changeless God. With that assurance, I sought out some specific tips to answer this question: how do you get back into a homeschooling routine when you have a little one that needs lots of attention?

Here are three I came up with. I’d love to hear your answers in the comments.

1. Welcome Others’ Help

Caring for a newborn while recovering from birth (not only physically but also emotionally, as I remember the postpartum blues that hung over me like fog after the birth of my firstborn) is not a task to handle alone. Reject the pride that wants to be supermom. We must mortify the resentment that tempts us when we don’t receive the help we didn’t ask for. Identify areas where others can assist and be humble enough to request aid.

Older siblings are often eager to help with a new baby. (It might take some convincing that washing the dishes is a great way to do that.) A husband, while bearing the responsibility of providing, often wants to support you at home as well. He just may be waiting for some direction on specific ways to lend a hand. Grandma is probably eager to spend time with the grandkids. (Now you just have to figure out how to convince her to move in permanently!)

Besides family members, allow your church family to use their various spiritual gifts to help with pressing needs (Galatians 6:2). An older woman or a teenage young woman who’d like to earn some extra income may jump at the chance to help once a week for a month or two.

How about bringing in an experienced and exciting teacher for each of your children’s subjects? This is possible through BJU Press Distance Learning. Another idea is to have a stock of educational videos, such as creation science videos, in your possession or from the library for those times when homeschooling seems impossible. A stack of well-chosen books can also promote independent learning.

2. Set Realistic Goals

Unreasonable expectations lead to burnout. Forget the grandiose Pinterest lists of craft ideas and the exotic field trips. Pare down your school plan to the bare basics for those first couple of months. After that, my babies tend to be sleeping better at night and settling into a routine that jives with our family’s new normal.

Set realistic goals for completing household chores as well. Spring cleaning and those new or time-consuming recipes can wait for another season in life.

Ask God to give you wisdom in choosing tasks and to give you strength in completing them. He is the Good Shepherd who will “gently lead those who are with young” (Isaiah 40:11 NKJV).

3. Respond with Flexibility

While I might prefer my family to march to my perfectly organized schedule, I don’t work in a factory, and I’m not raising robots. Having a plan is wise, but it takes wisdom to learn how to balance the plan with the needs of the various family members.

Most importantly, do my children see the Galatians 5 fruit of the Spirit in me? Do they hear love, joy, and peace in how I respond to spilled milk and see patience, kindness, and goodness when I’m trying to calm a newborn down for a nap? Do I show faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in helping a resistant child solve a math problem? These life lessons are even more important than the academic lessons I’m hoping to check off my daily planner.

Apart from Christ the Vine, I can do nothing (John 15:5). Daily, I must seek the Lord privately in my devotions, drawing nourishment from His Word, casting my cares on Him in prayer, and surrendering my will to His. Our sovereign God orders each day according to His plan, so I can serve Him from a heart of faith.

For those of you who have homeschooled with a newborn, what advice would you give for getting back into a homeschool routine?

10 Tips for Your Homeschool Year

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How is your homeschool day going? Sometimes, you have a plan, are able to start the year following the plan, and everything goes according to that plan. (A miracle, right?) But other years the plan just doesn’t work for whatever reason—sickness, a new baby, family emergencies, new co-op classes, a new curriculum, and so on. In case you’re having one of those years when the original plan just isn’t working, here are a few suggestions for planning the entire school year and tips for when you need to readjust your plan.

 

Tip #1—Set goals for your school year.

While you’re scheduling your school year, encourage your children to set their own goals for their education. What are some things they’ve been particularly curious about or have wanted to know? Look for ways to incorporate those things into the overall academic goals, and your child will feel like an active participant in his or her education.

Tip #2—Get organized; stay organized.

All the books, papers, pens/pencils, and such can start to get out of control. Find a system that works for you and your kids to keep all their school materials organized. It may be a basket or drawer system that keeps all the work for one subject in one place. Or you may have a shelf designated for each child, and only his school stuff goes on that shelf. And those fun but easy-to-lose manipulatives? Try keeping them in manila folders or envelopes organized by month for easy access.

Tip #3—Make balance a priority.

Focus on developing a homeschool routine that is structured enough to accomplish your goals without losing sight of your students’ (and your!) need for occasional changes of scene and pace.

Tip #4—Maintain “administrator” unity in your homeschool decisions.

Dad and Mom need to be in each decision together so that the kids don’t get the idea that they can pit one parent against the other. The “teacher” supports the “principal,” vice versa, and the family as a whole contributes to the overall needs of the family.

Tip #5—Don’t measure the effectiveness of your schedule by other homeschoolers’ schedules.

Focus on tangible measurements of success—such as your children’s ability to apply textbook knowledge to real-life situations—and spend whatever time is necessary to encourage their growth. Do the best you can with the time you have.

Tip #6—Set and stick to regular homework deadlines.

Don’t let the convenience of a more fluid schedule distract you from an integral part of your child’s preparation for college and the workforce.

Tip #7—Organize a “school basket” for younger children to use during school hours.

Each younger child should have his or her own basket but only have access to it during the older children’s work hours. Fill the basket with fun activities, educational toys, interesting picture books, and puzzles that the child can do on his or her own.

Tip #8—Don’t let your curriculum completely determine how and what you teach.

Curriculum is a tool—a wonderful tool—but only you can decide how best to use it for your children. Capitalize on your students’ learning strengths while alternating with other learning styles to help them grow. For example, consider reading tests and homework assignments aloud to aural learners while having them follow along on the printed pages.

Tip #9—Keep detailed academic records.

You’ll need a selection broad enough to show your child’s curve of improvement throughout the school year. Remember, you can always throw out unneeded papers later, but you can’t get them back once they’re gone.

Tip #10—Enjoy homeschooling!

Life is short and you only have so much time with your children. The more prepared you are for the school year, the more time you will have to enjoy it and your children.

What other tips would you add to this list?