If you are like the majority of the world, you have been thrown into your homeschooling journey without consciously making that choice. It is never easy to be made to do something but I am here to help you make your time at home a success. You can do this! One step at a time and you can conquer any mountain placed before you.
When I think of big changes I often think of New Year Resolutions. The new year, new me mindset. People aren’t happy with their life or something in their life and suddenly they want to change everything. Oy. That is not the way to set yourself up for success, sudden change. What does set you up for success is the simple changes that will change your lifestyle a degree at a time. Homeschooling is the same way in the beginning.
Start Your Homeschool Journey Slowly
For many of you, your homeschool journey will be short and sweet but for others this will be the beginning of a wonderful adventure. My suggestion is not to jump right in with both feet. Being overwhelmed is not easy especially for Mom’s with kids that need their attention. When you are being pulled in many different directions it is not in your best interest to add unnecessary weight to your current work load. I know this because I’ve been there, overwhelmed with homeschool options even when we chose this lifestyle for our family.
Instead of jumping in with both feet and making a 180 degree change start with one thing.
I would suggest adding a Morning Time to your home. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want but simple is the easiest way to start, you can add as needed.
Why Should You Add Morning Time To Your Daily Routine?
Morning time adds a grounding experience to your day. A time set apart for you to gather and connect with one another. This looks different for every family and that’s how it should be because every family is different.
Our morning time starts once the kids are dressed and beds are made. We have already had breakfast and studied our scriptures. If you aren’t religious you can easily substitute scriptures with meditation or journaling.
I have a basket full of books that we read, we call it our morning basket simply because we use it in the morning. We snuggle up, usually on our couch and read. We talk about the books, what’s happening in them, how we would handle the situation and ask questions. Its the best! My big’s teach the little’s and the little’s pick up tidbits that the big’s share.
What Should We Put In Our Morning Basket?
We gather a variety of books that cover as many subjects as possible. The entire basket does not get read everyday. We just read until the squirming is out of control or my voice is in dire need of a break. When we first started reading daily my voice was done after 10 minutes. Now I can read for over an hour without my throat hurting. The kids are usually done listening before my voice gives out which is fabulous.
A few other ideas for your basket are flash cards (math, sight words, phonics, etc.), scripture memorization, trivia cards or discussion questions.
Morning Time Gives Me Peace of Mind
Nothing I shared about morning time is mind blowing. It is a basic strategy we use to take hold of our day and guarantee that we cover our bases. If the day hits me upside the head, I know that we at least got in a little Language, Math, Science, Character Development and History. Yes, we still do other lessons but the pressure is off.
My Challenge to You
During your transition to home, I challenge you to read to you kids 20 minutes a day. Break up the time if you need to but get into the habit of reading. Once you have a good start to your day it will be much easier to add more education or activities into your day.
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