The 2020 School Year has come with a new normal — working and teaching from home! Yikes! Many weren’t ready for the culture shock of COVID-19. The good news is (with a few years of homeschooling experience under my belt) I believe I can be of some help.
For this month’s blogging, I wanted to go around the fluff and pretty photos that show the beauty and precious moments of homeschooling and dive into the raw mistakes you want to avoid. Sometimes, when you’re creeping on new territory, it’s best to know what to be aware of before it hits you all at once.
1. Don’t Set Unrealistic Expectations
Although homeschooling may look like an elephant you have to eat all at once in order to get your kids on the best learning level possible, you don’t have to tackle it all this year! Create a list of achievable goals and relax any stiff standards. Sure, keep following your favorite homeschool mentors (as myself) but take on what you know you can comfortably handle this year. Then, make room to give both yourself and your kids some grace.
2. Plan, Plan & Plan More!
Even if you’re being gracious to yourself and your new students, tossing caution to the wind and going with the flow every day isn’t practical. Create a realistic schedule for your school days, choose your favorite curriculums, and stick to it. Kids thrive on a schedule, and it helps to know what activity or subject is coming next. Plus, this means you can pencil in some daily quiet time for yourself. There are great templates on Pinterest and similar sites to make your schedule both functional and pleasant to look at.
3. Don’t Be Too Rigid
Now that you’ve laminated your gorgeous schedule and pinned it to a wall in your Instagram-worthy home classroom area, it would be a total fail to miss a single time slot, right? Wrong! The world is changing every day, and it’s a fair expectation that things in your new classroom will change, too. Perhaps your child just isn’t feeling it today and needs a break. Maybe math takes place in the kitchen while baking, or your spouse takes over helping with English. Take a breather and relax. The word of the year is definitely “grace”.
4. Don’t Ignore Your Kids’ Emotions & Learning Styles
Check in with your kids. They may not have the correct language or say all the right things, but open your eyes and ears to their little needs. Make a point to actually listen to and acknowledge their feelings. Sure, schoolwork has to get done and those projects have deadlines, but be mindful of their learning styles and their emotional needs. Maybe they miss their friends or the fractions are kicking their butts today. Work together, versus bulldozing right over their needs.
5. Don’t Ignore Yourself
Just like you check in with your kids, check in with yourself! I’ll say that again: Check in with you! Take time to examine your emotions and assess your stress. You cannot be emotionally or mentally present if your own needs aren’t met. There’s nothing wrong with taking a step back to recharge yourself and come back totally refreshed.
