homeschooling tips Archives

I Want to Homeschool But I Can’t Be With My Kids All Day!

January 4, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

We have been homeschooling for nine years now and, over the years, I’ve heard many parents express reasons why they feel they can’t homeschool (even though they’d like to).

The reasons I’ve heard range from “I’m too broke to homeschool” to “I’m not a teacher” to “I’m too busy to homeschool my kids”.

But my favorite reason ever is “I could never homeschool, because I can’t be with my kids all day!”

Do you feel that way? It’s understandable. The idea of spending all day homeschooling your own children can be overwhelming, especially if you have more than one child. But it’s likely that the idea of homeschooling you have is quite different from what homeschooling can be.

See how you can homeschool your kids, even if you’re not the most patient person on Earth.

I Want to Homeschool, But…I Can’t Be With My Kids All Day!

Images c/o: Lenanichizhenova & aletia / depositphotos

This is a perfectly natural feeling.

First, I just want to reassure you of something: It’s fine that you feel this way. I’ve heard a few homeschoolers shame other parents for expressing this sentiment. But we shouldn’t.

Parenting is HARD. And sending the kids off to public school everyday is the only break that many parents get. So the idea of not even getting that break everyday can be overwhelming. I also thought I was going to get that shot of daily “me” time when we sent our kids to public school for a few months. And I was sorely in need of a break myself.

So if you’ve said this or felt this way, you are not alone. I get it.

You do NOT have to be the sole educator.

When you picture homeschooling, are you imagining yourself at the chalkboard teaching classes from 9 to 3? If so, stop. You don’t ever have to put that kind of responsibility on yourself. Homeschooling can be flexible and versatile and, thanks to technology, you can use tons of teaching resources that will make your job easier.

In our family, we use several educational websites (including BrainPop, Khan Academy, and my new favorite Flocabulary) to put together our lesson plans. I only spend about five hours a week actually teaching.

The rest is watching educational videos, completing activities, and letting the kids show what they’ve learned. I’m just one of many teachers on the faculty at our school. 🙂

It’s okay to take a break from your kids.

Does that mean you won’t ever want or need a break from being with your kids? Of course not! It’s exhausting parenting and teaching little people all day.

If you had a full-time job outside the home, wouldn’t you get a lunch break each day? You should get one when your full-time job is educating your children too.

So I’m telling you: Get your break every. single. day. I’m serious. Do not go a day without carving out time for yourself to just breathe and think.

I’m not ashamed to say that I totally use the television for this. I put on an educational television show that the kids like (Curious George, WordGirl, Wild Kratts, etc) and let them watch for half an hour and I go straight to my room where I either read, take a nap, or shower. Sometimes I even use that time to go for a run in our neighborhood. It does wonders for my mood.

Feeling like you can’t homeschool? Get help and support from these posts!

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Minimalist Homeschooling: Teaching Several as One

July 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

We’ve been talking about minimalist homeschooling a lot lately and I’ve shared lots of tips for scaling down your homeschooling supplies, books, paper, and more.

But what can you do if you’re homeschooling several children? I mean, you can’t really minimize them, right? 🙂

You can, however, minimize the way you teach them and that can make your entire homeschooling journey much, much simpler.

Here are some tips for teaching multiple children in your minimalist homeschool!

Tips for Teaching Multiple Children

Combine grades, if possible. I got this idea from a good friend who is homeschooling three sons. Since she has twins and one child that is one year younger, she’s teaching them all at the same level. When she told me that, a lightbulb went off in my head. After all, I have two boys who are one year apart.

When I asked my soon-to-be second grader if he wanted to learn along with his soon-to-be third grade brother, he said “I don’t want to skip second grade.” Which is fine. But we’re going to do a 2/3 year for the two of them. His brother will get a much needed review and he’ll get a chance to move on a little early. And, best of all, Mom will only have to plan one lesson for the two of them. Win!

Use technology to your advantage. When you teach multiple kids, it’s generally easier to teach some subjects with the kids all together. History, science, and geography come to mind. This is especially true when you want to watch a video, do an experiment, or complete a craft project.

This year, I’m going to use a LOT more videos in our homeschool. Then the video can do the teaching and the kids can write reports about what they learn. Since it’s tough for the kids to crowd around a computer screen, we’ll be using the YouTube channel on our Roku. If I find other things on my mobile device, I’m going to use a smartphone projector so that everyone can see. Simple, right?

Those are a few ways I’ll be teaching multiple children in our minimalist homeschool this year. For more on simplifying your homeschool, check out these posts!

Learn more about planning this homeschool year with my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 9: Skip the Overscheduling!

10 Homeschooling Gifts I’ll Never Take for Granted Again

August 10, 2015 by Selena Robinson 10 Comments

Last year, I went through a serious case of homeschooling burnout. I was working, I was going to college full-time, and I was attempting to homeschool my three oldest children. And it was not going well.

I sent them to public school for a few months, but even though I appreciated the slight increase in “alone time“, I missed them terribly. And I found that I actually missed homeschooling.

Now that we’ve returned to homeschooling, I’m determined to have a more thankful attitude toward our learning this year by appreciating the homeschooling gifts our family enjoys by being together. Here are 10 of the homeschooling gifts that I missed and vow to never take for granted again.

Image: beerphotographer / Dollar Photo Club

10 Homeschooling Gifts I’ll Never Take for Granted Again

1. Preparing breakfast with my children

2. Making artwork together

3. Playing outside with my kids

4. Sharing a new story as a family

5. Taking a homeschool field trip

6. Listening to my children talk about what they learned

7. Watching all four of the kids read quietly

8. Helping my daughter (who hates math) master a new math concept

9. Seeing my kids get excited about choosing books at the library

10. Hearing one of my children say “Thank you” when we finish the school day

What homeschooling gifts are you thankful for? Share them in the comments!

And let me just add an update here – There are a few more homeschooling gifts that I’ve grown to treasure:

11. Watching my children support each other in a tough subject

12. Being there when they have questions or fears about learning something new

13. Waking up when we feel like it and beginning the day relaxed

14. Taking a vacation whenever we’re ready for one

15. Observing my kids grow into young adulthood with confidence

Need more parenting encouragement? Don’t miss these posts!

This post is part of the Homeschool Gifts linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click over to read what our fellow homeschooling bloggers are thankful for this year!

Need more ways to plan your homeschool this year? Check out my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

How to Organize Digital Homeschool Resources

June 19, 2015 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

As a second-generation homeschooler, my heart belongs with paper books, planners, and notebooks. (There’s just something about the smell of paper and erasers in the morning.)

However, I have seen the need to jump into the digital age and, as a result, I am now the proud owner of a TON of digital homeschool resources. A ton.

But here’s the thing: If you can’t find anything on your computer, then all of your resources don’t really do a lot of good, do they? 🙂 So I came up with a simple way to organize digital homeschool resources, which I’m sharing with you today!

How I Organize Digital Homeschool Resources

Here’s my big secret…

….

…..

I use Windows File Explorer.

That’s it!

It’s really, really simple, but it really, really works. Here’s how:

I have my digital homeschool resources organized by the type of “school” to which they belong: Elementary for PK-5, Middle for 6-8, and High for 9-12 – just like in public school. I also have a separate folder for Planning, which I’ll get to in a minute.

Within each “school” level, I have items separated by grade level. For example, my “Elementary” folder is organized by specific grade. Then for things that aren’t really grade specific, I have individual folders such as “Foreign Language”, “Unit Studies”, and “PE“. I also have a few general subject folders that include resources for several grades.

Within each grade-specific level, files are organized again by subject. This is a look at my second-grade folder. So when it’s time to plan second grade, which I’ll be teaching with Roo this fall, I can just browse through the folder for each subject and plan from there. Much, much better than stockpiling resources and then forgetting about them until a year or two after the grade is finished. (Been there, done that.)

Now, my “Planning” folder is organized a bit differently. I am a total homeschool planner packrat. I have all kinds of planners on my hard drive, so they have their own folder. Then I have a folder for “Notebooking”, one for “Clip Art”, and another for “Teaching Tips”, because those make up the bulk of my downloadable resources that are not directly for the kids to use on their own.

As you can see, I also have two other folders: one for the 2013 Omnibus and another for the 2014 Omnibus from iHomeschool Network. I was thrilled to be a contributing author last year and I’m looking forward to sharing in the sale again this summer.

I mean, look at all those wonderful resources! Whenever I need a homeschool pick-me-up, I click open one of those folders and just read and read and read. 🙂

How I Store Digital Homeschool Resources

Of course, sorting and organizing all of my files won’t matter much if my computer crashes. So, I use a couple of methods to keep my digital homeschool resources safe.

First, I store everything on my computer and on a USB flash drive. I usually have to get one with a decent amount of memory, because I am an admitted digital curriculum hoarder. 🙂

In addition, I back everything on my computer’s hard drive up once each week onto an external hard drive. I like Seagate’s portable external hard drive, because it’s super easy to use and I can take it with me if I go out of town. (Really, it’s so easy to use that I kicked myself for not having gotten one earlier.)

And that’s how I organize digital homeschool resources! If you have any tips or suggestions to share, please do so in the comments!

Ready to get a handle on your homeschool this year? Check out these posts!

Get more tips about how to plan your homeschool on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!