So You Homeschool Now
Welcome!!
Welcome friends to the world of homeschooling! I know this is inconvenient for some, and completely disruptive for others, but I want to say that I’m here for you! The homeschooling community is here for you and you are capable!!
I honestly feel like I don’t even know where to begin… There are millions of children in Canada alone that are now homeschoolers indefinitely…It was announced yesterday that our home province of Alberta is cancelling school indefinitely, most likely through until the end of the year, and I know how much stress and worry this is causing many!
This is not a blog post that is going to tell you how to homeschool your children. I don’t have a magical schedule for you to follow or a curriculum that I’m going to suggest you run out and buy… Instead, I’m going to share a few tips that have helped me over the last three years of being a homeschool mama…
Get Outside
Not only is being outside good for everyone’s physical health, but it is so good for our mental heath! I know it can be challenging here in Alberta to spend a lot of time outside during winter, but with the temperatures warming up, I’d encourage you to put on an extra layer, grab a blanket if you need to, and just get outside! I’m getting our porch set up so I can wrap myself up in a blanket and have my coffee outside while the kiddos play!
I wrote a post about a fun challenge we’re doing called 1,000 Hours Outside (you can find that here). I’d encourage you to take a look and think about incorporating that into your time at home. It’s been really fun for the kids and I’ve found it to be great accountability!
Rhythm Over a Schedule
I’ve seen so many mamas asking for a homeschool schedule, and I totally get that so many people really thrive on a schedule. I am not one of those people! lol I’ve tried and I’ve learnt that in our days at home, I do much better when we create a rhythm to our days. This could be a whole blog post, and maybe one day it will be, but for now I’ll do my best to summarize... A schedule is setting specific times to do the different things you want to do in a day, a rhythm is creating a flow of activities that don’t have a set time. An example of our morning rhythm:
Wake Up
Get Dressed & Make Beds
Have Breakfast
Do our Gathering Time at the dining table (devotional, read aloud, puzzle or game, handwriting)
15 minutes of chores
Play Outside
Have Fun
Childhood is fleeting and I think, though it’s not under the best circumstances, that this is an amazing opportunity to have fun with your family!! Play the board games, binge watch a show or have a family movie marathon, make meals together, play outside, read good books, have dance parties, bake, go for a drive into the country with snacks and blast the tunes!!
Don’t Try to Recreate School at Home
Friends, I know this can be tempting, and it was how I originally thought things would look, but the reality is that it is different. If you need lots of structure, by all means, go for it, but don’t overwhelm yourself trying to create the same environment, because it simply isn’t. I always thought homeschoolers had “recess,” a mom that stood at a chalkboard to teach lessons all day, and set times for everything. Our homeschool days look absolutely nothing like that but we still learn lots, and have fun!
While I love gathering around our dining table, the kids are thrilled when we do school from the couch, mom and dad’s bed, outside, or take our learning on the road. That’s the beauty of having your kiddos at home - you get the chance to experience learning in a completely different way! So I would encourage you to lean into it and embrace it rather than fight it!
Give Yourself Grace
This can and should be a fun time for you and your family, but I also get that it can be overwhelming, a complete upheaval of your regular routine, and a big adjustment! I was absolutely there when we first started homeschooling but I want to encourage you to have grace with yourself in this new situation! We love homeschooling but there are definitely days when kids are tired, moods are “off” and the struggle feels very real… So don’t be afraid to switch gears, ditch the school work for the day or a few hours, and regroup!
Quiet Time
Implementing an afternoon quiet time has been an amazing addition to the rhythm of our days, and definitely something I would recommend for this season of being at home that we all find ourselves in! Our modern lives are so busy, and our schedules so full, and I think the silver lining of everything being cancelled is the chance to catch up on much needed rest!
Quiet time will look different for everyone, especially depending on the ages of your kiddos, but for us it looks like this: I go and lay in my bed - sometimes I nap (ok, most times lol) but I also just enjoy having time to read or work on my blog. Meanwhile, the kids may pick almost any non-technology activity that can be done relatively quietly - like playing LEGO, reading, playing a board game or cards, trains, etc.
This is a time for everyone to rest, and just generally have some much needed calm time.
Let it Go
🎵 Let it go, let it go 🎵 I know y’all can hear it in your head! But for real, let it go… the expectations, the mom guilt, the worry…
Your kids won’t suffer from a few weeks or months of not being in school, or if you don’t do all the crafts or activities you think you should do in a day! Children are incredibly resilient, but they’re also probably super excited to get to spend more time at home, with their family, and with you mama!!
Our children get older everyday and what a gift to have more time with them! I know we made the decision to homeschool, rather than being forced into it, but it has been one of the greatest blessings of my life, and I pray that it is the same for you!!
Until I blog again,
Alex
P.S. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram (@alexkolkman) because I’m doing some fun little giveaways all this week! 💛
