Homeschooling Tips For the Apprehensive Beginner

Prior to 2020, I had some pretty large misconceptions about home-schooling.

Don’t get me wrong, I never thought it was easy. However, I pictured it going down a little something like this:

A bluebird flies in through my window and perches on my shoulder. It whistles a sweet song into my ear to wake me up. I slowly sit up and stretch- as my curly locks fall perfectly on my shoulders.

I begin to walk the halls of my freshly vacuumed home, as I wake up each of my three sleeping angels. After a breakfast of scrumptious bacon and home-made pancakes, we promptly begin homeschooling.

On our kitchen table, lined with a lace linen, we begin lessons. My kids listen intently, with bright eyes, as I teach them about pronouns and geometry.

My reality looked a tad different. When I suddenly and unexpectedly began homeschooling my children, there was less bluebirds, lace, and laughter. Instead, our days were filled with tears (both my children and mine) and a lot of shouting slathered in a fresh heap of mom guilt.

If I am being honest, I hated homeschooling. I wasn’t patient. My kids weren’t engaged. And no one smiled during homeschooling.

Also, it most certainly lacked bluebirds.

Looking for some great support at your finger tips? Check out these homeschool apps or this homeschool daily checklist.

Homeschooling for Overwhelmed Parents

Many of us never had a reason to even picture ourselves as home-schooling parents prior to being through into the trenches.

We had no time to mentally prepare or train for our new home-schooling position.

Yet, we are parents. It is our job to adjust and learn new ways to cope for our children.

You may not be cut out to be a rock-star homeschooling parent; however, you can do your best to prepare with these simple tips.

1) Set Realistic Expectations

Talk to your child about what you expect from them. It is their “job” to complete their lessons each day. You can set expectations by:

• Creating a daily schedule to keep your child on task
• Planning each day out- try starting with the hardest tasks first

Do you have little kids? Start with these prewriting patterns and these find the letter worksheets.

2) Give Your Kids the Tools to Succeed

Start by reducing distractions. Keep non-school related technology devices turned off and out of sight during school time.

Take breaks as needed. Have a snack or take a walk. This will help reduce frustration.

Also, have a list of any log-in and passwords handy. I found that every time I was homeschooling my kids, I spend half of the time looking for old emails that contained password and login information.

New to homeschooling? Read great tips on how to start homeschooling here!

3) Be Flexible

Remember that what works best for other families may not work for your family. Develop your own schedule and routine based on your family’s needs and personalities.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help if things aren’t working for you. Ask friends, teachers, family for help or advice.

4) Get Organized

Set up a specific area to get work done. This homeschool room setup is a great place to start!

Use the following Homeschool Survival Kit to keep your schedules in order.

5) Prepare Interactive Lessons

The great thing about homeschooling, is that you aren’t restrained to a classroom.

There are some great interactive, educational, and fun activities that take little preparation.

Try this Pizza Letter Search Activity and this Bouncing Bubbles Recipe.

Homeschool Survival Kit

To successfully homeschool your kids, it is important to be prepared and have realistic expectations.

Although this Homeschool Survival Kit will not solve all of your challenges, it will help you organize your schooling and find a routine that works best for you and your family.

The Free Downloadable Homeschool Survival Kit includes:

• Password/log-in sheet- to keep all log-in information in the same plae
• Weekly schedule- to keep track of the subjects that are scheduled for each day of the week
• Daily Schedule- to layout the general schedule for each day (ex: 9am breakfast, 10am: start school 11am: play outside)
• Daily Affirmations– to remind you that you are doing a great job!

To download your free printable Homeschool Survival Kit, enter your email in the pink box below:

Final Thoughts

Even though homeschooling is not all bluebirds and butterflies, it doesn’t have to be all stress tears followed up by dipping into your wine stash.

You can successfully support and teach your kids with a little survival kit organization and confidence.

Share if you found this helpful and follow us on Facebook.