Christian Homeschool Survival Tips
When you are faced with difficult times in your homeschooling experience, here are several tips to help you survive:
Remind yourself of the reasons your family chose to homeschool in the first place. In most cases it is to have more time together.
When homeschooling isn’t working, hold family meetings to find out where the problems lie and how to fix them. The solutions to these problems are within the family not within a neighborhood school.
Children need stability in their home lives, and one of the best ways to provide this is to set up several family traditions. Maybe you’ll decide to have a prayer and devotional time each day as part of your Christian homeschool. Maybe you can develop a charitable work that your children can participate in on a regular basis as part of their homeschooling. Be creative when thinking about what traditions you can have in your family.
One way to create fun and excitement in your homeschool is to celebrate unusual holidays as part of your curriculum. Are you reading any of the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Did you know that her birthday is on February 7th? Celebrate it with a party and cake! If you’re studying the history of the Roman Empire, consider looking into March 15 — it’s the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated - “Beware the Ides of March!” (from Shakespeare’s play).
Have you ever took the time to ask your children what they would be interested in studying? Maybe what you’re currently teaching holds absolutely no interest to your child at this stage of his education. So, who says you have to continue? You’re in charge, so go ahead and change it if you need to. The more your kids are interested in learning what you are teaching, the less conflict you will encounter. So go ahead and ask them!
If your children are having a difficult time with some of your curriculum, perhaps it’s better to switch to something different than to keep forcing the current material on them. Remember, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Sometimes that’s a good thing; sometimes it’s not.
Accept chaos as normal! If you wait to homeschool until life is neat and tidy, it will never happen. The most teachable moments are usually in the middle of bedlam.
Just because you have two or more children in your homeschool, all from the same family, doesn’t mean they all learn things the same way. One may pick on things simply by hearing them (auditory), another through reading or looking at pictures and diagrams (visual), and another through hands on projects and activities. Learn how your child best learns, and then try teaching his least favorite subjects using his favorite method of learning.
One of the great things about having a homeschool is the freedom to teach our children in ways that are different than the traditional school. Use your imagination and be creative with coming up with lessons and activities.
Everyone has days when they just want to quit. Maybe you’ve come to the place where you just want to walk away from it all. When those moments come, think back on the reasons you chose to homeschool in the first place. Also, make sure you’re part of a local homeschool support group. They will be invaluable to you during the tough times. All homeschooling parents have been there at one time or another.
Have a play day! There are going to be days when it seems like all hell is breaking loose in your homeschool. What do you do? Certainly spend some time in quietness and prayer, but perhaps you just need to cancel school for the day too. Go for a walk. Getting away from the situation will help you think more clearly.
Parents must fill up their pitchers before they can fill up their children’s cups. Do something for yourself. Go to the library alone for a change. Try having dinner with your best friend, go see a play, or take a dance class just for you. If we are running on empty, we have nothing to give our families.
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