Bedhair and homeschooling. All four of our kiddos have this curly hair that is gorgeous, BUT when they wake up, they look like this (see below). They are the cutest, but we need a bit of water and conditioner to make everything look presentable! But our Beckham was so excited to start 2nd grade this week! If you read my blog post last week, I was talking about how to start homeschooling. As a mom who just began my 9th year of homeschooling 4 kiddos, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way!! So here are my 5 Back to School Tips Homeschool Edition!
Our 2nd Grader Beckham!
So if you are moving from a traditional school and have multiple kids, I would highly highly recommend a staggering homeschool approach! What is staggering homeschool? Staggering homeschool (I may have coined this term….maybe not…haha) is when you have multiple children, and you start one child one week, then add another child into the mix the following week, then add another one the following week to have special time with each child before all of your children dive into the hustle and bustle of things!
I like to have a special celebration with special surprises for the First Day of School for each child! We have four children so that could get pricey. So I pick up a few items from the $1 section of Target (see pics below for ideas), add some candy, stickers, or treats, and my kids were so excited! Now this may NOT seem minimal to some, BUT for us, this is a small splurge that aligns with our core values! I blow up balloons, I have a special song, and we really get all the kids excited for each of their celebrations! It’s so much fun!
After we have our special celebration, another tip I would recommend is go over your homeschool rules, expectations daily for the first week and maybe first month of school! What are your classroom rules? How do you expect each child to behave, work, etc! I didn’t with one child, and it bit me in the bum! I learned quickly! Go over rules BEFORE starting your day!
After going over rules and expectations, take a look at your schedule, and break it into bite sized chunks. I try to lump Math and Language Arts together and then take a break for my 2nd grader and Kindergartner. They work best in 30-45 minute increments. For younger kids, 15-30 minute time blocks are plenty, and then go to a new activity or give them a short break! We give 10-15 minutes of free play or pick up time. So break up your day into time blocks, and don’t try to get everything done in one sitting.
If you have an older sibling and/or tons of kids, allow older children to be “helpers”. My oldest son has not started staggering homeschooling so he likes to read to his younger sister. Normally, he does not love reading, BUT he loves reading with her! So I’ll have him read her stories or go over her sight words, and he’s the best helper ever. If you don’t have older siblings to help or you just have one child, my tip for you is to schedule independent or quiet time every single day. This will be your time to take a breath, clean up, eat a meal without interruptions, drink your now cold coffee, or just shower! Schedule quiet time for 30 minutes to an hour each day! This will be your saving grace this homeschool year!
Goodness, there is so much info on homeschooling to cover! So if you have any questions, let me know! I had no clue what I was doing when I started. No clue. And many years, I felt like I was failing as a homeschool mama having three kids, three and under. But you got this friend. I pray you have the best homeschool year ever! You will be the best teacher for your child, and you CAN do this!
PS. I’ll be sharing what we are using this year later blog post or follow me on Instagram!
