Homeschooling parents, do you ever feel burned out? Pulled in a million directions? Unsure of whether or not you are homeschooling the “right” way? Do you ever second guess your methods?
If you’re like me, I have many of these soul-searching moments. What I’ve learned over my many years of homeschooling is that there are ways that we can actually make homeschooling way harder than it should be.
“Wait…you mean homeschooling actually could be manageable? Or even stress-free?” You may ask this question with extreme skepticism, but the answer is “Yes!”
Here are six ways we make homeschooling way harder than it should be.
1. We make sure we're doing more than the Joneses.
We complicate that when we look around, compare and decide we have to increase our activity in order to "keep up" with the other homeschooling families around us. You don’t have to put your kids in tennis lessons just because every other family in your co-op has!
We don't have to live a life of frantic comparison. All we have to do is seek and follow God’s plans for our family’s homeschooling journey.
2. We feel like we have to keep each kid’s workload the same
Sometimes we can make school more complicated than necessary because we try to keep the activity load consistent for each child.
For instance, if Johnny has 6 subjects, 2 outside activities, a music lesson, and a sport, while Susie only has 4 subjects and 1 home activity on her plate, the temptation can be to add more to Susie’s load in order to be “fair”.
Differences in children’s loads are OK. We parents know our kids and their needs. Pick your child’s activities and school load based on their individual needs and interests, and don’t feel an undue pressure to pile on extraneous work or extracurricular activities.
3. We do everything just like we're told to in the teacher's book
A major benefit to homeschooling is that we get to let it play out in the best way for our families and for our kids. Following every instruction as printed isn't always practical or the best way.
We can tweak curricula to be just exactly what serves our needs, and we have to get to the point where we're OK with doing that!
Remember, we're not serving the publisher, we're serving our kids!
4. We have a schedule just like the public school system
If you grew up in or initially had your kids enrolled in the public school system, this may be a challenge for you, as you may be basing a lot of your methods on the public school way of doing things.
Are you trying to cover 6 or 7 subjects a day? If you try to cram too many subjects into your school day, you may not be giving your kids enough time to grasp concepts before moving on to the next subject.
Instead, consider scheduling subjects for longer periods of time, and arrange them on certain days of the week. Do some research into scheduling and then be bold by trying a new schedule! You can also ask your responsible teens about ideas they may have based on their experience.
5. We buy too much stuff and then feel like we have to use it
We've all done this at one point or another. We’ve too easily fallen for new opportunities, curricula, teaching methods, etc., until what we're left with is so much good stuff that we can't possibly use it all! And better yet, we're better off if we DON'T use it all!
When this happens, cut your losses! If you suffer from “materials overload”, find a friend who could use your excess materials, or sell them online or at a co-op.
6. We neglect our relationships with our teens
Neglecting relationships with our teens makes school much harder overall.
When they feel neglected, our teens don't want to listen to any advice we might want to give. They aren't convinced we have their best interest at heart, and they often have a greater longing for independence before it's the right time.
Stay connected with your teens. Keep and protect their trust, building confidence. Be their friend alongside being their parent. These are all important and go a long way in your current and future relationships with your teens.
Homeschooling is one of the most difficult tasks parents could ever decide to take on. However, it can also be one of the most rewarding! Choose to make your experience easier by avoiding these six pitfalls of homeschooling.
