Homeschoolers have to consult a number of different professionals. For example, I am often asked about having children tested for special needs. Another area I am often asked about is seeing a mental health professional. This could be seeking services for yourself, your marriage, or your children. Finally, we may need to consult professionals for our own or our children’s physical needs.
Why is this even an issue? Because as homeschoolers, we tend to lack trust for those who are outside of homeschooling circles. And this is understandable! We are DIYers. We like to do things ourselves and it can be hard to trust those who may not have a favorable view of homeschooling. However, there are times when not seeking professional help is hurting us or hurting our children. In fact, there are instances when failing to seek professional help could be considered neglect. There is no way I can tell you if you’re in that situation. But I can ask you to prayerfully consider whether it is time to seek professional help. One indicator that it is time is that you are you or your child is having difficulty functioning in daily life.
I wish I did not have to mention this as a reason you may be reluctant to seek professional help, but I feel I have to. If we feel that we have something to hide, we may not want to see a professional who could determine that we are not providing the best education for our children. If you are suffering from clinical depression or severe anxiety to the extent that you are not able to educate your children and this is a chronic condition, not a temporary one, I ask you to consider having your children educated in another way for now. Whether that means asking a friend or family member to help, or putting your children in a traditional school, I ask you to do what is best for your children. If people you trust are telling you that need to stop homeschooling, listen to them. Just because homeschooling isn’t the best choice now does not mean that you will never be able to homeschool again.
How to Work with Professionals as a Homeschooler
If the difficulties that you or your children are having do not threaten your ability to adequately educate your children, then I recommend the following six steps.
Get a referral. My favorite way to have people get referrals for professional services is through their local homeschooling support group. If you are part of an online forum, this is an ideal place to ask for the professional you need. Another place to ask, depending on the type of professional you need, is your church. Most pastors are aware of Christian counselors that they can recommend to you. Finally you may have friends who are in the medical or mental health field who can give you a good referral for a professional in your area.
Become a member of HSLDA. This is especially important if there is any reason to believe that you could go through a divorce in the future. More than just practical assistance, a membership to HSLDA provides you with peace of mind. If you should have contact with a professional who is anti-homeschooling and chooses to make an issue of it, you will know that you have good attorneys in your corner.
Pray for favor. It may be the case that you do not have a Christian professional who is pro-homeschooling that you can work with. That does not mean we should be fearful. Nehemiah prayed that he would have favor with an unbelieving king (Nehemiah 1:11) and he did. Pray that the professional you are seeing will be open and supportive to providing the help and services that you or your child needs.
Don’t tell the professional that you’re homeschooling if that information is unnecessary. There are certainly occasions, such as working with a reading specialist, where it’s obvious that you have to say that you’re homeschooling. But if you are seeing a general practitioner for depression and you are interested in taking an antidepressant, for example, there is no need for you to talk about the fact that you are homeschooling, especially if it’s not relevant. If it is necessary to talk about the fact that you are homeschooling, be prepared to educate the professional about homeschooling. Many people still aren’t aware of the facts of homeschooling or they have unfortunately believed some stereotypes about homeschoolers. For example, they may believe homeschoolers isolate their children so they have a better opportunity to abuse them. Because that is a potential issue, make sure you talk with the professional about the activities that you and your children are involved in. Do not be defensive, but be open and positive in response to their questions about it. You may have had some concerns about homeschooling in the beginning too. I know I did. Of course, I was worried about socialization!
Be open to advice. If you have prayed about your consultation with a professional, be willing to listen to what that professional has to say. Of course, this does not mean that you have to accept the advice, but do try to listen to another perspective. You may be given insights that you would not have had on your own. An example of this in my life was when one of my sons was struggling to read phonetically. Using phonics to read is the approach most accepted in homeschooling circles. But I spoke to my neighbor who is a reading specialist, and she told me that I needed to let my son use a whole language approach to read. If you have no idea what whole language is, that’s understandable. It essentially means that you allow your child to memorize words in whole. As soon as I allowed my son to stop sounding out words and to just memorize them, he was reading and feeling confident about his ability to read. Be open to advice you get from professionals. Research it and discuss it with your spouse and others.
Do not be confrontational. The final step I have for you in working with professionals as a homeschooler is one you need to take when your views of the problem and the professional’s view of the problem are in conflict. The Bible tells us to be kind to everyone and able to teach (2 Timothy 2:24). We cannot be kind or teach professionals about the homeschooling lifestyle and the advantages of it, if we are belligerent. If a professional makes a suggestion, such as you need to put your children in school, simply say, “Thank you for the advice. I will consider it.” Then it is well within your rights to move on to a different professional for a second opinion. I would not announce the fact that you are going to seek a second opinion, however. In every way we want to present ourselves as reasonable, open, and concerned with what’s best for our children. If you find that the professional you have consulted is not a good fit, start the process over again. Get another referral, pray for favor, and be open to advice. Sometimes finding the right person to work with can be as challenging as finding the right mate. Be patient and don’t give up.
What experiences have you had working with professionals as a homeschooler? Do you have any other advice? Let’s chat about it on Facebook.
Whether you’re the one procrastinating in your homeschool or your child is, it’s frustrating! You want to get things done, but day after day, you feel like you’ve failed. I know the feeling. But there’s help for us procrastinators.
First look for the source of procrastination. When you think about the task or project that you’ve been procrastinating, what thoughts come to mind? If your child is the one procrastinating, ask him what he thinks about when the dreaded task is mentioned. Do you think of the task as dull? Does it seem like it will take way too much time? Perhaps you think you’re not good at it? Related to that, perhaps you aren’t sure what to do. Are you afraid of the consequences of completing the chore? Could it be that you don’t need to do it anymore?
Second address the cause of procrastination if possible. If the procrastinated task seems dull to you, determine how you can make it fun. Could tackling the project with a friend make it fun? My daughter tends to avoid cleaning her room unless I’m in the room with her. Once a bunch of us helped a friend clean her house. We all had fun.
What about simply adding music to do the work? For years, I had a chores playlist for my kids with favorite upbeat tunes on it. It helped all of us get chores done.
Could you turn the task into a contest of some sort? I inadvertently benefitted from this approach when my son was procrastinating on doing his algebra. When he learned that his private school friends were ahead of him in math, he got motivated. If your children are procrastinating on cleaning their rooms, offer a prize to the child who gets her room cleaned first! I use quarterly rewards to motivate my kids to finish their independent school work. Consider posting your progress to social media. The encouragement from other people can help you accomplish a dull task.
If the task seems too time-consuming, look for ways to make it more efficient. One of the things that I have frequently procrastinated on is filing. It’s dull and time-consuming. Using a more efficient filing system has allowed me to tackle my filing more frequently. I use large, open color-coded hanging folders – no labeling required. If you aren’t sure how to do something in less time, Google it! Someone else has no doubt had the same question.
If your child feels he isn’t good at something he has been procrastinating, consider changing curriculum. The curriculum you use should help your child feel successful. A simple change to Learn Math Fast for my youngest child made all the difference. If your child is still struggling, spend some time tutoring and encouraging your child. If your child is procrastinating in language arts, be sure to listen to that episode of the Homeschool Sanity show.
If you don’t know what to do on a particular project, make that your first task: learn the steps you need to take to complete the project. Google or ask someone with experience how you should do it.
If fear is involved, consider asking a friend or family member for support. Perhaps you have put off seeing a doctor because you’re afraid of what you will hear. Or you just hate going. Having someone with you for support can make all the difference. If you’re fearful of what a professional like a dentist might tell you, be sure to let that caregiver know. If you’re fearful, spend time in prayer and meditating on Scriptures having to do with fear and worry.
If you’re fearful and that’s why you’re procrastinating, one of the best ways to deal with it is to get the task over with. It’s silly, but I hate to return things. So I put it off. I’m honestly afraid that I will make the clerk taking my return angry or suspicious of me. I know it’s ridiculous. But a few weeks ago, I just decided to get all of my returns over with. What a relief to have it done! I joked with one cashier to ease my tension and another did appear to be suspicious of me. The truth is that attitude wasn’t nearly as awful as I had imagined.
If you’ve decided you just don’t want to do something or don’t need to do something, then drop the task from your list altogether. Let it go! Admit to yourself that you’re not going to do it. I’ve had to do that with scrapbooking projects. I asked my friend who scrapbooks to come over and go through my supplies and projects. She empowered me to declare that I wasn’t going to do some projects. I was able to sell the materials. If I decide I want to do the project in the future, it won’t be the worst thing in the world to repurchase it. This is a great truth to apply to homeschool curriculum. I have bought curriculum a second time because I had sold it and I survived.
If you’re procrastinating something that does need to be done, delegate it. I knew I would never sell my unused scrapbooking materials. My friend was happy to do it to make the extra cash. If something needs to be done, but you don’t want to do it, ask someone else in your family to do it or pay someone to do it. The relief you will experience in letting these tasks go is worth the price. The bonus is you can teach someone else a new skill or help them make extra money.
The third step in addressing procrastination is to use tricks. After you’ve determined the source of your procrastination and you’ve addressed the cause of your procrastination if possible, take some action on the project you’ve been procrastinating. It can be the smallest step: file one piece of paper, put one item in a box to give away, tell your friend you’re terrified of going to the dentist. If you can’t think of one small step to take, set a timer for five minutes. Work on the task or project for that time and know you can quit when you’re done if you would like to. One year, I cleaned my basement storage room (something I’d been procrastinating) five minutes at a time.
Another powerful trick for overcoming procrastination is accountability. It certainly works with my homeschoolers. When they know their classmates will be doing the work or they have another teacher who will be reviewing their work, they get busy. You can create accountability by promising someone that you will finish the project on a deadline. Announce the deadline publicly. The more concerned you are with others’ opinion, the more powerful accountability will be for you.
Finally, review your reasons for doing the task in the first place. Picture yourself in detail having it done. How do you feel? When I did this when I was procrastinating writing the second volume of Grammar Galaxy, I found myself so motivated that I began writing at night–a time that I don’t usually have energy to write.
Don’t allow yourself or your kids to say, “I’ll do it later” without first considering the truth that you won’t have more time later. Doing routine tasks in the moment saves time. I encourage you to watch this Do It Now video. Your kids will like it too.
So many times when I am certain that I am losing my mind (or my child is), I later learn that hormones are playing a role. Biochemical changes are a reality that require a response for homeschoolers.
I want to begin by reminding you that I am not the medical doctor. I was trained as a clinical psychologist, So I can speak to the issues that come along with hormonal changes from a psychological perspective. But most of what I’m going to share with you today comes from personal experience, unfortunately. You should seek your physician’s advice first and foremost. But what I have learned is that when it comes to hormones, information is powerful medicine. Knowing that what you’re feeling isn’t abnormal helps immensely. There are four P’s that I want to share with you today concerning hormones and our homeschooling.
Homeschooling and Pregnancy
The first P is pregnancy. It wasn’t long into my pregnancy when I realized that hormones were changing my personality. The cheesiest commercials would have me bawling my head off. I was certain that I was hideously unattractive and that the physical changes I experienced were permanent. When we are pregnant while homeschooling we would do well to explain our hormonal variability to our children.
One of the most important ways we can handle our hormones and pregnancy is by getting extra rest. Our bodies are pulling out all the stops in order to create a whole new person. No wonder we feel so tired. I have been pregnant many times while homeschooling other children. I have worried that my lack of energy has been a detriment to them, but I have no evidence of that. Take a nap when you need it, Mom. Your kids want you to be well rested. Nap when they do. Save videos or games for these times. Or ask your husband to be in charge.
Along with getting extra rest when you’re pregnant is the importance of exercise. Taking a walk is a great way of helping to control the extra hormones that are flooding your system. Exercise is a known mood lifter and, of course, is good for you and the baby. It can also help with another consequence of hormonal changes during pregnancy, which is increased appetite. During my first three pregnancies, I was alarmed by how much weight I gained. I wish I would not have been worried. The weight quickly came off when my appetite returned to normal after delivery.
In addition to getting extra rest and exercise and not fretting about your increased appetite, be sure to ask for help. Tell your husband, family, or friends what you need—whether it’s a nap, a walk alone, or time off from cooking. I often went to my husband with that overwhelmed look on my face, which was his prompt to say, “Do you want to go out to eat tonight?” I’m pretty sure he was afraid not to ask that. Ask for help in your homeschooling, too. My friends were happy to help me in our home school co-op when I was pregnant, whether that meant teaching, carrying loads, or taking care of a toddler. We just have to put our pride away and ask.
In your homeschooling, feel no guilt about doing the activities that don’t exhaust you. If science experiments and field trips overwhelm you, put them aside until the baby comes. Do the activities that rejuvenate you. Your children will survive.
Homeschooling and Puberty
The next P is for the second hormonal milestone in your homeschooling journey: puberty. This is the time in your homeschooling when you will likely ask,”What happened to my child?” I didn’t realize that puberty was at the heart of the changes I saw in my son. Where there was once a happy and agreeable boy, there was a weepy, angry, rebellious son. I jumped to the conclusion that I had failed as a mother. He jumped to the conclusion that he was failing as a son. Once the hormonal haze had cleared, we both realized that hormonal changes were to blame. In fact, he acted a lot like I had when I was pregnant with him! I will say that not every child will experience these hormonal changes in the same way, just as not every mom does.
If you have a child who is experiencing the hormonal changes of puberty, one of the most important things you can do is to be sure your child gets enough sleep. This is challenging as teens often begin staying up late at the same time that hormonal surges begin. Have a serious conversation with your child about the dramatic changes that are happening in his or her body. Major growth is taking place that requires an increase in sleep. This would be a time to consider beginning your school at a later time. We start school later now as a result of having more than one student in puberty.
Weight training seems to have been a significant help to my teen boys in puberty. They were able to put their extra testosterone to good use. Weight training for girls can also be very beneficial. It seemed that consuming protein shakes was helpful for my kids. Interestingly, my kids have all become interested in healthy eating during these hormonal changes. Ask your teens what kinds of food to keep on hand. They may be able to tell you what they need during this growth period.
In addition, an important lesson I’ve learned about hormonal teens is not to talk to them when they are emotional. Wait until they have had rest, even if they require discipline. Have all important conversations face-to-face. Don’t talk about emotional subjects on the phone or via text. Guess how I learned that?
Homeschooling and Perimenopause
The third P is for the next hormonal stage in our homeschooling journey: perimenopause. I really didn’t believe it was a thing. Suddenly I was experiencing night sweats daily. I was so drenched I had to get up in the middle of the night to change. Whereas I had never had significant PMS symptoms, I found myself suddenly having them all. I could go from being happy to depressed and angry in a moment. I began to experience hair loss, palpitations, anxiety, and the same increase in appetite I had experienced in pregnancy. The combination of symptoms was very alarming. It helped to talk to other women who have experienced the same thing. Some of them felt they needed to take hormones to treat their symptoms. I tried this as well and immediately experienced side effects that weren’t acceptable to me. I didn’t know what to do.
I found the book The Hormone Cure by Dr. Sara Gottfried. What I love about the book is her stage approach to dealing with perimenopause. The author, a gynecologist, does not immediately suggest hormone therapy. Instead, she first discusses the vital role of stress and lifestyle. Because of the book, I realized that I had experienced significant relationship stress that was exacerbating my symptoms. After reading the book, I was careful to make sure I got adequate sleep, exercise, and good nutrition. I also found a combination of supplements that has helped me. I am not symptom-free, but I am much, much better. I can manage my symptoms, especially knowing that they are hormonally mediated and short-lived. If you are experiencing the symptoms of perimenopause or suspect that you may be, consider buying The Hormone Cure and seeking the advice of your physician.
The fourth P I would like to share with you today is prayer. Whether you are experiencing the hormonal symptoms of pregnancy, puberty, or perimenopause, you can find health and hope through prayer. Our heavenly Father knows what we are experiencing. He can be trusted to help and advise us. He will also use godly women to counsel us. I have felt such relief in sharing my experience with other Christian women who understand and will pray for me. I advise you to reach out to women you know to talk about the hormonal issues you’re dealing with. I am praying for you right now to know His peace and health as you persevere in your calling as a homeschool mom.
This is a guest post by Esther Littlefield of WellnessMomLife.com. Be sure to grab her great freebie!
When my husband and I first decided we would homeschool our daughter, I had a few stipulations. He had always thought homeschooling was a good idea. I, on the other hand, thought it was crazy. Not because homeschooling is crazy – but I knew myself, and I knew my daughter. I anticipated that it would be a big challenge for me to tackle the homeschooling thing.
Between my husband and I, we have 2 businesses, plus I have my blog. I also lead a women’s Bible study, run a local business networking group, and help out at our church. So when we discussed it, we had to come up with a plan that would allow to us balance our marriage, homeschooling, and both our businesses.
All three of these things – marriage, homeschooling, and having a business – are hard work in and of themselves. They can also be an absolute joy. But when you combine them together, you can create a potential implosion if you are not intentional about how to balance them all.
Here are a few tips that we have found to work for our family, and I hope they might help you, too, if you’re in a similar situation.
5 Keys to Balancing Marriage, Homeschooling, and Business:
Be willing to frequently evaluate your roles and time commitments.
When we first started this adventure, we agreed that I would be the primary homeschooling parent. However, we both wanted my husband to be involved on some level, and so our plan was to have him do the homeschooling one morning a week.
Since my husband’s hours are flexible, and he works from home on Fridays, we decided that Friday mornings would be his time to do the schooling. This allows me to attend my networking group, as well as run errands and have a little bit of time to myself.
There is no magical solution for this, especially if you both have businesses or other responsibilities. The key is to have frequent conversations about how it is going, and be willing to make adjustments as needed.
Give each other space for free time.
Due to our situation and our schedule, we have more time together and with our daughter than the average family, and we love that. However, we also both have outside pursuits that allow us to have breaks and enjoy things that are important to us.
For me, I have a weekly Bible study I lead, and that has become something I look forward to every week. He has his time to play video games with friends or go play his guitar with some other guys. This free time is important for both of us, and this is key to both of us maintaining wellness (and sanity) in our lives.
Schedule time together.
On the other hand, since we do spend more time together than the average family, it’s easy to neglect spending intentional time together. My husband and I spend a lot of time around one another, but how much of that is truly engaging in quality conversation? Or time away from our daughter?
We have found that scheduling a couple nights a week to spend time together – instead of working on our businesses – is important. We also make it a point to have a date night at least once a month. We have to be intentional about maintaining our connection and improving our communication.
For each family, it may look different. But just because you may spend more time together at home doesn’t mean that you are actually focused on each other. Scheduling this time shows that you value each other and your family.
Show respect and appreciation for each other’s roles.
Finally, it’s incredibly important when you are balancing marriage, homeschooling, and business(es) to be sure to respect each other and the work that you do.
The best way you can respect each other is to show appreciation for the things you each do every day. Whether it’s little or big, taking the time to show appreciation can make your spouse feel incredible.
Put your spouse’s needs before the kids and the business.
This is always a tricky one. But clearly we homeschooling moms love our kids. We spend all day with them, we teach them, we take them places – we invest A LOT into our kids. Sometimes this dedication to our kids can come at an expense: we end up neglecting our husband because by the time he is home, we are spent.
I’ll admit that there are days that I completely fail at this. As soon as my husband walks through the door, I want to tap out. I want to be done, and I’m not very invested in him or his needs.
But the truth is, if I neglect my husband, I’m actually neglecting our family. If I push him to the bottom of my priority list, I am slowly killing my marriage. And this is not good for my kids or for me.
If this is an area you struggle with, I can relate. I’ve created a free download for you: “10 Tips for Putting Your Husband Before the Kids”, which you can grab right here.
This job of parenting and homeschooling is not easy. Having a business can have huge risks, stressors, and it can be an emotional roller coaster. Marriage can have it’s challenges. Using these 5 keys to balance all of this can produce less stress and more wellness for you as a family!
Which of the 5 keys that I mentioned do you need to implement today? Share in the comments!
Esther Littlefield helps busy moms find ways to take care of themselves by sharing her personal journey of failures, triumphs, and tools for success so that they can experience wellness & achieve balance. Find her at WellnessMomLife.com
It’s fun for me to see what posts were most popular with my readers in the past year. I’m sharing them with you for two reasons. First, you may have missed a good one! Second, these posts help me plan the content that best meets your needs in the coming year. If you have a request, I’d love to hear it via the comments or at psychowith6 at gmail . com.
Now here are the top posts of 2015 in order. Click the titles to read.
You should definitely pin this post so you can return to it to liven up your language arts studies this winter. Look for more ultimate list, grammar, and game posts in 2016.
If you’ve ever been criticized for giving up your education or job to homeschool, I think you’ll appreciate this post. It definitely prompted the most comments from like-minded moms. It was also a post about my faith in Jesus. Look for more faith-building posts in 2016.
I wrote this post because researching curriculum is a real crazy-maker. If you’re looking for science curriculum for next year, definitely check it out. Even though this post was a huge investment of time, look for more “best curriculum” posts in 2016.
The crockpot is a huge sanity saver for me. Fortunately, my family loves the meals I make with it. If you want dump and dash recipes, check it out. Even though I love sharing these easy recipes, I’m not a food blogger. I can’t promise more posts like this in 2016. However, you can always find great crockpot recipes on my Pinterest board.
I honestly expected to get a lot of push back about sending my child to a public high school. I am a homeschool blogger after all. But instead, I heard from so many of you that you were relieved to hear my story. I’m so glad. Expect to hear more honest stories about my homeschooling life this year that I hope will encourage you.
I discovered this quarterly planning method by accident, but it has been a huge sanity saver for me. I hope it works for some of you, too. My readers are crazy about printables and I plan to provide more of them in 2016.
This post has three magic words in it: best, free, and grammar. I was honestly surprised by the quality of the grammar websites available. I will be linking to these and other free grammar resources when I publish my elementary language arts curriculum in 2016. Just a personal note that the curriculum has taken me longer than I expected to finish, but I’m committed to it. I believe it can help kids become excellent readers and writers and these are critical skills for homeschool success.
I have published other fitness articles like this one for moms that haven’t gotten the attention this one has. I think parents are really interested in keeping their kids active. Look for another post on this topic in 2016.
I wasn’t surprised that readers liked this post. It’s food, after all. And sandwiches and leftovers get boring. I won’t be sharing more lunch ideas in 2016, but definitely check my Pinterest board for more.
Kids who fight is a huge problem and there aren’t many good resources for dealing with it. I think this tool is a powerful one. I will definitely be sharing more on sibling rivalry as well as parenting in 2016.
Now it’s your turn: what do you plan to do more of next year? What do you plan to stop doing in 2016? Let me know how I can help this year.
You know what the hard way is. You wait until you absolutely have to get curriculum, ideas, and your homeschool space in order. You stay up late, get irritable, and feel like you’re behind before you even start.
Then once you make it past the back-to-school rush, you find yourself wondering how to get dinner on the table when it’s covered in school projects, how to stay connected with your kids as mom and not just as teacher, and how to get ready for the holidays when it’s all you can do to teach and keep up with the laundry. You even wonder if you’re cut out for homeschooling since you can’t seem to figure out how to balance it all.
You troll the Internet for answers, pinning things that seem like they could help, and downloading creative worksheets that you think will help your child finally grasp a concept you’ve been trying to teach. The problem is you have no idea what to do first and if you can even find the resources you need again when you decide.
That’s the hard way: last-minute, go-it-alone, willy-nilly.
There’s an Easier Way to Organize Your Homeschool Life
#1 Plan Ahead Instead of Waiting Until the Last Minute
Planning ahead is the best way to save time, money, and stress in your homeschool life.
You save time when you plan ahead. When you make a list of everything you need for science, you only have to make one trip to the grocery store. When you register for outside classes before there’s a waiting list, you don’t have to waste time trying to find other options. When you have the kids put their shoes by the door at night, you won’t be late for a morning appointment because someone couldn’t find theirs.
You save money when you plan ahead. You get school supplies, curriculum, and gifts at the best price. You don’t have to spend extra money on gas driving around looking for what you need because your regular store is sold out. You don’t have to pay extra for expedited shipping.
You save yourself stress when you plan ahead. You don’t have to worry that you’ll let everyone in your co-op down. You don’t have to worry that your child will be miserable because you didn’t register for the team in time. You don’t have to feel like a failure as a mother and teacher.
Planning ahead is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
#2 Get Advice Instead of Going it Alone
Getting advice is the best way to find what works for you, what works for your children, and to be encouraged.
You find what works for you. The main reason we don’t ask for advice is because we think we have to make our own way. We think we’re unique and we need a custom solution to organizing our lives. The truth is we’re not that unique. Other homeschooling moms like you have been down this parenting, homeschooling, homemaking road and have discovered solutions to the problems you’re experiencing. It may take you years to figure out answers on your own. Ask for advice!
You find what works for your children. We have the same view of our kids. It’s true that there’s no one else exactly like your son or daughter, but there are plenty of other kids who are strong-willed, anxious, or dyslexic. We can read books, see professionals, and Google, or we can get help that’s much more likely to work for our child by getting advice.
You’re encouraged. When we keep our difficulties to ourselves, they loom large. They take on nasty personas that tell us we aren’t cut out for this–that other moms are doing it better. We think our kids may be better off if we quit. But tell a homeschooling veteran what you’re insecure about and I’m willing to bet she will laugh and hug you and say she’s been there. She’ll say that if she can do it, so can you. You’ll have the encouragement you need to keep doing what you do.
Getting advice is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
#3 Follow a Sensible Plan Instead of Working Willy-Nilly
Following a sensible plan is the best way to achieve your goals, find balance, and maintain organization.
You achieve your goals. Without a step-by-step plan, we won’t get what we hope for from our homeschooling lifestyle. We can end up spending lots of time on subjects we and our children hate that aren’t even required because we saw a great lesson plan on Pinterest. Or we can fail to adequately prepare our students for college entrance exams when college is extremely important to our family. A reasonable plan that fits your priorities will help you get what you dream of in your homeschooling life.
You find balance. A huge list of ideas for enriching your studies of history doesn’t take into account your schedule, your marriage relationship, or your budget. The best homeschooling plan is worth nothing if it runs you ragged, causes conflict in your marriage, or puts you in debt. In contrast, a sensible plan will help you keep homeschooling in its proper place. You’ll thrive in the other areas of your life as well.
You maintain organization. Binge organizing sessions whenever the mood strikes are very unlikely to result in lasting change. Instead, you need to develop good organizing habits that will maintain the order and peace you crave. Habits are borne of small, consistent steps. A sensible plan will outline potential steps so you don’t have to wonder what to do.
Following a sensible plan is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
The Easiest Way I’ve Found for Organizing My Homeschool Life
I’ve struggled to organize all the aspects of my homeschool life and keep them that way over the years because I waited until the last minute, went it alone, and worked willy-nilly. But I had finally had enough. I needed a sensible plan that incorporated other homeschooling moms’ advice and allowed me to plan ahead. But I couldn’t find one. I found organizing calendars that were created for housekeeping, but nothing that was specifically designed for a homeschooling mother’s needs. So I created my own.
The Organized Homeschool Life is an easy-to-follow plan that will help you develop lasting organizing habits 15 minutes at a time. It’s a plan that reminds you to plan for homeschool tasks, holidays, and seasons well in advance. It is the result of the advice of many homeschool moms who’ve solved the problems we struggle with. And it’s available now. I will be using it all year to organize my homeschool life the easy way. I would love for you to join me.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
