Home educators have a lot of demands on their time. We may have multiple children, some of whom are babies or toddlers who require extra care. Some of our children may be teens who aren’t yet driving, yet are involved in numerous outside classes or activities. Then there are homeschooling parents who have a home-based businesses or work outside the home. We want to teach our children well, but we wonder:
Is there a way of providing a quality education in less time?
Some homeschoolers think so. The idea is that you teach the essential material in just one hour a day, leaving the rest of the time for the children to do independent work, related assignments, or pursue their own interests in an unschooling approach.
What Would an Hour a Day Homeschool Look Like?
Teach one subject or do memory work for six subjects, ten minutes each
Teach four subjects (math, language arts, Bible, read aloud) for four subjects, fifteen minutes each
Teach two subjects (math, language arts) for thirty minutes each; these could be switched out daily
Teach one subject for an hour each day on a rotation
Teach an hour for older students and an hour for youngers
Teach for more than one hour using any combination above
Teach this way when you’re pressed for time
I have used the latter approach many, many times. A repair person comes, the phone rings, I have to pick someone up from the airport–you name it–and the time I have left for teaching is down to an hour. I often use the ten-minute per subject approach. Most of the time I teach for three hours using a combination of approaches. I have six children, some of whom require more intensive instruction in reading. As they mature, less of my time will be required.
But Don’t Students Need More of Your Time?
Yes, they often do. That’s why every teacher who uses this method must make themselves available to tutor and answer questions. You may be spending only an hour of focused time “teaching” your students, but they will be spending many hours relying on your tutoring and learning on their own.
Want More Information About Homeschooling in an Hour?
Check out Homeschooling-Ideas and Homeschool.com that reference a father whose six children were homeschooled in an hour a day and attended Stanford. He notes that he used this approach with older children.
You can cover many of the essentials in LESS than an hour a day with Classical Conversations.
What Do You Think? Could You Homeschool in an Hour a Day?
There are people who have impacted my life simply because they have gone above and beyond their duty. They are ordinary people whose humble service and love for others have impressed me more than anything fame, money, or position could do. The Fred Factor calls these kinds of people Freds, after a postal serviceman who went far beyond the ordinary to excellence.
Freds I’ve Met
I met Freds in an oil changing shop one afternoon. I was given a flower, had the car door held open for me, and was treated like a princess. I’m sure those Freds had no idea how profoundly impacted I was by their kindness. I cried all the way home because life hadn’t been treating me like a lady then. I met Freds at church. Two of them invited me into their home to share a delicious homemade lunch many Sundays when I was in college. The gentleman in this home handled all of my car repairs for me, making sure that he either paid for them himself or got me the absolute best price possible. Another couple of Freds invited me into their home to live when my college roommate situation wasn’t working out. I meet Freds all the time. I have a waitress who helps my children cut up their food. I have homeschool friends who come to my home for co-op who clean without being asked and jump in to help with projects that have nothing to do with homeschooling. A homeschool author read So You’re Not Wonder Womanand started promoting it on her website.
The Fred I Want to Be
I want to be someone else’s Fred. Why? Because it’s the true measure of greatness. Say Good-bye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes calls being a Fred ‘honor.’ It’s doing more than what’s expected. The Bible calls being a Fred a servant.
The greatest among you will be your servant. (Matthew 23:11)
I realized in reading the Fred Factor that I rarely seek to be a Fred in my own home. That needs to change. I can have the greatest impact with the people I love most. That means that I am not just getting by or doing the quickest, easiest thing. It means I am giving my best for the service of my family and the glory of God.
The Freds I Want My Children to Be
Talk with your children about the Freds you’ve met. Tell them what a great impact they have had on you. Read the Scripture about what it means to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Then discuss what they could do to be Freds in your family, in your church, and your world.
What Freds have made the biggest impact in your life and why?
It isn’t even summer yet, and homeschoolers are busy planning next school year. Take these ten steps to have your best year yet.
1. Inventory
Go through all of your homeschooling curriculum, books, and supplies before you do anything else. Why? So you don’t buy something you already have and also because you will get a very clear indication of what worked and what didn’t.
2. Organize
As you review each item that you’re not currently using, put it into one of four piles: 1) Using in the fall; 2) Using another year; 3) Sell/Give away; 4) Not sure. I like to store everything I am using in the current year in plain sight and everything else out of sight. This is the time of year to sell your unwanted items at used curriculum sales or online. Put “maybe” items in a separate box and review it when your school year is over.
3. Yes
Make a list of what worked well for you this school year–even if it only worked well for a while. What was it that made it successful? Newness, time of year, your energy? These are things you want to keep, return to, or build upon.
4. No
Make a list of anything that did not work for you this school year. What was it that caused the problem? Can it be fixed or does the curriculum or activity have to go?
5. Consult
Discuss your plans with your homeschooling friends. Maybe you can create a co-op, share curriculum, or share driving responsibilities. Perhaps your friends know a curriculum that would work better for you and your children.
6. Discuss
Talk about your impressions of the year with your children. They may have a different perspective on why something didn’t work or may be willing to give up other activities in order to keep a favorite. Discuss your thoughts with your spouse, even if your spouse isn’t that involved in these decisions. Often, talking it out will give you a fresh perspective. Budgetary issues should be addressed during this time.
7. Pray
Prayer can and should be a part of the entire process for believers. I sold a curriculum book for a tiny fraction of its retail value at a used sale last year, only to have a woman tell me she had prayed that she would be able to afford that very book. Our Lord wants to be involved in the smallest details of our planning and when we invite Him to be, we are blessed.
8. Schedule
One of the most common mistakes new homeschoolers (and even veterans like me) make is assuming they can handle more than they can. You will not have time to teach every subject, or even most of them every day. If you are running several days a week, you will not be able to do justice to the core subjects at home. Creating a detailed schedule will help you determine what you can reasonably accomplish.
After completing steps 1-9, you’ll be ready to make your purchase, whether you are online, at a bookstore, used sale, or a homeschooling conference. As the wife of a book salesman, please accept my encouragement to buy from someone you have a relationship with or a family business if the price is at all comparable.
One final bonus tip: start enjoying your new materials now! Why slog through the end of the year with the same-old, same-old when you have inspiring new stuff to delve into?
Are you planning next school year right now? Anything you’re struggling with or particularly excited about?
I’m in my 13th year of homeschooling and for the 13th time, I have spring fever. Fortunately, I know the right prescription for my chronic ailment: a homeschool conference. I attended a local homeschool conference last week and left with excitement to spare. Of course, that excitement doesn’t last. That’s why I like to buy recordings of seminars that I can listen to when my motivation begins to wane once again.
A couple of years ago, I discovered an online homeschool expo. It’s a year’s prescription of homeschool motivation. While there are live speakers (I will be speaking on “Help for the Unmotivated Homeschooler on April 24th at 1:00 p.m.), you can be inspired by quality recordings while you travel, workout, or do housework. The opportunity to peruse books, curriculum, and great gifts for the kids at a local expo is always rewarding. You’ll have the same opportunity at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. The tickets are a bargain when you consider the cost of a local expo and even one CD ($6).
Do yourself and your kids a favor: get your ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo today! For more information, click the EXPO tab and scroll down. I hope to talk with you live on the 24th!
Any advice for homeschoolers attending an EXPO for the first time?
After teaching my daughter the Learn Math Fast method for subtracting single digit numbers, my daughter came up with this slightly different approach. Of course, we want kids to have these math facts memorized, but in the meantime, it’s helpful for them to have a quick method for solving the problems.
Without any prompting from me, my daughter started teaching her younger brother and her friend “her method” for subtracting single digit numbers. She was so excited about math! Why? I would argue that she feels competent. We are always more motivated to pursue activities we feel capable in. If your child is struggling in a subject, have him teach someone who is behind him in ability. Or consider letting your child make a YouTube video!
The added benefit of letting your child teach is the learners get motivated, too. My daughter’s friend was very excited about this math method and the video they made of it. You still have time to enter the Learn Math Fast giveaway!
Have you had success having your child teach a subject? Tell us about it!
Sometimes when people hear that I homeschool six kids, write, and speak, they tell me I'm a Wonder Woman. I'm not going to disagree, but they don't know the whole story.
In honor of the St. Louis Homeschool Expo where I'll be presenting, I've made the real story behind this Wonder Woman FREE! On March 23rd & 24th, click on the book below and you'll be able to read So You're Not Wonder Woman for free on your Kindle, any Kindle app, or your computer (get free app here) regardless of whether you have Amazon Prime.
I hope you are blessed by the book! If you are, I hope you will bless me in return by leaving a review for the book. I can get my book into the hands of more Wonder Woman wannabes if they read a number of positive reviews.
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.
