Homeschooling does not have to be complicated. We often make it more complicated primarily out of fear – fear of not doing enough, fear of not keeping up with the other homeschool families we know, fear of ruining our child for life, etc. Instead of acting on fear, I’m going to give you 101 ways to simplify your homeschool. Choose the ones that work best for your situation and find freedom in simplifying!
1. Consider relaxed homeschooling
2. Understand your who your child really is instead of putting your expectations on her
3. Ditch the schedule when the weather is beautiful in the fall and get outdoors!
4. Realize you do not have to plan crafts for your child
5. Understand age disequilibrium and the significant impact it can have on your homeschool
6. Remember that most people can reduce their homeschooling to a computer, internet connection, printer and library card until at least middle school
7. Add more margin to your life, especially if you have a differently-wired child
8. Combine handwriting and science
9. Homeschool the child you have, not the child you wish you had
10. Figure out how to deal with the fact that you are an introvert
11. Have a substitute homeschool teacher bin for the days you aren’t up to teaching
12. Remember you can cover a lot of educational ground in the elementary years simply by reading aloud to your children
13. Remember play is learning
14. Don’t be afraid or feel guilty if you make your homeschool mom-friendly!
15. Get Amazon Prime for the free two day shipping and save a lot of time running around shopping
16. Learn from experienced homeschoolers so you can avoid some of the mistakes they made
17. Get Netflix for the educational content
18. Get Netflix for the babysitting capability
19. Buy a book to get fresh ideas and keep on hand for those tough days and weeks
20. Remind yourself you are doing this for the children’s sake
21. Keep a well stocked craft cabinet and let your children access it freely
22. Use printables with strong visuals for your visual learner so he/she doesn’t have to work as hard to remember what he/she reads and writes
23. Renew your library books online
24. Say no to the expectations of other homeschoolers
25. Organize your planning with a beautiful planner that will be a joy to use
26. Hibernate in the winter and don’t feel guilty about taking care of your family’s needs
27. Never underestimate the power of investing in new materials when things feel stale
28. Choose a new homeschool approach
29. Don’t stress over grade levels
30. Remember that even simple toys are amazing learning tools
31. Institute a daily quiet time for your family
32. Don’t be afraid to embrace the hygge!
33. Drop phonics if it isn’t working
34. Take a break and relax with some fun!
35. Do nature study in the way that works for you and your child
36. Order pizza when you need to do so
37. Don’t be afraid to use printables if your child enjoys them!
38. Use YouTube videos to inspire your creative child
39. Educate the WholeHearted Child
40. Plan your meals so you aren’t distracted by the need to figure it out while you are working with your children
41. Find the schedule that works for you and ignore what every other family is doing
42. Have realistic expectations in this age of Pinterest
43. Don’t quit after one year of homeschooling for so many reasons!
44. Feed the birds and call it science
45. Combine handwriting and history/geography
46. When you need a break, let your children watch some semi-educational television like Wild Kratts and don’t feel guilty!
47. Keep kindergarten simple and fun!
48. Plan backwards – write down what you do after the fact
49. Use sticker books as learning tools!
50. Get enough sleep. Everything is simpler and easier when you aren’t exhausted.
51. Take advantage of library programs so you can plan a bit less and get a tiny break
52. Take a relaxed approach to math
53. Remember you can learn a lot of history and science by watching YouTube
54. Focus on the seven keys to homeschool success and let the rest go
55. Get rid of the clutter that distracts you
56. Live as simply as you can if your child is wired differently and don’t worry about what other people think
57. Set boundaries so you don’t end up burned out
58. Read a good book on child development
59. Set up a learning room to keep all of the materials in one place rather than scattered all over the entire house
60. Read a good book by homeschoolers when you want to quit
61. Have a jammies day
62. Understand the red zone and how it should impact your parenting
64. Organize your materials in a way that makes sense
65. Hold off on formal mathematics
66. Never underestimate the importance of taking breaks, especially with small children. Doing brain breaks can make a huge difference in the ability of children to concentrate.
67. Learn geography with sticker books
68. Read a good book about simplifying your life and find one big change to make that will help your homeschooling
69. Pick your battles carefully and make sure it’s a hill you truly want to die on
70. Embrace silliness when it enters a lesson – it can be a powerful way to help children remember what they learn
71. Use a binding machine to make your own little workbooks of printables you find online
72. Avoid people who tear you down
75. Accept that no matter how much you may love an idea, your child may not
76. Get professional help for your child when you need it
77. Take vacation weeks when you need to, not when the calendar tells you to do so
78. Don’t overteach if it doesn’t work for your child
79. Let go of the idea of perfection in homeschooling
80. Stay home one day a week
81. Focus on relationships, not curriculum checklists
82. Consider unschooling for a time or even permanently
83. Ignore charts that require children to learn certain things at a certain time. Children learn when they are ready.
84. Join a drop-off homeschool co-op
85. Clearly define in your own mind if you are homeschooling or home educating
86. Be willing to change your mind based on your child’s interests and personality
87. Understand how personality types can have a huge impact on your homeschooling success
88. Choose not to stress over curriculum choices
89. Change up your homeschool space to something that works better for your family
90. Tidy up and change your life
91. Don’t be afraid to use learning websites
92. Remember that the grass is not necessarily greener at school and even the teachers know it
93. Say no to holiday pressures and take off the month of December from formal learning
94. Don’t get down on yourself when you feel inadequate to the task of homeschooling – even teachers struggle with feeling inadequate
95. Make geography a no-brainer
96. Get outside and enjoy the gorgeous creation!
97. Stop worrying
98. Invest in and use an InstantPot to save time
99. Allow your child to be frustrated when it’s appropriate
100. Admit that you can never do it all or be all
101. Listen to veteran homeschoolers who tell you to trust the process and it will work out in the end!
Why We’re Relaxed Homeschoolers (and Not Unschoolers)
Wow thank you for this!! What a great list….you did an amazing job compiling so many useful tidbits to improve our homeschool life. THANK YOU!
There are so many educational opportunities on Netflix, it’s fantastic! Also, YouTube is an amazing option, with almost every subject you could think of. Love it!