As soon as you wake up in the morning, you like to feel prepared and believe that the day ahead is going to be a smooth and successful one. Homeschooling your children is something you’re extremely passionate about, and you want to make sure you are always set up for a great day of learning. When it comes to homeschooling your little one there are a whole host of moving parts that you need to put in place in order to ensure the day is a smooth sailing one. Some of these set-ups will feel like second nature to you now, but others may not always be at the forefront of your mind. Consider the following eleven proven methods for a successful day of homeschooling, and you will always feel prepared no matter what!
- Set a Clear Agenda for the Day
Making a plan for each day of learning is a brilliant way to set you and your child up for success. This will help you to feel confident with what you want to achieve for the day, and it will also give your child a good structure to work from too. When a youngster knows what is ahead of them, they are much more likely to pay attention and feel ready to learn. Leave some space for flexibility during the day too; if your schedule is too stringent, you and your child may feel pressured. You want to enjoy the process as much as possible so create an agenda which has room to change.
- Allow Regular Breaks and Rewards for Reaching Milestones
As much as you want to achieve all of your goals for the day, you also need to allow regular breaks for you and your child. On your daily agenda you should factor in a morning break, a lunch break and some afternoon downtime too. In most cases, it is best to cover the more intense work earlier on in the day when your child’s concentration is at their peak. The afternoons should be reserved for the more creative and free work, as this is a much better time of day for this.
- Create a Motivating and Non-Distracting Space
Recreating a classroom adjacent space for your children to learn everyday is quite the task, especially when you’re starting out on your homeschooling journey. Renovating an interior space in your home doesn’t need to be expensive or disruptive to your everyday life. You could look into wood wall accent ideas which will serve as a stunning wall decor. This wood wall will create a beautiful and inspiring space for you to teach your children everyday. It also gives you versatility to put up pictures and achievements from your child as a display. Try to choose a space away from other distractions in the home, such as near the television or their favorite toys. The school space should be simple, functional and motivating for your children.
- Allow Time for Free Play
Relaxed and free playtime is so important for every child, especially those who are homeschooled. Their day can be very structured during lesson times, so their mind needs time to switch off and explore independent games they want to play. Set up their favorite toys ready for their free playtime session and allow them to be creative for a certain period each day.
- Get Outside and Breathe in the Fresh Air
Getting outside whenever you can is a brilliant way to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule. Exploring nature and spending time outdoors is the perfect way to get some fresh air each day. You can use your outdoor space at home, or you can venture further afield and get some fresh air in other public places. You could visit the local park or even go on a field trip to somewhere special as a treat!
- Discover Unique Ways to Learn
All learning doesn’t need to be carried out in the classroom. In fact, you can learn so much more by adopting a hands-on approach. If you’re learning about animals you could visit a local farm. You could also take trips to local museums, or even foreign countries to learn about history, religion and languages. Depending on your teaching style, you can decide on what is the best option for you and your children when it comes to unique learning methods.
- Offer Nourishing Meals and Snacks
Listening and absorbing information all day takes a whole lot of brain power, which requires a lot of nutritious and delicious food. Preparing fun and healthy snacks for your children doesn’t have to take too much time, in fact you could get them involved in the process too! Learning basic skills such as cooking and nutrition is extremely valuable to all youngsters as they will take so much information from this into their future life as they grow up.
- Make a Clear Distinction Between Home Life and Schooling
When you homeschool your child it is very important to make a clear distinction between school time and home time. This will help their concentration during school hours and will also help them fully relax when they’re at home. Whether you set homework for your child or not, try to give them a sense of responsibility out of school time. Perhaps you might set them some research to do for an upcoming class. Try not to remind them to do their preparation for class, as this will prevent them from learning how to take responsibility for their homework themselves.
- Keep Your Cool Even When Things Don’t Go Your Way
As a parent who homeschools their child it can become frustrating when things don’t quite go to plan. Perhaps your child isn’t in the right mood or a lesson didn’t quite go the way you had imagined. Whatever the situation may be, it is important to focus on the positives that we’re achieved that day instead of dwelling on the negatives.
- Don’t Deny Sick Days When They’re Needed
If you or your child are sick, you don’t need to homeschool on this day. It is completely acceptable to take a sick day and rest. Pushing through an illness will only make you feel worse, and it’s important to always put your health first.
- Teach Your Child About Mental Health
Teaching your child about numbers, spelling, history, science and other educational topics are obviously very important. However, there are a lot of other topics that need to be considered as a high priority too. Mental health is a subject that should be taught to every school child, because it shows them how important it is to express their emotions as they get older. There are a number of resources available to you which will help you to teach your child about mental health in an age appropriate way.
Now that you have all of these ideas in mind, you will be on the right path for setting up a functional, successful and enjoyable environment for your children to learn in. These changes are simple to implement and they can also be extremely enjoyable too! Homeschooling your child is something that makes you and your family happy, so why not create the best possible scenario at home so that everyday is a successful one? Of course, there will be days that don’t go to plan, but that is the beauty of homeschooling. Everyday is a learning curve and a chance to grow with your child as their expand their mind and discover new facts about the world.
Image from Pexels – CC0 Licence
Image from Pexels – CC0 Licence
If you live in North Carolina and would like to start homeschooling, here is all the information you need to gets started.
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