My Top Tips and Resources for you to Jump in and Homeschool
With all that’s happening in our world and school closures, I know so many of you are worried and thinking….”How am I going to Homeschool my children for 2-6 weeks (or maybe even longer🙈)? You may even be thinking, “Can I be with my children all day without going insane?” Well, friends, I’m here to cheer you on and tell you that YOU can do this!!
First of all, God gave you your children and placed them in your family for a reason!! So even if they drive you nuts sometimes (I promise, this happens to all of us!), YOU know them best, YOU love them more than any teacher ever will and YOU will not screw them up nor will they fall behind academically. I was an elementary school teacher for 12 years so I also have some tips and tricks for you.
ENJOY your family time. Some of you are type A and going to want to plan out every minute and give your kids huge workbooks and think you’re doing them a great service by “staying on track,” and I’m going to argue that will just make your kids (and you) frustrated, bored, and hating this quarantine even more. So Mamas, enjoy the mornings. Enjoy sleeping in, having breakfast together without rushing out the door, getting dressed and not screaming at anyone that they’re going to be late, and the time to snuggle and read on the couch. Your kids are probably freaking out a bit too (whether they can and are voicing this or not), so being with you will bring extra comfort and security during these unsure times. Now I’m not saying throw all schedules out the door and do nothing, because if we know anything about kids, they thrive with routine and schedules. However, you can give yourself and your kiddos some grace and time to adjust to this new norm.
Find what works best for you and your kids!! My kids now sleep in until about 8am and we start around 9am. I’m a 7 Enneagram, so I hate schedules and just want to have fun, BUT I know they’re important for kids. So if we start 15-60 minutes late, I don’t stress, I just adjust back the schedule. What I do keep is the order of what we do everyday. We always start with reading time together on our couch. We read the Bible, read a missionary story, and a great Fictional Novel (even my tweenager does this with us). Why? Because kids learn how to become great readers by listening to great readers! So, if you’re going to do ONE thing with your kids at home, read! You can also use Audible books (Did you know Alexa plays your Kindle books?!) and most libraries although they’re closed, you can check out e-books and Audible books! Have your kids play and listen to stories! If that’s all you can handle, then stop there!! Here is a sample of our daily schedule: tweak it to fit your kids and their ages.
3. Take breaks when you need to!! If you find your kids (or yourself!) getting overwhelmed, or frustrated, call a time out!! Go outside, send them to their room to play with the 1,000 toys they have, put on an educational show so you feel good about it (or heck, put on Disney+….teachers do it, and you can too!!), dance it out, listen to worship music, pray, journal about what you’re grateful for. I cannot say this enough…give yourself and your people grace. You do not have to spend 7 hours a day doing school! My kids elementary age kids can get 6 subjects done in about 2 to 2.5 hours. My junior higher needs about 5 hours to get her subjects done when she works diligently. You will be tempted to let them play on devices or video games all day, but here’s a BIG piece of advice…don’t give in! I can tell you that the days I let them play video games or on their devices, they end in arguing, disobeying, tons of crying and just not happy kids. Their brains literally get re-wired for the worse when they play video games or use electronics too long so take it from me, and keep them off and hidden. We limit our to Friday Fun day after school and Saturdays. Any more than that and their attitudes STINK.
4. Ask for help!!! I don’t know why moms today think they have to do all and be all things to everyone, but you don’t!!! If you get stuck with what to do with your kids, ask other mamas! Email or message me! I’d love to listen and help if I can! Get advice from books and podcasts! Read parenting books! My favorites are: Shepherding A Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp and my favorite homeschooling book: Teaching From Rest by Sarah Mackenzie (she also has a great podcast: Read-Aloud Revival).
5. Have fun! For Science: Play outside and explore nature, draw what kids see or keep a nature journal and glue things they find into their notebooks, then research online about what they find or watch Science videos on You-Tube together. For Math: play Uno, play dice or card games or Monopoly. For writing: let them keep a journal, make up stories, copy poems, re-write story endings, learn cursive, copy and illustrate Bible verses. For History: Read or Listen to “Story of the World” by Susan Wise Bauer (there are four volumes) my kids love these and I have learned a ton as well, watch the history channel together, read Biographies (our favorites are the “Christian Heroes, Then & Now Series and the “Who Was?” Series). For P.E.: go for walks, runs or bike rides together, play tag, jump rope, jump on the trampoline, or practice different sports drills to keep practicing the sports they’re now off from. Do art together: my kids love “Art for Kids Hub” on You-tube where this dad teaches step by step instructions for how to draw. Don’t do all of this in one day! In my opinion, kids need to know how to Read, Write and do Math. The rest is extra. Do the extras on what we call “Fun Friday.” The kids get to play games instead of doing Math books, we go outside, we do art, you get the picture.
6. Ask kids what they want to learn! The possibilities are endless! Suggestions: Learn a new language (Duolingo app), Do they want to learn more about a topic in their favorite subject or learn how something works? Learn a new hobby like photography, knitting, how to work on cars, how to start a business, knitting, how to do water colors, how to start a podcast or make IMovies. This is the time to have fun and do all the things you haven’t been able to because your family has been too busy with sports and extracurricular and all the things.
There are tons of great online learning cites and many companies are offering great freebies and resources right now. Here are some of my favorites!
Memory verses for Mamas
https://static.crossway.org/excerpt/esv-bible-verse-cards-for-covid-19.pdf
Online learning:
Free Audible for kids while schools closed!
https://stories.audible.com/start-listen
Free Adventures in Odyssey for four weeks (daily stories with a lesson and devotionals for kids)
Full lesson plans for each age/grade:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wB8a2Hz5olGI7Rks0GB3BHHmEAZ9TYyUZelTRMhfFoM/mobilebasic
Khan kids app:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/khan-academy-kids/id1378467217
Scholastic:
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html (free during this time!)
Three free weeks of fluency and fitness (k-2) https://fluencyandfitness.com/
Two weeks free online drawing doodles with author, Mo Willems. 1pm EST daily:
Visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/ to watch all of Mo's videos, find activity sheets to print out & follow along, and more!
Online literacy, stories, read alouds:
https://growingbookbybook.com/online-literacy-resources/
Free illustration classes with author JJK, daily at 11am PST: www.youtube.com/studiojjk
GoNoodle- kids videos (Free App With exercise/ dance)
Free virtual field trips:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/mobilebasic
Free writing resources:
https://bravewriter.com/about/homebound
Learn to play the piano for free:
https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/
All the subjects: (free 30 days) : Adventure Academy
Outschool.com (enroll for free, pay for virtual classes, as low as $5 per class).
https://outschool.com/?signup=true&usid=vVrul09w&utm_campaign=share_invite_link
ABC MOUSE (little kids) (Free for 30 days for family enrollment). https://www.abcmouse.com/abt/subscription
prodigygame.com (math)
storyboardthat.com (creative thinking/writing): free 14 day trial
https://www.storyboardthat.com/
Websites for printable worksheets:
Printing, Math, Holidays, Languages, Typing,etc. Preschool to Fifth Grade:
teacherspayteachers.com (free printable and resources you can download & purchase): preschool to high school
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh4TvhLKg6AIVXR-tBh1dfgpyEAAYASAAEgKwkPD_BwE
super cute, printable at a reasonable price (preschool to early elementary)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/storiesbeginathome (
k5learning.com: online reading, math and free worksheets
tinmanpress.com (printable activity books $$)
Misc online:
sciencefun.org
kiwico.com/diy
curiositystream.com
Additionally many Museums offer online tours. A few of our Favorites,
The Spy Museum
The Vatican
NASA
The Louvre
At the end of the day, if your kids and you are alive and moderately happy, you’ve focused on being kind and getting along, you are winning my friend. You’ve got this!🙌