A couple of weeks ago I asked what was the best advice on parenting or homeschooling you ever received. Here are some responses from homeschooling mothers:
“Once you have decided to homeschool, choose to be 100% committed to it. If you blow hot and cold on the idea of homeschool then you will find it much harder on the difficult days. And absolutely everyone has difficult days.”
“Sending your child to school because of a behaviour problem or parent/child relationship problem will not solve or remove the problem. It will just transfer the problem to a new situation. It’s better to work through the difficulty and overcome it.”
“Housework will always be there your kids will not.”
That’s true. However, no-one wants to live in squalor, so this next bit of wisdom is spot on:
“Start early with chores – as soon as they can walk they can put their dirty clothes into the laundry hamper! You will be very thankful down the track when your children are teenagers.”
One of the problems with homeschooling is that there is always so much to do, and it’s easy to get distracted, so I like this advice:
“To get organized, have a plan, but be flexible enough to allow other learning opportunities as they arise, and keep things interesting and varied.”
“Read the books then just do the bits you agree with and can manage, otherwise you’ll burn out.”
“My advice would be just relax and enjoy each other. Read heaps of wonderful books together, play lots of games, learn heaps about world history and geography and local history and geography through these games as well as spending enjoyable family time together.”
“Be prepared for hard days and on those days be kind to yourself and your children, and find something nice to do (maybe a special morning tea).”
“Take some time for yourself. Be sure to nurture yourself.”
If you liked hearing what other homeschoolers have found helpful to them in their homeschooling, you will enjoy Lesson Three of Successful Homeschooling Made Easy. It’s full of detailed, practical advice from experienced homeschoolers. You can find out more about the course here: www.successfulhomeschoolingmadeeasy.com
Enjoy your children,
Stephanie