The Hardest Part of Homeschooling is Not the Kids

I’m sure you’ve heard it. “You homeschool? I could never do that!” That’s probably the most common thing I’m told after someone finds out we homeschool. Second is “what curriculum do you use?” Not sure why they care about that, but that’s for another post. 

I had been waiting for this moment to come. My oldest was finally school age. We sat down and learned about some letters and numbers and read books, learned a little science, and had so much fun together.

But before long, I found out the hardest part about homeschooling doesn’t have anything to do with the books or the kids whining or the weird questions I get asked.

The hardest part is just what all those moms told me they couldn’t do: Do it!  It’s conjuring up the personal discipline to actually make the learning happen. 

Before I get all the nasty looks and side glances, I know that some of the best learning comes through unstructured play. And we do a lot of that. But for me as a more traditional homeschooler, I had bought the books, the curriculum, and I had things I wanted to get through within that year in addition to all the play time. I had my plan. 

Quickly the excitement for learning died away in both of us. Play dates with friends were more appealing, his toys were calling his name, and I didn’t want to be the “bad guy” who kept him from having fun.

Why not just sit and look at my phone a little longer? Soon, our day was gone, and nothing on my plan was completed. 

Soon I learned that if I wanted to help my child learn certain things, I had to be intentional with my time.

There were several actions I quickly learned that helped me deal with what I found to be the hardest part of homeschooling – making it happen. And as my children have grown, these actions have only gotten more important to me. So today I’m going to share my top 6 tips I learned the hard way. 

Guard your school time

Homeschooling is a full time job. Act like it. Just because you don’t have to drive anywhere doesn’t mean you can’t have special school hours where nothing else gets scheduled. Guard your time you set aside, whenever that time is. All the other things can be scheduled around the few hours you need to get school time accomplished.

Put down your phone

This is a lot like the previous tip, but I felt like it needed its own point. Speaking to myself here. My phone is still a huge distraction for me after several years of homeschooling. But if you answer every text and every phone call and browse through social media when you are listening to your child read, not only will your school day take longer, but it will also not be as productive. 

Be prepared

There’s nothing like getting up and being ready to get on with your day only to realize you have no idea what the next language arts lesson entails and you don’t have the right stuff to do the science experiment. So spend a few minutes in advance to go over what you’ll do that day. Then when the time comes to get started, you’re ready. 

Get dressed every morning

If you approach your day seriously, it’s a little easier to be serious with your day. If you wake up and sit around in your comfy PJs, the temptation to lounge around the house all day is so much harder to overcome.

So perhaps get up, do a quick fix of your hair and get dressed. I’m not talking about a fancy skirt and heels.

I have heard, though, that some people suggest putting on shoes as you’re less likely to lounge around when you have shoes on. So do what helps you treat your day and time a little more seriously and more like a leave-the-house job.

Build in flexibility 

There will be some days where you wake up and just can’t muster it up and make school happen. The baby is crying, there are dishes on every surface, all the clothes are dirty, and everyone is running around like banshees.

So for days like this, I try to be flexible with my plan. We can either take the day off school, or enjoy something a little different. I usually have a few ideas in my back pocket so learning can still happen in a less stressful way. 

Have some fun

Sometimes just changing the scenery or lightening the mood can make the start of your day easier. Maybe take school work outside or make a fun treat before starting the school work. Enjoy a tea party or dress up in costumes for your history lesson. Start school with a cleaning spree to loud music and follow it up with a dance party.

Remember to not forget that it’s your school, and it doesn’t always have to be serious. 

Wrap it up

My answer when someone says they could never homeschool? “I couldn’t either when I first started!” Having the discipline to make the day happen truly is the hardest part of homeschooling for me.

I hope you, like me, are now able to find a few ways to get a better start to your school day. It’s serious work and with that work comes discipline and responsibility. And yep, a lot of that falls on us as the teacher. So wake up, get serious with your school day, and make this thing happen! You’ve got it girl.