Homeschool Essentials – Teaching Routine

Making the commitment to homeschool your children is a huge undertaking that should not be taken lightly. I don’t mean to scare you but if you are not convinced that it is the right thing for your family then it probably isn’t. Not all families are cut out for homeschool and that is fine. This is one area were if you are irresponsible you really can inflict lasting damage on your child. That said one of the best things that you can do to make sure that your children are successful in homeschool is to develop a routine.

Kids love routine, they may not know it, but anything outside of their routine causes them stress. They like to feel secure and they like to know what to expect. Routine will give them the security that they need to be successful in homeschool. It will also help out immensely with your day.

Routine means that you don’t have to bark orders all morning and that you can spend time getting ready for the day. Here are a couple of things that you can do to get your children on a good homeschool routine.

• Make the wake up at the same time every day. This also means putting them to bed at the same time every night. This one step of the equation is highly essential for a productive day. Think about how off you feel if you don’t get adequate sleep. I know I am miserable.
• Teach them to fix breakfast and have a morning routine. My kids wake up, get breakfast, brush their teeth and get dressed. They know that they are expected to be in the classroom and put together by a certain time or there are consequences. The school day revolves around my expectations not what they want.
• Let them know ahead of time what school work or projects they will be doing in coming days. It is fun to surprise them with good stuff on occasion but there is also the school work that is not always that much fun. If they know about it in advance they are less likely to grumble.
• Work their chores into the school day. Kids need to help out around the house so that they learn to take ownership and have sense of responsibility. All of this should be routine and not expected.

Developing a plan of action is essential and keeping track of what you are doing and where you need to go with your children’s learning is a huge part of homeschooling. Work out the basics and the rest will follow. Homeschooling can be a joy or a burden the choice is up to you.