These Are The Days

First let me start by saying I'm no pro, I still have a lot to learn. For anyone preparing to embark on your first year, you're probably surfing the Internet for any advice you can get your hands on, so here's my 2 cents.

- Give your kids time to detox from the conveyor belt style schooling. Don't jump into workbooks, worksheets and memorization, have several days if not weeks of fun. Go on field trips, take nature walks, do art projects, read great books together, just for the fun of it.

- It's tempting to try and recreate public school at home because it's all most of us know. If kids are excited about being home schooled, only to find out the first week it feels just like public school but without their friends...they'll be very disappointed. Make it a cozy environment and don't forget the hugs.

- Before starting your school year (summer's a great time to start), get a routine going. Teach them to do chores. A chaotic environment is no place for learning, and with all your new responsibilities, you'll need the extra help around the house. Learning to take care of their things is a great lesson, and kids enjoy the sense of accomplishment.

- Don't set your schedule/calendar in stone. Allow room for life to happen. Your kids will be learning so much by being with you all day and having so much one on one help, a few sick days aren't going to hurt. Remember, one of the beauties of home school is flexibility.

- Having said that...It's OK to say "no". Your new priority is your kids education. You aren't Wonder Woman, and people need to know you aren't available for luncheons, babysitting and constant interruptions. Of course service is important, and you don't want to be a hermit, but choose carefully what you put on your plate.

- If possible, borrow curriculum before you buy it. If you're a member of a home school group, ask if anyone has the books you're interested in. After looking at it, you may decide it's not for you. Curriculum isn't cheap and it's easy to get carried away at first.

- Be selective how many sports, music lesson & clubs you allow your kids to join. You want them to build friendships and be well rounded, but kids need to be kids. Over scheduling only leads to burn out and frustration for the whole family. It's much harder to tell them no once they've fallen in love with it and made friends. Choose wisely, especially in the elementary years. There's no need for children to be competitive swimmers, concert pianists AND black belts by the time they're 12!

- Bulk cooking can be a life saver. Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is queen of how to home school and still feed your family quick, delicious and inexpensive dinners. If you're cooking up a pound of meat, why not cook 5 pounds? Divide it up in zip lock bags, season it (Italian, Taco, or whatever) and freeze it. Then all you have to do is defrost it and you've got the most time consuming part taken care of. If you have a spare freezer you can bulk cook many different things, cookies, french toast, bread, muffins, you name it.

- Take care of yourself! Make workouts and healthy living a priority. Also, don't forget the 'me time'. You're kids need a break from you just as much as you need a break from them. Take a bubble bath, read a book, go running...just do something every day. I learned the hard way and now I'm spending the summer trying to shed my winter weight. Home school can be stressful and exhausting at times, daily exercise helps regulate your weight AND your sanity.

- Homeschooling can be isolating. Make sure you nurture existing friendships and try to make new ones, whether it's a mom's club, book club, home school group, or online friends. Having other people (besides our poor husbands) to bounce ideas and concerns off is a must.

- Brace yourself! Homeschooling is great, but it's a big adjustment at first. Your house will be messier, you'll have less time for your friends, your spouse, and yourself. It may take several months to get into your groove. Starting the day with personal prayer and scripture study helped me have more patience and a clearer vision of my children's needs.

I could keep going but I won't. Good luck on your new and exciting journey!