The burning question that all homeschoolers often have in their heads is how to go about homeschooling routine happily and how to not wear out themselves along with their kiddos?
There are some steps that you can take care of while having a homeschool day that will get you to pass through it effortlessly and pleasurably.
Having a Concrete plan:
if you don't have a plan a day before I bet, your day and your behavior will manifest it. you will end up exhausted and not contented with what you got done on a particular day.
here is the daily planner:
I guarantee you fill it up today evening and your HS day tomorrow will feel way more peaceful and smooth.
you should copy it down in your notebook or download it. whatever works for you and keep filling it every evening or night for the coming HS day. it will change your life for the better.
Prepare for it:
if you think you have everything in place a day before HS day, think again... because it happens with me all the time when I think that I have all the required items in place and I don't inspect them until the very moment I sit to teach. but mostly to my surprise, I find that I was utterly wrong.
so preparing and collecting the items, supplies, notes-taking, print outs and any other related materials a day before is very crucial to have an organized and plain-sailing HS day.
Never follow someone else's plan:
we get trapped in this rut all the time sometimes online and at other times while meeting other HS families.
when we blindly start to follow someones else's planner or their plan of action or their teaching style and their goals. there are huge chances we will suffer. it's similar to going into a rabbit hole and not knowing what's coming. you have to have a vision for your own family.
HS spirit is crushed down to the last bit when we don't realize that every family's needs, circumstances and talents vary.
if something worked for someone else it doesn't guarantee that it's the ultimate path to follow to get success
before going into head over heels just consider your decision from all the perspectives and angles. if it's suiting you then fine. if not, then you should be more than happy to accept that fact too.
Forcing it:
I fall into this trap all the time. I wanted to design my HS routine on the public schools Model. and boy, I was so wrong in doing so. I feel so regretful of how I crushed my kid's spirit of learning and thinking.
I was disappointed when I saw what results I'm reaping from compelling my kid to do some certain stuff that their age kids are supposed to do. I felt so disheartened that my spirit of continuing HS was crushed. it struck me so hard that forcing something on your kids is a sure recipe for disaster.
kids lose their enthusiasm and learning inquisitiveness altogether and they see HS as a threat.
Over teaching:
you need to watch out for the signs in your routine and behaviour for this.
we as parents get so overwhelmed while teaching everything to our kids that we fail to consider and observe the innate and natural tendencies of the child. child's natural thirst for learning which Allah has bestowed him with gets depleted as a result. and you feel so over-exhausted and burnt out too.
Not training kids to do chores:
when we start doing all chores by ourselves thinking kids won't be able to accomplish that particular task. we are training our kids not to learn that skill. the sooner we train our kids to do their age-appropriate tasks, the better they will learn life's skills.
to avoid burn-out by shouting and screaming yourself out to get chores done, keep a notice board instead and make a schedule for your kids, add your name there, too, to keep them in high spirit.
divide the chores and know that kids work better in teams. team them up or team yourself up with them you will get amazing results.
praise their good performances to keep motivated.
forget perfection in their work. kids learn and get perfect with time and parent's dedication. use timers to create an environment of competition among family. it becomes fun and they take it as a game. with the passage of time, you will feel relaxed which will help you get through HS day better and not getting all drained up.
Don't compare:
Throw all your judgments and comparison assessments out of the window before going on board. It's a killer for HS spirit.
By comparing, you are putting your own efforts down the drain too and as a result you feel so lethargic even to try more. because you, yourself are not happy with the hard work you did until now.
when we try to compare our kids with school-going kids and try to match our curriculum to that of public schools, or even comparing your HS with other homeschooling families is just the same thing. we suffer and suffocate.
be informed that our goals are different from that of school-going kids that's why we started HS in the first place.
kids are very good at learning in their own space and with their age. the only thing we as parents literally, need to learn is to trust the kid and trust the process.
we will be at peace within ourselves and we will give our kids the ultimate confidence to bloom and groom if we stop comparing them with other kids.
they are not supposed to know everything all the time. they are not robots. they can be good at few things and bad at others. we are putting them forward for a great disaster when we put them through the evaluation gauge every other kid is passing through.
outsourcing:
If you are suffering from anger issues and other domestic issues because of which you are not able to fully concentrate and get through the day patiently. you must consider the option for outsourcing your part of work. it's up to you totally that you outsource few subjects or all subjects until you get yourself ready for proper routine and energy to get back to your responsibility.
also, if you are not a craft geek and you want your kids to learn the skill rather getting frustrated over your inability choose to outsource it to other people who are better at it.
there was a friend of mine who had some serious anger so much so that she wasn't able to get through HS day peacefully, on the other hand, she wanted to continue HS, she chose to outsource her kid's education to a great teacher and she is happy about her decision. it really helped her. There are scenarios where a mom or someone in the family is suffering from disease and need intensive care. in such a situation it's also very hard for mothers to keep looking to kids' needs. so outsourcing is the best option available to keep going without getting over-pressurized.