14 Helpful Tips for the New Homeschool Mom

14 Helpful Tips and Suggestions for the New Homeschool Mom

Are you new to homeschooling? Are you wondering what to consider before you begin this journey? Here are 14 homeschooling tips that will encourage you and set you off on the right path! Interested? Keep reading.

These tips would have really been good to know 6 years ago when we made the decision to homeschool our first child. You see, I was a former public school teacher turned homeschool mom. I thought I was super equipped to teach at home. I literally put my supplies, books, and teaching style on a conveyor belt to my home. Wasn’t what I was doing “homeschooling?”

Turns out, it wasn’t.

Homeschool is not public school at home. It is, however, a beautiful addition to your family where a culture of learning is a part of daily life. It is kind, personal, and focused on your children’s personal growth as well as their academic growth.

Before we jump into the tips, I want you to know that you can do this!! The steps you have taken to homeschool your precious children will be the most amazing gift to you and your family. It is a tough job, BUT SO worth it!

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Tip #1 Nourish Your Relationship with Your Kids

Homeschooling is a beautiful thing. It is in homeschooling where you get to enjoy all of the “Aha” moments of your child’s milestones and achievements! Because homeschoooling isn’t just focused on academics

The drawback to homeschooling can sometimes be getting stuck in the traps of check-off lists and daily routines, sticking to a curriculum that isn’t working, etc. that you can hurt the relationship with your kids.

Homeschooling is going to cause you to spend a lot of time with your kids. It will be easy to get caught up in the motion of your daily routines, to-do lists, and meeting all of your educational planning goals.

However, do not let any of that get in the way of your relationship with your kids. If your schedule is too busy or you are trying to fit too much into your day, you may find yourself annoyed or short-fused with your children. It is at this point you should reassess what you are doing with homeschooling and how you can adjust it so that you feel less overwhelmed.

Evaluate the decisions you make? Are these helping our relationship?

When I began homeschooling, I signed up for every co-op and learning opportunity that presented itself. I found myself teaching multiple classes, going out 3 days a week, and feeling like I was burning out. I became short with my kids, annoyed at my lack of time at home, and frustrated that my house was falling apart. And to make matters worse, my kids didn’t seem happy.

Now I would like to say that I stopped everything (like what I am suggesting you all do) to reassess my schedule and goals. However, I did not. It took special circumstances to take these things away from us to open my eyes to how I wasn’t putting the relationship with my kids first.

Fast forward to today… I have learned to start saying no to good opportunities if they didn’t fit into our homeschooling goals. I have learned to “protect” my schedule so that I can protect my relationship with my kids. I am so glad I did and so are my kids.

Are you task oriented or relationship oriented?

I tend to be very task oriented and sometimes I throw my children’s emotions out the window in order to hurry them along so I can check off a box. This sounds so harsh and admitting it makes me sad. But I know that I am not the only one who does this.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Let’s say my child is writing their journal entry of the day. They keep misspelling the same word and writing letters backwards that we have gone over and over. They seem like they are never going to finish writing 2 simple sentences. They are spending more time on the picture than the writing itself. I start to feel annoyed because we have to move on with our day. I hurry them and I know that the tone of my voice is obviously one of impatience.

I don’t patiently redirect them, instead I bark commands at them to stop being sidetracked and focus. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!!! How can I remember in my annoyed moment that this is my precious (and young) child and that maybe we need to slow down and learn how to write the “S” correctly?

Because I know a weakness of mine is to be task oriented, I am continually asking God to help me in this area. I spend time in prayer, studying scripture, and asking my child’s forgiveness when I mess up.

These years that you get to spend with your child, homeschooling, are laying the foundation for your lifelong relationship with them. Be patient with them, listen to them, and learn with them. Be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and meet them where they are in every aspect of life.

Your Child needs to know that you love them no matter what. If they struggle with math, aren’t good about cleaning their room, or struggle with peer relationships, they need to know that you will love them through their shortcomings. One thing you can add into your homeschooling day is Morning Time. Click here to learn more about morning time and how it can benefit your homeschool day.

Cherish this time with your child and create a solid foundation for a lifelong relationship.

I know what I am about to write seems obvious, but I forget this simple act of love so often… Ready for it? Smile and make eye contact. Nothing beats the emotional connection of looking into the eyes of your child and smiling and being at the receiving end of their sincere and warm smile. So while you are working through a history lesson, pause and connect with them through a sincere smile. Then tell them how much you love being with them and learning with them.

Here are 8 simple ways to show your child that you love them:

• Read a book with them cuddled up on the couch
• Put down your phone and engage with them
• Plan a special date with your child and have a picnic at the park (make sure you include them in the lunch making)
• Play or pretend with your kids
• Instead of saying “just a minute” when they ask you to do something with them, say “yes”
• Give them a hug and tell them you love them often
• Sit down and watch a movie with them
• List all the reasons why you are glad that they are your child.

Tip #2 Create a Peaceful Home Environment

This does not mean that you spend a lot of money on decor. However, add simple touches that create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Here are some easy ways to accomplish that.

• Use a string of lights or candles to give warmth to your dining room or area that you homeschool.
• Add a beautiful table cloth to your table (I keep my eyes open at thrift stores and yard sales that way if they get ruined, it is okay.)
• Purchase some beautiful pieces of artwork, natural history prints, or maps and hang them on the walls- these are great decor but also can be used for the kid’s studies- I actually found a company that makes beautiful “wrapping paper” but I use it as wall hangings
• You can print up famous artwork that is free of copyright laws (like my Albrecht Durer “Hare” print.) Having a good printer helps it to turn out great!
• Hang or display your child’s art work around your home
• Add cozy pillows and throw blankets to the areas where you do your read-alouds or morning times (you can even add making pillow covers if your kids are old enough to use a sewing machine)
• PLANTS! Oh I love plants! They add so much warmth and dimension to a room, not to mention they are good for the air. I never spend more than $6-$10 on a plant and now I am working on trying to transplant clippings of plants I already own. – Hey, isn’t that a homeschooling science lesson? 🙂
• Comfy seating (I got my current homeschool cozy seating from a yard sale. )

Tip #3 Know Your Purpose for Homeschooling

Why are you choosing to homeschool? Answering this question will help guide you in your homeschooling decisions.

Knowing the answer to this question will also help you when things get tough (and there will be tough days). I have many reasons why I chose to homeschool and it helps to write these out in a journal and reference them occasionally. Sometimes you will even add more reasons as the years pass and you see ALL of the benefits of choosing to homeschool your children. Here is my list (not comprehensive- my list is very long):

• Teaching them a Christian Worldview
• Teaching in a cohesive and natural way
• Building a solid relationship with my kids
• Creating lifelong learners
• Showing them how to love learning
• Building on their strengths
• Encouraging them through their weaknesses
• Learning in the real world
• Giving them an individualized learning plan that meets their needs and interests
• Preparing them for the world

While your list may be different from mine, writing it out will help you as you teach your child at home. It will help you to when you have to make critical decisions about your homeschooling journey and plan. I have created a planner that will assist you in writing out your goals and planning out your perfect homeschool year.

Tip #4 Have Confidence in yourself- You CAN Teach your Child

While you may not have a teaching credential (or maybe you do), know that you are fully capable and equipped to teach your own child.

Because I went through the teaching credentialing program and also spent so much time in the classroom, I can tell you that what I had to know in order to teach was specific to teaching large groups of children. I was trained to manage a class of 30-35 students behaviorally, learned about the laws for California Education, how to differentiate instruction, how to formally assess, etc. None of this in which is pertinent to teaching your children at home. As the parent, you know your child best. You know how they learn, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to manage them in your family household. You get to spend time with them to understand and know them.

You DO NOT have to possess a teaching credential to be qualified to teach your child.

Do you want the best for your child? Can you read and research? Are you a teachable person? If you answered yes to these questions then you can successfully teach your child. You can study up on homeschool teaching philosophies, curriculum, and different strategies. If you are willing to learn and ask questions as you begin your homeschooling journey then you can be successful.

Homeschooling is so popular now that the resources available are abundant.

Tip #5 Your Curriculum is a Guide, NOT a Law to Follow in Homeschooling

When I look back at my first years of homeschooling, I wish I could go back and tell my daughter that I am sorry for being a stick in the mud. I was just coming out of the classroom and I was task oriented and worksheet driven. I literally made my 4 year old complete worksheets! SMH! I didn’t follow the cues of my child’s learning, I simply stuck to my curriculum, scope and sequence, and list of check-offs. Oh poor girl, I am sorry! It took me about 2 years and a kind older mother’s words and wisdom to help me to see what I was doing wrong.

Now, I am proud to say that I use my curriculum as a guide and not a law. (Patting myself on the shoulder now). In fact I actually create my own curriculum for my children that is focused on helping them be independent learners and creating an atmosphere of lifelong learning. Creative time has become an essential part of our homeschooling as well!

There are times when I skip lessons, or speed through them depending on the academic needs of my children. This is so freeing. There are also times that we stop what we are doing to go on a field trip or do a special activity and it is okay to skip lessons in your curriculum.

Tip #6 Lead by Example- Never Stop Learning Mom!

The Amazing thing about homeschooling is that you and I get to learn too! I actually feel like I am in school too and this is perfect because when our children see us learning and getting excited about it, they are encouraged to have a lifelong love of learning.

As I have gone through homeschooling my children I have discovered passions that I didn’t know existed. My children often see me going off and researching further on a subject we covered in their history or science time.

By being an example of lifelong learning, we give our children the best homeschooling lesson possible, that we are never finished learning. That this world is so complex and mysterious and that our life’s goal should be to learn about what our creator has made.

Tip #7 Be Prepared For Doubters

Oh the stories I have…. I could write a book about naysayers. A stranger at a yard sale telling me that my child would not be prepared for high school if I continued to homeschool them, the pharmacist letting me know I was raising socially awkward kids, my in-law’s family friend grilling me at El Torito letting me know that my child has to live in the real world, my own family telling me that I can’t shelter my kids from reality… Those are just a handful of the things people have said to me and might say to you as well. The unknown or any new idea (what homeschooling is to many) is frightening. They do not know much about this way of education, so they judge and condemn even though what they know is hearsay.

As a new homeschooling mom, you may feel like I did when I started: unsure about the results, unlearned about education statistics, and flustered when confronted. With time you will gain confidence in your responses, but for the time being it is good to have a quick “shut down” response.

You DO NOT have to explain yourself to a stranger or even a family friend. Now, if they want to truly discuss why you homeschool and they are open to hearing your reasons, then go ahead and have the discussion. But if their sole purpose is to change your mind (without even knowing your choice and purpose), then there is no point in talking about it. Move on and change the subject.

Down the road if you feel like it is your purpose to defend homeschooling and be a source of change in the way this education is viewed, then do your research and have a list of answers to the questions we most often face. I like how Ainsley Arment approaches this issue in her homeschooling book “The Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in your Child’s Education”.

Tip #8 Get to Know Your Child’s Learning Style

Children are so diverse in how they learn. One child may be an auditory learner, the other a kinesthetic learner, and the other a visual learner. There are assessments you can informally do at home to inform you of your child’s learning style or you can just observe them as you work with them and begin to teach them at home.

My daughter is a quick learner. If she hears something in a lesson or you explain a math concept to her, she gets it right away and remembers the skill long term She is predominantly an auditory learner. My son, on the other hand is a visual and kinesthetic learner. He has to see the concept I am teaching visually and then he has to interact with the concept physically. For example, when I taught him addition. I knew he would need to see physical objects being manipulated to represent the addition problems we were doing.

What is your child’s prominent learning style? How do you try to adjust your homeschooling lessons to their learning style?

Tip #9 Teach Good Habits and Skills to your Kids

Don’t get stuck in academic skills only, use the opportunity that homeschooling allows to get your children to have good habits and lifelong skills for success. For example, a morning routine where they make their bed, get dressed, brush their teeth, and do their chores. I also love that my kids can start a load of laundry, weed, sweep, mop, and put dishes away. We make it fun by listening to catchy dance music.

Tip #10 Allow Time For Exploration and Creativity

This is an area that I am super passionate about. Children need this set-aside time to simply explore with their imaginations and to also use their creativity. I haven’t always done this because I didn’t know how important this was in childhood development until about 2 years ago. This time of the day (which I actually schedule in just like I do math time and reading time) becomes their favorite part.

We have created special work stations both in the house and in the garage for our children to explore with materials and supplies and to create their wild thingamabobs. I am always on the search at yard sales for cheap crafts, tools, and contraptions that my children can explore and create with.

Tip #11 Begin to Study Educational Philosophies

Take me back several years to when I made my mind up that I was going to homeschool my first child. It seemed that no matter where I went, the question that I kept getting was, “What is your homeschool philosophy?”. I admit, this question would always take me by surprise. I didn’t know what philosophy I was going to use, in fact I didn’t even know what that really meant. My response usually went something like this: “I plan to teach my child in a way that they will understand and I think we will have fun doing it. I mean I did teach in the public schools for 8 years, so I will probably just do something like that…”

And let me tell you, that is what I started out doing. I replicated my classroom teaching days with my daughter. Flash cards to learn letters, worksheets to practice writing her name, blocks to learn numbers, etc. This all worked fine and she started to learn quickly, but as time passed I started looking into different homeschooling philosophies. I wasn’t happy replicating what I did with 30 students every day for the last 8 years with my child. It wasn’t engaging, challenging, or what I even felt was right. This is where I love the fact that more experienced homeschooling moms are always ready to help and encourage.

I remember hearing the name Charlotte Mason for the first time from another homeschool mom. So much of how Charlotte Mason taught her students and even how she viewed them really challenged me to rethink how I was approaching the education of my own child. I love the idea that Charlotte Mason viewed each student as a whole person that deserved respect. She believed that education should be a rich with beautiful ideas and naturally engaging.

Reading great homeschooling books will encourage you in your teaching style. I love gleaning wisdom from other homeschool moms and educators. Susan Wise-Bauer, Karen Glass, Cindy Rollins, Andrew Pudewa, and so many other educators have helped to shape my educational philosophies as I teach my children at home. I want to do the best job that I can and provide my kids with the best education possible. That is why I am constantly learning and trying to refine my skills and I encourage you too as well. I love learning more and it is important for you to always be learning beside your child.

Ambleside online is a great resource on the Charlotte Mason Philosophy of education. Or you can check out my brief overview of the Charlotte Mason philosophy of homeschooling. Simply Charlotte Mason is another website that has a plethora of Charlotte Mason information for beginners.

While I call myself a Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Mom now (with a pull toward classical education as well), I tend to incorporate other philosophies as well. I love the sciences and so while many “Charlotte Masoners” (and classical educators) don’t place an emphasis on science study and curriculum in the early years, I definitely do. We do have our nature journaling time (and we love that), but I have come to a place where I believe it is essential to form a strong scientific foundation in my children. So we spend a good amount of time learning about the sciences.

In fact, I often bring out our high powered microscope and we complete biology and chemistry labs. We use living books to teach science as it’s own subject. While I do not use textbooks at this young age to guide our science, I do teach it systematically. For example, we went through a basic biology unit (that I designed) where I followed a scope and sequence of basic biology topics. It was hands on and I integrated writing, math, and reading into our science learning. It was funny to hear my kids talking about bacteria and other unicellular organisms after we viewed them under the microscope and read books about them.

The great thing about homeschooling is that you get to choose how you educate your child. As each year passes, you may find your philosophy changing and varying from how you began it. That is okay. I recommend always being open, researching, and discussing the hows and whys of homeschooling. Keep challenging and educating yourself.

Tip #12 Take Care of Yourself

If you do not take care of yourself, then you cannot take care of others.

Being a mom is the most rewarding, but also the most demanding. When you have kids, you rightly put them above yourself as you seek to love them, teach them, and take care of them. Even as I try to write this article, I know that I need to get up at 5AM because if I don’t then my time will be focused on them rather than what I am trying to write. We make sacrifices as mothers because we love our children so much. We need to set aside time whether it is going out for coffee with a good friend or asking your husband to take over for a couple of hours so you can go on a run or read in the bath tub with some classical music. Whatever it is that leaves you feeling rejuvenated, make sure you carve out some time to do this important task.

Personally I don’t need to leave my home or go somewhere away from my family to feel refreshed. I feel renewed even if I get a couple of hours uninterrupted to play around with my goauche paints or to garden alone for a bit.

Taking breaks during the school day is important too for you and your children. We take many breaks during our school day (click here to see my free printable daily schedule). We enjoy tea time and snack time occasionally and it helps us to get ready for the rest of our homeschooling day.

We always feel refreshed and ready to take on more after a nice break. I try to also pencil into our schedule a “Quiet” time for my kids and I. They choose a quiet activity and I usually make a cup of coffee and sit down and either read or work on the computer. This lasts about an hour now, but when my children were younger, our quiet time was about 30 minutes.

Tip #13 Some Days will Just Stink… But don’t Give up, There is Always Tomorrow

Not-so-great days happen when you are homeschooling. One kid is cranky, another kid woke up sick, and you ran out of your favorite creamer. Ugh! You can’t seem to get through morning time without the kids bickering, school lessons are just unsuccessful for some reason and you just want to throw your hands up in the air and give up.

I cannot tell you how many times this has happened, but let me encourage you that we have had so many amazing days that it helps us to get through the stinky ones. There are occasional times when it is best to end the school day early and go refresh. Tomorrow will be better!

Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you notice you are having too many of those days that just stink:

• Is there someone that I respect that I can go to and have a heart-to-heart talk?
• Am I preparing for each day spiritually, emotionally, and physically?
• Does my curriculum match the needs of my children?
• Am I expecting too much or too little of my children?

Answering these questions can help guide you as you reassess your homeschooling goals.

Tip #14 Have Fun and Enjoy Your Children!!!

I cannot stress this tip enough. After a couple of years fine tuning what homeschooling meant for our family, I can now say that we have fun while we learn. To really smile at your child and to look deep into their eyes to see their joy and love for you is priceless. That is one of the main reasons we homeschool.

Our relationships are deep and connected because we seek to truly know each other. I continue to read up on how I can best teach my kids at home. I am constantly growing in my knowledge of homeschooling and growing in how to be the best teacher for my sweet kiddos.

Do you have any lessons that you have learned while homeschooling your children? What tips can you offer to the new homeschool mom?