How to be the Fun Homeschool Mom
By Alison Stoner
Just to be very clear, this blog post is not written by a professional. Nor an expert. It’s not even written by a mom who has it semi-figured out. Rather, I am writing this blog post as a rookie homeschool mom who is continuously trying to grow and be better. This is more so a letter to myself on how to do better. Some of my own brainstorming put to paper in hopes that it will translate into our everyday practices as we (all) are learning at home.
I am an achievement master. I live for a checked off to-do list. My day is mapped out with all the tasks I have to accomplish from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed - I even write in my hobbies. I have gotten really good at getting things done despite my feelings around them - I’m a power through kinda girl.
I was also a bookwork nerd when I was a student. I loved a good handout that simply reviewed the chunk of five pages of reading that were assigned, or an essay that I had to write with a solid three point outline.
As I’m now in the role of teacher, I’m realizing this cut and dry, straight to the task characteristic that I embody is not how everyone functions. It’s also not super exciting. In fact, many would describe how I operate my life as “boring”.
Especially my kids. They definitely say I’m boring.
While struggling through yet another day of worksheet after worksheet with my very creative 7-year-old daughter, I had the realization that how I learn and operate isn’t what is going to be best for her. While I would really LOVE to be able to hand her a worksheet that she can do independently and then go off checking off the things on my own list, she needs something different. She needs excitement. She needs movement. She needs silliness. She needs to set the pencil down sometimes.
So, because I am a list maker, I have compiled a reminder list of various ways that we can learn that don’t involve a workbook. I thought of what my overall goal for homeschooling my children is (to teach them HOW to learn), and from that stemmed a few ideas of how we could achieve that goal of creating life-long learners.
My list isn’t anything profound, but I do think it’s helpful for those of us who need a little bit of redirection (yes mamas, we need to be redirected often too). It’s easy to get in the groove of just getting through the workload for the day and forgetting that there’s so much more to learning. On the flip side, homeschooling mothers often battle the “am I doing enough?” doubt, and this list is helping me to remember that so much learning takes place in our everyday lives - it’s not always easily gradable!
Teaching Without a Worksheet Strategies:
Encourage Conversation. In my opinion, having solid conversational skills is one of the most important things we can teach our children. So much of our society and the workforce is built on networking and personally relating to others. While our knowledge is important, someone who can make others feel relaxed and can deliver a concise and clear message is remembered and respected. The best way to develop conversational skills among your children is to talk to them - mindblowing, I know. Through conversing with their parents, children learn social etiquette (when to interject, how to phrase questions, when to wrap up, etc.), how to express different ideas, and new vocabulary. I have found the best places to intentionally work in thought-provoking conversations throughout your day to be at meal times and while riding in the car. We also love good talks while we’re taking an evening walk!
Games and Songs. This strategy is often brought up when we’re talking about teaching our preschoolers, but we can’t deny how powerful it is for all of us! Things stick better when they can be associated with fun - like laughter, high energy, or silly irony. As cringy as it may be, I sing-song math principles to my 6th grader to help her remember the rules, and my 2nd grader learned the value of coins by playing grocery store with me. Just today we read Psalm 23 as part of our Bible study lesson and all of my kids knew the psalm already because of the song “Still Waters” by Leanna Crawford.
Read Good Books. Never underestimate the power that is found within the pages of a good book. Simply reading to your kids is enough for some days. I’ve found that doing family read aloud books has led to deep conversation, helped my kids process their emotions, and of course, provides endless ideas, perspectives, and new language for them to discover. While I read, my kids often are doing something with their hands - coloring, building with legos, painting, bracelet making, even whittling! These hands-on activities are also spurring on creativity and new inventive ideas.
Utilize Entertainment. Ok… remember back in the day when the TV with the VHS player would get wheeled into the classroom on those big carts? It was the best day ever! I know we’re all “NO SCREENS!” these days, but let’s be real - we’re all letting our kids have some screen time. And just like when we would get excited to watch a documentary during school, our children love the opportunity to get to hear someone other than mom talk. We are blessed with YouTube and a ton of other free entertainment resources that are out there floating the interwebs these days. If you feel like you need permission, here it is: Look up a (good quality) YouTube video and let that be the teacher!
This list is incredibly limited, but has been a start at reminding me that homeschooling my kids is so much more than getting the curriculum done for the day. The times where I am faced with crying kids (which make me then want to start crying too), I’m forcing myself to take a breath and see how we can do things a little differently. How we can make the lesson a little more enjoyable and entertaining for all of us!