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Homeschool Simply

3 Ways You’re Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be

January 4, 2016 | 10 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

3 Ways You're Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

3 Ways You’re Making Homeschool Harder Than It Has to Be

If only magic fairy dust could be sprinkled in my fairy tale land that I like to escape to when the hard times of homeschooling hit. And then all my homeschool woes could go away. I’m still waiting for it to happen.

In the meantime, sharing 3 ways you’re making homeschool harder than it has to be, I hope these tried and true tips will help you make some changes and sprinkle a little magic fairy dust for you.

1. STICKING POWER OF A SCHEDULE.

Wait, don’t run. This is not another tip about a schedule that holds a stranglehold on you, however, a workable schedule has sticking power and it relieves stress.

The magic fairy dust is that a schedule can be as detailed or not as you need it to be.

If you don’t have a schedule, you really aim for nothing in the day.

It can be as simple as scheduling zones in your day like a homeschool zone, a cleaning zone and a resting zone.

Divide your day into zones that work for your family and you’re done.

Simple, but effective schedules gives you a flow to your day.

I go into more detail in my article, How to Create a Homeschool Schedule that You Can Stick To. And if you are doing unit studies like I do, look at the flow to my homeschool day with this schedule.

2. ARE YOU STILL TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN AT SEPARATE GRADE LEVELS?

Believe me, transforming over to teaching multiple ages of children together only sounds like it’s for tough homeschoolers.

You know the ones you think that have it all together. They may or may not have it all together, but they have successfully tapped into a teaching tip from the past that has worked for homeschoolers for many years.

Staying Ahead of the Pack

The one room schoolroom is a thing of the past, but not for most homeschoolers.

The big scare factor when you have not taught multiple ages is thinking that you need to teach them all together at the same time.

Tap into the tips I share in 5 Days of the Benefits & Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages Together series.

3. NOT TAKING TIME FOR YOU.

When I started homeschooling, I only read encouragement about eating right, taking vitamins and exercising to take time for you.

Though I love all those things and have done them throughout the years, I really crave time to read more, organize my house, write lesson plans, search for hands on activity.

Every mom is different, including me and sometimes my mom time includes meal planning or kitchen organizing.

It also includes using YouTube for workouts and lesson planning.

The longer I homeschool, the harder it is to separate teacher and mommy things I enjoy and I don’t need to because I am both of those things.

Homeschooling becomes a way of life and so in my mommy time, it’s about what makes me rock or relax for the day.

Things like organizing, meal planning, exercising with YouTube and doing nothing at times all fall under mommy time for me.

Create a simple, but effective schedule, learn from the past about how to teach children together and spend free moments in the day the way that relaxes and refreshes you.

You’ll also love these tips when you start back at the basics of homeschooling.

Day 1: Learn the Lingo – Then Go

Day 2: Homeschool Roots Matter

Day 3: What is NOT Homeschooling

Day 4: ” Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace” – Confronting Relatives & Naysayers

Day 5: Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round & ‘Round – So Get Off

Day 6: Homeschool Hangouts & Socialization Situations

Day 7: Tied Up With Testing?

Hugs and love ya,

Be sure you are following BOTH of my Pinterest Accounts for more tips on not just surviving homeschooling, but thriving, growing and flourishing.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

10 CommentsFiled Under: Avoid the Homeschool Blues, Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Homeschool Simply Tagged With: homeschool challenges, homeschool crisis

When Homeschooling is Not an Overnight Success (Is it Worth the Risk?)

December 9, 2015 | 16 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When Homeschooling is Not an Overnight Success (Is It Worth Taking the Risk) @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When I started my blog, I wanted it free of drama. No, not free of emotions or tears because I do have them.

But I want it to be a place where I can give you the heads up when homeschooling becomes tough. The ups and downs of homeschooling or when homeschooling is not an overnight success can make you feel defeated.

Focusing on feeling utterly defeated at times is not about what I didn’t do for the year. It is about the lessons I learned from my failures.

Do You Cheat Yourself?

It’s about empowerment and it is the way I stay stoked about homeschooling. I do believe in the power of positive thinking.

Look at these ideas I pull up from deep down and bring to the surface when I feel defeated at times.

It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination.

The destination is important, but it is what is done day to day that matters in the end.

Did you know the destination can change? I don’t mean homeschooling, but I do mean when a child becomes an adult sometimes their plans are not what you planned.

Focus on molding them to be the person you want instead of the plan.

Learning and building character is like layering. Each layer takes painstaking time to build.

Before I started homeschooling, I had an idea that I wanted my teaching days to be rigorous, but filled with practical learning activities.

It didn’t happen overnight, but I did think success happened quicker. I’m a bit delusional, I admit.

It’s not because I had unrealistic expectations, but I did have high expectations. That is a fine, but subtle difference.

High expectations can be a trap of discouragement.

Not everybody coming to homeschooling has unrealistic expectations, but even “ambitious” homeschooling has a way of biting you back.

Look at my article, Homeschooling for the Love of Learning – Does it Really Work.

I have never wanted my sons to abandon the freedom to learn at home; so I have had to reevaluate realistic expectations.

During the grueling years of homeschooling, I learned that my homeschool vision or ideas can fade.

Each year I have to remind myself to refine my expectations to achievable so that I don’t fall into the trap of disappointment.

Refining expectations, showing up at the teaching table each and every day, focusing on the very short time together before your kids are out of the house and the magnificent moments of today are huge motivators for me each day.

Mistakes are Proof that You’re Trying.

Making mistakes are part of homeschooling. Many times mistakes are made just because of a lack of knowing. There is nothing wrong with that.

We learn from failures and we improve. I have made many mistakes.

  • I didn’t match the right curriculum to one of my son’s learning style.
  • I over planned for the day and ended up frustrating myself and my kids too.
  • I said said something to one of my son’s in anger.
  • I pushed my sons because I wasn’t sure they were giving me their best.

The point is I can accurately define each one (admit them) and do something about them.

Do You Want a Positive Guarantee That Homeschooling Will Be Successful?

It’s not the mistakes that kills the joy of our homeschooling, it’s not changing or correcting the mistake.

You don’t expect your kids to not make mistakes, so don’t make a different standard for yourself. Keep balanced about what you expect from yourself as a teacher.

Like your child, you do expect them to learn from their mistakes.

I would rather risk a change or mistake then to complete my homeschool journey and live with “what ifs” or regrets.

I would rather live by the saying, “The Man Who Makes No Mistakes Does Not Usually Make Anything”.

The Good and Bad of Comparisons.

I have said it often that comparisons can rob you of homeschool joy.

There are probably less than a handful of people that can say they know your exact circumstances when it comes to homeschooling.

Even saying that, I too can be guilty of comparing myself with others whose circumstances are completely different than mine.

Comparisons hurt because they can reflect our short comings or where we may have failed in homeschooling.

However, comparisons can have a positive effect if we use it like a measuring tool.

I ask myself can I do better? Do I need to take the criticism or comparison and apply it to myself and do better?

Sometimes what I think I am doing and what I am actually accomplishing do not equal.

I need to take a closer look at what I am doing because a comparison can spur me on to be better. Not stress me, but stimulate me is what an objective comparison should do.

Homeschooling is still scary at times. Some days, I still feel like I am navigating uncharted waters. But I would rather take the risk.

Our adventure reminds me of another saying that I keep tucked away too and remember from our study of the American Revolution.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

What do you keep tucked away deep down and bring up when you fight the feelings of disappointment?

Hugs and love ya,

 

Look at some more ammo:

What I Gave Up to Homeschool (And What I Got in Return)
Second Chance Homeschooling – Can We Have Do-Overs?

Follow Me on Pinterest too Because I would Love to Keep You Stoked!!

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

16 CommentsFiled Under: Avoid the Homeschool Blues, Homeschool During Crisis, Homeschool Simply, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To

The Best Bad Homeschooling Advice (That You Should Actually Consider Trying)

October 16, 2015 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The Best Bad Homeschooling Advice (That You Should Actually Consider) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Homeschooling advice is not only limited to new homeschoolers; it can come from any well-intentioned person, even a non-homeschooler.

Even if you don’t look like you need it, you’ll still homeschooling advice. You know what I mean.

The Best Bad Homeschooling Advice

After getting some “bad” homeschool advice, I have to admit that I actually needed to follow some of it.

■ Use a boxed curriculum.

I left behind boxed curriculum after I was past being a new homeschooler.

So when another seasoned homeschooler suggested I use a boxed curriculum while I was in the process of moving, I was taken back by the advice.

I never told her, but that day I did just what she suggested because it made sense.

I purchased a boxed curriculum for one semester.

I gave my boys laid out curriculum, packed my boxes and we made a huge move.

I spared myself a lot of anxiety by following that best bad homeschooling advice.

Also, check out my article, How to Use a Boxed Curriculum Without Giving Up Your Homeschool Approach.

■ Get your mom or dad to help you teach a subject or two.

If you have parents that are not supportive of homeschooling, then one of the best ways to get them on your side is by asking them to help you teach a subject or two.

It’s not exactly what you want to hear and especially if your parents are not supportive of your decision to homeschool.

However, grandparents bring a richness of life and a whole wealth of experience that your children deserve.

When the boys were real little, my parents lived on the same wooded acreage as we did.

My boys would run over to my mom’s house every day after school to “narrate” back what they learned. Having a captive audience when I no longer could listen to them helped them to retain information more readily.

If your parent’s health is good, they may be better at teaching a subject or two that you may be weak at.

My mother excelled at math and math has been my weak area always.

Her influence on my sons has been a valuable asset to my homeschooling journey because two out of the three sons are advanced in math. I am grateful.

Did I mention that time away from me was a break for my boys? Check out my article, How Grandparents Can Inspire Your Homeschool Journey.

■ Stop running around so much!

Ouch! That one hurt.

I thought the “good little homeschool mom” kept the roads hot while she took her children to “socialize”.

Slow down, stay at home and homeschool was the best piece of advice I could have received from a seasoned mom when I started my journey.

Of course at the time I had the miffed look thinking that was bad advice because I was going to be sure my children didn’t crawl under a rock somewhere.  Can you just say ugly?

Humbled by what I know now many years into my homeschooling journey, I spared myself a lot of wasted time on the road when we could have stayed home a bit longer.

Too, I have never wanted to be known as a sensitive homeschooler or one who takes offense easily thinking that all homeschooling advice is well- intentioned, but misguided.

Homeschooling is about a whole hosts of difficult choices, so I am glad that I actually tried some of the best bad homeschooling advice I’ve ever had.

  • Homeschool Critics: How Do You Know You’re on Track?
  • Top 5 Approaches New Homeschoolers Need to Know
  • What to Do When You Feel Alone as a Homeschool Mom
  • 100 Ways to Silence the Homeschool Naysayers (Maybe!)

How about you? Have you ever received some best bad homeschooling advice?

Hugs and love ya,

2 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Homeschool Simply Tagged With: fearless homeschooling, homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschool crisis, homeschool joy, homeschool joys

6 Things I Won’t Regret After Homeschooling 16+ Years

October 5, 2015 | 7 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

6 Things I WON'T Regret After 16+ Years of Homeschooling. Don't give up because in the end it's all worth it @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If this post, 6 things I won’t regret after homeschooling for 16+ years helps you to make even one tiny step toward homeschool progress today, then it’s well worth it.

Each day can seem to make unplanned demands on our time.

And some days it’s difficult to say the least to decide when to let things go like the house or to not school for the day.

Homeschooling has never disappointed me though I have been disappointed in my own attempts to homeschool at one time or another.

6 Things I Won’t Regret After Homeschooling 16+ Years

Here is what I won’t regret when I faced giants though not always feeling so brave and not always having it together each day.

■ I don’t regret letting go of the thinking that homeschool was something we did on the side and that it was a burden that I added to my day.

For the first five years or so of homeschooling, I really had to fight to carve out our time for homeschool.

Some days I just didn’t feel like the homeschool routine. I had to give myself permission to feel weak at times.

It’s not that we had so much going on all the time, but looking back now what I didn’t realize was that I was building lifelong habits of study. It was hard work.

It was different doing a research project with the kids or even reading to them, but I am talking about enforcing a general start time to each and every day so we could be productive.

It took a lot of energy to form my sons’ habits, but what a payoff I was in store for as they hit middle and high school grades.

My kids were and are the ones now getting off their devices, or cleaning up their messes in the morning so they can start school at 9:00 a.m.

Did I mention, I just follow along now as the boys get our day started?

■ Call me Bible thumping or weird, but I don’t regret one minute of all the time we spent with just fellow Christian homeschoolers at field trips and in co-ops.

Our field trips and co-ops were a time to share the highs and lows about homeschooling with others that were not going to judge me.

And no, I didn’t want to vent to somebody who just thinks that they know what I am talking about when it comes to living the homeschool lifestyle.

■I don’t regret not immersing my boys into association with those who went to public school.

My oldest two boys are confident, strong and determined young men now. And capable of making decisions apart from me.

I didn’t deliberately keep them apart from public schooled kids, it just happened naturally.

Too, I don’t want my sons judging other people for choices they make. Don’t we have enough of that in the world? Public school was just not for us.

However, as you homeschool longer, you appreciate too your schedule is not in sync with the schedule of public school.

Through the many years, I have heard new homeschoolers say it’s important for their children to keep their friends from school.

It really is hard to do that and a lot of it depends on how long your kids went to public school.

As homeschool families, we are not really being off-ish. We just live a completely different life and it’s not running parallel to public school.

For my boys, it wasn’t necessary that they huddle in the evening with the neighbor kids to hang out.

We already went to field trips or co-ops during the day. Evening time was naturally spent with Dad when he got back from work.

■I don’t regret exposing my sons to my vulnerabilities as the teacher.

My boys are not robots of me and neither do they have an overly inflated view of me or my teaching.

I want you to know this because, sad to say, some homeschool parents aren’t homeschooling because it’s the best thing for their children.

Instead of keeping what is best for their children as the foundation of their homeschool, homeschooling can turn into a prove-that-I can-quest.

The mindset what-can-I-do-to-top-your-teaching-method can invade the body of a homeschool mom and she can turn into somebody that she doesn’t even know herself.

Homeschooling becomes a competition instead of a course. Ugly.

The child does get left behind (pardon the cliche) because we can set out to prove that the method we feel is the best is the best.

I learned early on that what worked for me and what worked for my sons were completely different. Look at my article, 5 Signs That You Need to Switch Your Homeschool Approach.

Jumping head first into a teaching style that was opposite of the way I thought I should teach, I showed my boys that homeschooling was about them.

Exposing the Vulnerable Side to Homeschooling

They appreciated that I too struggled and it made me a much more sympathetic teacher with them when they struggled.

■ I’ll never regret using a boxed curriculum when I needed to.

Through the years, I have read many pros and cons about boxed curriculum.

Boxed curriculum can get a bum rap because when it’s first used some homeschoolers don’t use it like they need for their family.

Teaching a child is not an exact science for each child and the boxed curriculum doesn’t really teach anything. You learn that you are homeschooling a child.

However, with the many ups and downs in homeschooling, it has been a breath of fresh air to use laid out curriculum and pick and choose which assignments we will do, which ones we will skip and which ones we will tweak.

By the way, that is how you used a boxed curriculum.

I have no regrets in using all that is available to us as homeschoolers.

■And I will never, never regret all the teachable moments we have had so far together while letting the housework and laundry go.

When I shared this poem below each year at my workshop, I could hardly finish reading it because I couldn’t get through the words without tears or a cracking voice.

It’s hard for me to share it with you today because it reminds me of how fast our journey has gone by.

Homeschool Survivor or Champion?

It has come true in my case because I no longer have babies.

So I want to encourage you to remember that you don’t have long to homeschool. And in the end it is about having no regrets.

Babies Don’t Keep

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

What will you not regret at the end of your journey? (And yes, I do have tears when I read that poem each year.)

Grab some more go juice below!

  • Wipe Out Self-Doubt: 13 Ways to Show Homeschool Progress (And How I Know My Sons Got It)
  • How to Go From a Boring Homeschool Teacher to Creative Thinker (Boring to BAM)
  • 5 Top Mistakes of New or Struggling Homeschoolers

Hugs and you know I love ya,

7 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Homeschool Simply, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To Tagged With: fearless homeschooling, homeschool challenges, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, new homeschool year, new homeschooler

Second Chance Homeschooling. Can We Have Do-Overs?

September 19, 2015 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Second Chance Homeschooling

Taking Mr. Senior 2013 back out of Kindergarten after putting him in for Kindergarten at the beginning of the year, I knew I had a second chance for homeschooling.

If you are struggling with gearing back up for the school year, I want to share a few pointers that helped me to plod along.

I believe in second chances and do-overs in homeschooling.

Second Chance Homescholing. We can have them. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

There are so many things in life that we can’t do over, but homeschooling is not one of them.

If you didn’t get covered what you wanted to last year, make it a priority this year. Priority means first. You get a second chance.

New Beginnings

If you are sheepishly returning to homeschool because putting your children back in public or private school didn’t work, don’t pick up where you left off.

Determine first if it was the homeschool or because life happened that made you return to public school.

If you just pick up where you left off without examining what was the stress inducer, you could be setting yourself up for another disappointment.

Hear my heart on this next point.

3 Important Truths To Remember When Beginning AGAIN

We read so much about leaving guilt at the door, but not enough about analyzing it. If we had no feelings of guilt, what kind of mom would we be? Would we even be viewed as human?

Having feelings of guilt means that we are aware of our weaknesses and we realize there is a standard.

I feel this way when I can’t live up to God’s standards. It keeps me aware of my weaknesses and that there is a standard I desire to live by. I strive to do better next time.

Balance is required though because we can’t get that confused with trying to be a perfectionist homeschooler.

Are our feelings of guilt because we couldn’t marry our expectations of unrealistic homeschooling with what we could actually do? Then that thinking needs to be left behind.

Analyzing but not constant agonizing over past mistakes keeps us balanced.

If we always tend to contemplate on how we are not doing enough in our day it can erode our homeschooling.

Erosion is a slow process and then we may sabotage our own homeschool because we give up.

Remember, these 3 key ways to get on a different path when you are beginning again.

 1. analyze guilt but don’t agonize over it;

2. don’t be confused between guilt feelings of trying to school by a higher standard and having perfectionist standards that nobody can meet. Good can come out of trying harder next time; and

3. avoid erosion which is constant wearing down.

If it is our thinking we need to change, if we need to join a support group, if we need to leave a support group or if we need minimal contact with naysayers, then take positive actions to do it now to keep your joy in homeschooling.

Each year negative things can take stabs at our every day joy. It’s hard for even the strongest homeschooler to not get wore down. So remove things that can make your homeschool backslide.

I do think that at the end of my homeschool journey that I might want a do over on something, but I won’t ever regret trying to make it right this year.

I was inspired by this quote today as I don’t want to let go of what I have learned from the past years.

“The knowledge of the past stays with us. To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit.”

Hugs and love ya,

Also, check out these articles:

Are You Qualified to Teach Your Homeschooled Children?
3 Tips from the Pros Before You Become a Homeschool Educator

It’s Tough To Start Back Over Again – But Well Worth It

6 CommentsFiled Under: Avoid the Homeschool Blues, Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Homeschool Simply Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschool crisis, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, homeschool mistakes, homeschoolchallenges

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