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Homeschool When Nobody Wants To

Why Nobody Cares if You Homeschool Year-Round (or shouldn’t)

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Why Nobody Cares if You Homeschool Year-Round @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Why Nobody Cares if You Homeschool Year-Round @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

While I sit here writing this article, my husband has made a change into a new career that we’ve planned for and are excited about. Starting out, it means working 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Grueling schedule to say the least for him, and I’m right there cooking/packing every meal for him because his workplace doesn’t have a restaurant. And a lot of times, he can’t leave the building for lunch or his lunch is shortened back from one hour.

Back to my point, what does this have to do with homeschooling year-round? Everything, for me.

That is just the point, my schedule has nothing to do with your family’s schedule and the schedules of other families have nothing to do with mine.

I too have shared many times over about the the advantages of homeschooling year-round, but it’s more important to know how to tell if you can instead of telling you why you should.

Look at Homeschooling Year Round Chaos or Calm, What is Year Around Homeschooling Part 1 and Part 2 if you want some more tips.

Homeschooling too is about not being sorry or feeling guilty for things you can’t control.

3 Quick Tips to Adapt to Homeschooling Year-Round

Instead of sharing pros and cons of homeschooling year-round because they won’t help one bit if you can’t, I want to share how to tell if you should even consider it.

Family schedule matters.

There is just no getting around it, your child’s learning ability can’t be the only weighing factor as to whether or not you homeschool year-round.

For example, my husband’s schedule is pretty predictable right now.

Homeschooling year-round gives me to time to plod along when I am getting up every morning at 4:30 to 5:00 a.m.

I wake my kids right up alongside us because I need my whole household to be on the same schedule.

By the way, this is a tried and trued tip, which has worked for me as we have experienced many different schedules. It is just too hard, not to mention stressful when half of your family gets up when they want to or some other hour and the other half doesn’t.

Guess what? The do-whatever-you -want-to- schedule for the kids comes back to bite you when you need your household quiet for the Mr. or even for a younger child.

This summer, instead of starting school at 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. like we use to, we start school closer to 8:00 a.m. or even before because we have been up for a while, finished chores and are ready for our day.

I remember back to our very first co-op I attended where the leader canceled school for the summer. I was puzzled because my kids were little and I was ready to keep on going.

Finding out later that day that her husband was the head coach at the local public school, I learned right away how a family schedule affects year round-homeschooling.

Who wants to have such a rigid day of homeschooling when dad is off for the summer? Not me.

Seasons matter.

I would like to say that seasons don’t matter here in Texas, but when you have 3  days of winter (okay, we had a bit more this year) and a lot of summer heat, days are long and hot.

Having the top of my kids’ heads baked just never appealed to me. Our time outdoors during the summer months is limited to a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening.

Guess what? That is a lot of in between time, which needs to be filled with meaningful activities.

For a majority of our homeschool years we have homeschooled during the summer than not because it filled our days with meaning and it also meant we could skip school on days when the weather changed to glorious.

When it is spring or fall, we don’t feel guilty spending a lot of time outdoors because we’re normally well ahead in our curriculum.

High School matters.

The few times we have followed a traditional public school schedule is when my oldest two sons graduated.

Whether your child is interested in going to college right away, starting a career or doing some Bible based work, you need to be sure he starts off right by finishing school close to the time he suppose to graduate.

There is nothing that stresses a responsible homeschooled teen more than having the feeling of being behind because he has a life after homeschooling.

Whether you read the pros and cons of homeschooling year-round, it shouldn’t matter to you because many years, homeschooling year-round has little to do with whether you want to or not and a lot to do with your family’s present groove.

Mercifully, homeschooling fits your circumstances and circumstances can change quickly.

By the way, I love this new schedule as we have all settled into it and knowing my husband’s deployment will be a few short months, like 3 or 4 at a time, I find the good in it.

Did I mention how much I get done each day by being up early every day? Here and there he may have off Sundays and that is a plus too.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

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4 Cures for the Afternoon Slumps When Homeschooling

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4 Cures for the Afternoon Slumps When Homeschooling @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If you shine in the morning, then by the afternoon you may have a case of the DB (dropsy butt . . . okay, okay). It has happened in my house more times than I care to confess about. But out of that struggle, I have learned a few tips to help you squeeze out a bit more of homeschooling in the afternoon when everyone is ready to quit.

Look at these 4 cures for the afternoon slumps when homeschooling.

One| Take lunch earlier.

It’s a little insider tip about my family, but we eat lunch early more days than we do close to noon. Normally by about 11:00 a.m, we are ready for lunch.

How does this help with our afternoon slump?

It shifts our whole day because by the time we finish eating and rest up a bit, we are ready to get started back to school just past noon instead of closer to 1:30.

We are able to get another hour and half in the afternoon without feeling the afternoon blahs.

The Secret to Finding Peace

One unexpected advantage of eating lunch early is that you can have fast, but delicious meals like a fruit smoothie. I have shared more than one picture with you of us drinking our smoothing in one hand while doing school with the other.



Knowing we are going to eat lunch within a few short hours, our breakfast can be simple. Check out my tips at my article, 5 Easy and Quick Breakfasts Kids Will Eat (Grab the Egg McMuffin Recipe).

I like having the flexibility of starting our day right away, eating lunch early and adding in another hour or two of school after lunch.

Two|Break down hands-on activities into manageable parts.

Then, many years I wouldn’t even have the energy needed to push myself to do hands-on activities in the afternoon because my day was so busy. Science and history is what my boys looked forward to most in the day and I was exhausted by the afternoon.

I regret many times not doing hands-on because I didn’t plan my day for those slumps in the afternoon.

One tip that did help me was to break hands-on activities into two afternoons. I would take just one corner of the house if we didn’t have a school room and leave all our supplies out instead of putting them away.

Putting them away to only get the right back out the next day exhausted me too. If we could, we would just leave half-baked projects on the table because it made easier to sit back down the next afternoon.

Also, I learned that be doing history and science on back to back days, we could slow down and savor our afternoon.

Three|Tackle important stuff first in the morning.

I know my kids have their favorite subjects they want to work on first thing in the morning, but I made sure they worked first on things that took the most mental energy (for me). When my kids needed help, I am my freshest in the morning.

When we got behind on hands-on activities, I make sure we start off the day with a hands-on project and save the afternoon for a family read aloud.

Four| Move.

I have read that exercising is usually done best in the morning, but I am stingy with my morning time because it has always been the best time of the day for me.

That is the time my thoughts flow, I read and otherwise enjoy the slow quiet time to rejuvenate. Making time to put valuable things that I put into my mind is just as important to me as the time I try to find for my physical health too.

I have found that moving when I am mentally tired has been of way more benefit for me and my family.

I have a walking trail within walking distance of where we live and just getting out the house in the afternoon helps me to get my energy level back up. It has made our time for afternoons something that we look forward too.

There are many ways to break up the afternoon slumps when homeschooling but these basic 4 cures have been tried and trued for us.

How do you get past the afternoon slumps?

Check out these other go to tips!

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps (Want to Join Me?)
How to Make Yourself a Morning Person When Homeschooling (Do You Really Need to Wait until the Afternoon to Homeschool?)
How to Create a Homeschool Schedule that You Can Stick To

Hugs and love ya,

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Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

 

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps (Want to Join Me?)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps. Facing a homeschool crisis tirelessly.

Stress, finances, fatigue and every day life are tough enough to deal with. Add in homeschooling, mix it all around and it can be the perfect quitter’s recipe. Look at my article, What I Gave Up to Homeschool (and what I got in return).

Though I didn’t appreciate when it was happening, (hard to do that when stressed) my first time of stress was also the first test of my homeschool values.

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps

So today, I want to come from a delicate spot and that is my heart.

And you know I try to steer clear from too much over the top drama here when I share with you.

But tears, emotion and drama are the very things needed when you face a homeschool crisis. Look at my article, Go Ahead and Make a Mistake: Homeschool Without Fear.

Before you decide to quit homeschooling, look at two things I learned when several times throughout my homeschooling, I have felt like dropping out.

1. Time to dig deep NOW for your values.

Each family begins homeschooling for various reasons. You have them too.

Whether your reasons are faith based, not schooling for religious reasons at all or schooling for a mix of both Biblical values and academic excellence, they are still dear to you.

At the beginning of homeschooling the reasons are vibrant and so in-your-face. The longer you homeschool, the more grit it calls for because the reasons seem to fade away.

That is the point. They seem to fade away, when in fact probably nothing much has changed.

My first test I remember clearly because I quit. I felt like I wasn’t teaching Mr. Senior 2013 how to read well, I felt weak and caved.

How to Go from Fantasy to Reality?

I sent him to public school for part of Kindergarten.

Half a year later and some standardized testing (because I didn’t trust myself), I learned that he was far ahead of the other kids.

I didn’t value the reasons that brought me to homeschooling. Instead of standing solid at the first test of my values, I dropped out.

However, dropping out is not necessarily permanent in homeschool. I brought Mr. Senior 2013 back home after a short time in public school and he never returned.

Did you notice the mistake? I can clearly articulate it now.

Instead of viewing my family values and reasons for homeschooling as priceless and a treasure, I skipped over the need to cement them in my heart.

I dismissed them every so slightly (okay maybe more liked dropped like a bad habit) and focused only on the academic part of homeschooling. (important for sure)

Instead of understanding that academics is only one reason I was homeschooling, I got off balance.

Nothing really had changed.

I still wanted to be the one there for my sons first time to walk, to read, to learn to write, to share in his love for learning all the way until he graduated.

The Mr. and I wanted to be the ones to influence the spiritual man in each son. That’s not going to happen when they are away from us.

2. Where do you spend your time? Do you have public school or homeschool friends?

The next stressful time in my life was when my sweet sister had to spend a good amount of time in ICU after a huge scare from her not breathing. How would I continue to homeschool?

She not only needed me, but she had two kids also that needed care.

Was this the time to send my kids to public school so that I could take care of her long term?

You know, looking back some things you think about just don’t make sense. Of course, at the time with a tremendous amount of stress, any reasoning seems justified.

And no, life was not done with me yet.

Next, came my husband’s heart attack where he almost lost his life. And it’s easy to think we’re too young to have this happen and especially while I have three kids at home, but then this life is not about being fair.

Was this the time, now that Mr. Senior 2013 was in high school that I should send him to public school and quit homeschooling and focus on my husband in ICU?

From trials comes life lessons.

By this time, I was part of an active homeschool community and had many homeschool friends.

Beyond the Basics of Homeschooling?

How did this affect my determination to homeschool through trials?

It made ALL the difference between quitting and successfully meeting these challenges.

Looked at what I learned.

  • Because I embraced a homeschooling lifestyle, I was no longer looking for ways to quit, but for ways to stick to our homeschooling life style through trials.
  • Instead of using the circumstance of taking care of my sister and her family as an excuse to give up, I used it as a way to teach my sons about how to care for other people. We made many trips to the long term care facility, many meals and many trips to see her. Look at what I wrote: All of our children met the challenge of being more independent and helping each other out. They ARE LIVING in the real world and dealing with life as it comes along. My niece who is just 16, same age as my son, ran their family owned business. She answered the phone, dealt with customers and filled orders. She has gone to “work” each day for 26 days in a row, not missing one day of being there from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mmmm, do you think she has a good grasp of being out on her own now? We are so proud of her and my son. My son ran my house and homeschooled my youngest son, cooked their lunch, cleaned the house and washed clothes. He bought groceries and went right on with the household. All of the children went right on with their routine they learned while homeschooling as I have spent many long days in the hospital by my sister’s side. My homeschooling friends, like family now were valuable in their love, support and suggestions.
  • When my husband had his heart attack, Mr. Senior 2013 (though still in high school) had to work for a month in our business. This too didn’t involve behind the scenes work, but he went with an installation crew to customer’s homes to install products. He didn’t want to give up our homeschooling lifestyle. And the flexibility in our schedule to slow down and care for my husband would not have been an option if he was in public school. My homeschool friends were the ones that reminded me to take care of what was important now and that homeschooling would wait.

See, I tried in the beginning to keep “friends” from public school, but it gets tough the longer you homeschool because of differences.

We don’t spend much time with public school friends now. Not because we are being snobbish, but because we are looking for ways to stick to our goals.

Friends can make you falter or give you fortitude when life happens.

Homeschooling in real life looks very different from whats planned on paper.

From this I want to encourage each of you to take hold of the homeschooling lifestyle.

Don’t be so easily swayed to let go of something that is precious.

Through struggle comes change and conviction and a fortitude that this IS the best education we can give our children.

We empower our kids to move along with their lives when we are not around to be there prodding them and that cannot be taught in public school or through curriculum.

Also, look at 10 Books That Boost Your Homeschool Zen (When It May Be Sagging).

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

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

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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 Ways to Make Homeschool Memorable During Winter

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

16 Ways to Make Homeschool Memorable During Winter @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Forget the homeschooling naysayers that tout familiarity breeds contempt and cozy up with the kids to enjoy the cold days of winter.

Look at 16 ways to make homeschool memorable during winter.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Winter time doesn’t have to be all work, take time to savor the season.

Who knows maybe you and I both can even sneak in a learning moment or two.

1. MEMORIZE SOME BEAUTIFUL WINTER POETRY.

2. CHECK OUT HISTORY MOVIES ON NETFLIX.

You know how I feel about history so it’s always the subject that we want to lounge around and learn more about.

3. MAKE SOME HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE.

I have tried numerous recipes through the years, but we all absolutely love the recipe by Pioneer Woman. Do you have any favorites?

4. MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES.

Again, chocolate chip cookie are my sons’ favorite though we seem to try different recipes each time.

5. STOP EVERYTHING AND DO ONE OF MY FREE LAPBOOKS.

Check out the one about Winter and about the Arctic & Inuit.

6. BOARD GAMES ARE ANOTHER FAVORITE OF MY BOYS.

Whether you use any of the free ones I have listed here or buy some, it is a fun way to change the day and add a bit of education too.

7. VISIT A MUSEUM. If the weather is warm enough, head to a museum to help avoid cabin fever.

8. ROCK CLIMBING (INDOORS). The boys have a coupon to try a rock climbing wall nearby that is indoors.

I’ll update you on how they like it, but I think it’s a great way to add some exercise in for active kids.

9. SEE A MOVIE. We love to go see movies during the winter and especially during the day.

Oh sure, you could stay home for a movie night, but my boys love going to the theater.

10. CREATE A WINTER BUCKET LIST. What would your list include?

11. MAKE PAPER SNOWFLAKES. Does your child know the science behind 6 sided snowflakes?

12. GO ICE SKATING. My boys have not been in a while and I think this would be great to do this year to soak up the season.

13. MAKE A FIRE AND ROAST MARSHMALLOWS. We may have to do this inside this year since we don’t really have a place to do this unless we go camping.

14. HAVE AN ALL DAY PAJAMA DAY. My boys loved this one. Wait! Don’t we do this anyway as homeschoolers? I won’t tell.

Have littles? 15. MAKE A GINGERBREAD HOUSE. They aren’t as easy as some of them look.

My favorite! 16. HAVE AN ALL DAY READ DAY. Nothing else, just read without being rushed and read whatever you want to.

What would be on your list?

Want some more ideas? Grab more below:

 

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