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homeschool joy

How to Cope Successfully With Homeschool Mental Stress

April 21, 2024 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschool mental stress is real. Also, look at my How to Homeschool page for more tips and resources.

Jumping into homeschooling with ways to reduce negative mental stress is crucial because homeschooling takes a toll on your mental health.

Having tried and true techniques at your finger tips is absolutely essential to coping with homeschool mental stress; the power of a mental hygiene homeschool routine can’t be underestimated.

How to Cope Successfully With Homeschool Mental Stress

I’ve learned to accept happily that struggling and being stressed doesn’t mean that the homeschool lifestyle is not worth it.

For my family, it has been a superior way of education.

How to Cope With Homeschool

The right view of stress, which is that not all of it is negative, is necessary to categorizing the type of stress we encounter in homeschooling.

5 BEST How to Homeschool Books

I've rounded up some of the best books to help you get started homeschooling.

Homeschooling for New Homeschoolers: When You Don't Know Where to Begin

Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is a real eye-opener on homeschooling. It will alleviate a lot of the anxieties about getting started homeschooling. Reading each chapter’s highlights will give you encouragement, knowledge, guidance, and peace of mind to homeschool with confidence. The best part is that you’ll be educating the person who loves your kids the most in this world--YOU! Armed with the knowledge to make better choices in curriculum will empower you to continue the path of home education. Unlike many books based on one family’s experience, Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is also based on Tina’s many years of mentoring hundreds and hundreds of new homeschoolers at live workshops. When you don’t know where to begin Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers equips you to successfully homeschool your children.

The Unhurried Homeschooler

Homeschooling is a wonderful, worthwhile pursuit, but many homeschool parents struggle with feelings of burnout and frustration. If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Most of us need to be reminded of the “why” of homeschooling from time to time—but "The Unhurried homeschooler" takes parents a step further and lifts the unnecessary burdens that many parents place on themselves.

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace

Those who have made the decision to homeschool their children have done so out of great love for their children and a desire to provide them an excellent education in the context of a warm, enriching home.

The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life

Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards?

Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom

Education has become synonymous with schooling, but it doesn’t have to be. As schooling becomes increasingly standardized and test driven, occupying more of childhood than ever before, parents and educators are questioning the role of schooling in society. Many are now exploring and creating alternatives.

There is good stress and there is bad stress.

There is no way to eliminate stress totally from our life because stress can be an energizing and motivating force to do school day in and day out successfully.

The release of energy, the highest sense of accomplishment, and the gratifying feelings deep down in our gut we get when we teach our kids to read, to cook, or see them positively engaging with adults is hard to explain to those that have not experienced it.

10 Tips to Manage Homeschool Stress

However, today I’m not talking about the good side of stress. 

We don’t talk enough about the bad kind of stress which can take over our mind, affect us, and affect those we love.

If you haven’t lived our homeschool life it’s hard to know what we experience day to day. 

Look at these 10 tried and true tips that have worked with me as I’ve homeschooled over the past 20+ years.

 1. Lowering your expectations is NOT equivalent to lowering your standards.

In many ways homeschooling back before all the devices exploded on the homeschooling scene, which are suppose to free up our time, was easier than today.

We didn’t have so much content thrown at us; we weren’t bombarded with information overload to wade through.

Pushing back and resisting the urge to cover every possible facet of a subject has not meant lower standards in learning.

How to Cope With Homeschool Mental Stress. Jumping into homeschooling with ways to reduce negative mental stress is crucial because homeschooling takes a toll on your mental health. CLICK HERE to grab them!

My sons high college grades prove otherwise. I view myself as a normal home school mom who didn’t always push her kids academically.

I was consistent each day and that was key to lowering the stress for the day and not overloading my mind with worry if my kids were performing well enough.

If you find that you keep piling expectations, extra subjects, or longer homeschool days on you and your kids ask yourself is it worth it?

2. Step away from the online world and into the real world.

One of the best ways to help me rejuvenate quickly is to be around close friends or family and stay completely off my phone and off online.

Do you remember the time when we all didn’t carry phones? Some people had to actually wait for a reply.

As much time as I spend on my blog and online schooling for my kids, I realize that I’ve always had intermittent times when I’m completely away from the online world.

I find myself with instant calm for my mind when I have face to face conversations with warm individuals. It reminds me that slowing down for day to day interaction is the key to a healthy mental hygiene.

3. Do simple physical activities. I do mean simple.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to knock yourself out at the gym go for it.

My problem is that it takes me a while to recover from strenuous workouts and then it defeats my purpose in easing my mental stress. From there I go to worrying about what has not been done for the day.

What I have found that works for longer periods of time or through the years is a simple nature walk. To this day, I still take nature walks even in my neighborhood. I think doing it at the crack of dawn and seeing the sun rise sets the right tone for my day.

I’ve always been an early morning person, but if you’re not a morning person the evening sun or night skys is just as gorgeous. I have no favorites.

Being outside reminds me of what is important each day, it fills up my tank when I have to deal with others especially my kids, and it just reminds me to be grateful I’m alive.

4. Easy activities with the kids eases mental tension.

I always read about self-care and getting away from the kids. While this is true on occasions, the truth of it is we homeschool because we love being with our kids.

Not every solution involves isolation. When I feel overloaded I change our plans for the day.

A simple walk or hike with kids, an all day reading day, or even something simple like watching a movie are all easy activities that can ease mental tension. A shift in focus, rest, or stepping back are all options depending on your needs.

Sometimes it’s just not possible to be alone and when you can’t, take steps now to have ideas in place for when you need a different pace.

Besides, you are also modeling to your kids how to cope with days that are mentally taxing.

5. Add humor in big doses throughout the day.

There are many reasons to laugh during the day while homeschooling.

If you’ve taught for any length of time, you know your kids say funny things, think funny things, and do funny things.

Treasure those moments and don’t forget to laugh when it’s time to laugh.

It’s a quick fix to alleviate stress in the air and your kids will love the stress free atmosphere you create. Better yet, write down all of those funny sayings in your planner and come back to them.

I also save pictures in one file of funny things my kids did and I have some picture of myself that ares absolutely awful while homeschooling which I would never share with the homeschooling world.

But every time I look at them, I laugh so hard it’s hard to stop. It keeps me balanced of how I view myself.

6. Do we really NOT have time for a hobby? Count the mental cost.

I was wrong when I started homeschooling because I gave up some of my hobbies. Okay, my thinking was a bit off. It took me years to find balance; I hope it doesn’t take you that long.

My thinking was off because when I thought of a hobby I thought of something that gave no value. A hobby could keep you from doing the more important things if it’s not kept in balance. Why do we think it has to be all or nothing?

How did I adopt such an extreme view? I know it was to prevent me from not giving attention to what I needed to do each day which is to be sure my kids get the best education I can give them.

From Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

  • Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle
  • How to Cope Successfully With Homeschool Mental Stress
  • How to Begin Homeschooling A Teen Lagging Behind
  • How Early Should I Begin Homeschooling My First Child & Free Checklist
  • 5 Ideas to Kick-Start Your New Homeschool Year By Including Others

Again, I try not to go too hard on myself because I had set the right priority.

Balance is the key to doling out increments of time doing something I enjoy whether it’s photography, cooking, or blogging.

Not thinking about the teacher mom at present, but about the person and woman I am has always revitalized me.

You’re the only one to answer to if you have become unbalanced with your hobby.

At times, depending on the level of stress in my homeschooling, I’ve needed more time to step back and focus on who I am. Other times, not so much.

Avoiding critical judgments of how others spend their time off from school helps.

There is no time to be critical of others when you homeschool positively and care for your mental stress.

7. The power of 15 minutes for a shift in focus.

I mentioned earlier that unless you experienced our homeschool lifestyle it can be hard to appreciate the tips. I know oh so well how at times we just can’t get away from our kids.

When I had that time period in my journey, I had to learn the power of a 15 minute shift in focus.

If your kids are old enough to be left alone or to go to another room for that long, then implement that daily tip.

I set the timer on my stove because it was the loudest and because my boys could run into the room to see how much more time was left. It was an easy timer for them to read.

Of course I explained to my kids they didn’t have come into the room to see the timer and that they would hear it.

Staying in their room was a game in the beginning because they wanted to be near me to see what I was doing. However, the more I did it, the more they enjoyed it and stayed in their room or another room to play.

Also, looking back, I realized I also taught them how to have a pause in their day for relaxed mental time. This world can be extremely stressful and our kids need tips as they grow too.

Whether you decide to lay down and read, bathing (if you can), or just do nothing, you decide. Don’t keep engaging your mental person when it needs rest.

8. Your spouse or a trusted friend are priceless.

We know that we do a majority of the homeschooling, but if your husband is like mine, he’s interested in how you’re coping.

Don’t shut him out because he may not understand completely.

Just relaying to my husband what I have been dealing with helps me to articulate it orally and I find it refreshing to get it out of my mind.

I’m all for date nights if you can.

One more technique that my husband and I have implemented is although we may not be able to get away from the kids, we make time to talk alone and teach the kids to respect that time.

Time alone with my husband while the kids were present became absolutely necessary as each kid hit the teen years and we had to deal with unique stressful situations.

We had already implemented daily or weekly management of that type of stress.

9. Organize it, throw it out, and kick it out.

Another huge mental release for me is being able to clean, organize, or kick clutter to the curb. This is especially good if part of your mental stress toll stems from a cluttered home.

Don’t ignore your need for a more efficient working area.

Homeschooing is about teaching kids how to cope with daily life.

So many homeschooled kids are not taught that taking time to organize is as imperative as doing their school work. Is this because some homeschool families don’t view it as essential?

It’s unbalanced to do a whole workbook of math while kids live in a monumental mess.

Why is being good at math so much more important than being a person that people want to be around as they grow into adults? I would never want to live with anyone that didn’t pick up after himself. I want my kids to be the kind of persons that others can roommate with or live with.

Did I mention they are? If you find that your mental stress comes from a cluttered home, then STOP homeschooling and declutter.

You’re not getting behind on homeschooling when you clean, you’re getting ahead of it.

10. Make time for the little things. Chocolate, chat with a friend, get out of the house, or listen to music.

Lastly, make time for what refreshes you mentally.

Creating time to soothe your mental health needs to be part of daily management of homeschool mental stress.

Whether you find a bit of milk or dark chocolate helps bite by bite, a chat with a close homeschool friend which understands your feelings, getting out of the house, listening to your favorite music, exercising more, or doing like I did one time binge watch a Netflix series, they all count.

Make Daily Stress Management Part of Your Routine

Accepting the fact that I can’t do all I want to do and having daily routines has helped me to cope with negative stress.

Learning how to say no to things I can’t be involved in and recognizing stress triggers like avoiding explosive personalities in my homeschool world helps me to manage too. Some people bring unnecessary stress on themselves and those around  them.

Have tips ready at your fingertips for when you need a mental break; your journey should be memorable for the right reasons.

How to Cope With Homeschool Mental Stress. Jumping into homeschooling with ways to reduce negative mental stress is crucial because homeschooling takes a toll on your mental health. CLICK HERE to grab them!

What mental coping techniques do you use?I know you’ll love reading these other ways to empower your sticking ability to homeschool:

  • Homeschooling STARTS When You STOP Caring What Others Think
  • 3 Foolproof Ways I Cope When I Can’t Homeschool
  • Deschooling: Step One for the New Homeschooler (the Definitions, the Dangers, and the Delight)
  • 4 Undeniable Reasons People Hate Homeschooling (Keep It Real)

Hugs and love ya,

1 CommentFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Homeschool Simply, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To, Schedule/Balance Home & School Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool anxiety, homeschool challenges, homeschool clutter, homeschool crisis, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, homeschool stress

65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages

June 19, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I’m sharing 65 teaching tips for homeschooling multiple ages. Also, grab more ideas on my page How to Homeschool.

When I first started my blog, I did a series on homeschooling multiple ages.

It was a sweet series chock full of tips, but wouldn’t you like to know how successful that method was for me?

Fast forward to the present with three kids graduated, you will love these tried and true tips for homeschooling multiple ages and ideas you wished you knew earlier.

65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages

So, I’m breaking down the tips into big chunks so that you can easily find the help you need as I share details. I’ve had a lot of time to refine the process over the last 20+ years.

HOMESCHOOLING MULTIPLE AGES

First, let’s discuss ten benefits of teaching mixed ages together and eight challenges.

10 Benefits of Teaching Mixed Ages Together

  1. The public school approach has complicated the simple. More subjects do not equal more; it just equals more busywork. Teaching subjects together combines several bodies of knowledge which are related.
  2. Shorter more productive days stick. The time after instruction is filled with how each child connects what is learned today with yesterday. A child needs time to linger on what is newly learned.
  3. We homeschool because we want to nurture family togetherness and teaching siblings together does that.
  4. Focusing on one science, history, geography, music, book, or art topic multiplied my time as a teacher. From topics came lesson plans suited to each age and ability. Bottom line is my time planning yielded huge results.
  5. Covering a topic with multiple ages enriches the depth of each child’s knowledge as they share their research with the family.
  6. Teaching multiple ages together is easy on your budget. Buying one science or history book for all your ages screams homeschool savings. (Yes, it’s fantastic. I’ll share in a minute how to do it.)
  7. It fosters a love of independent learning. I didn’t realize this until later. Coming together to study encouraged my kids to research their ideas and to present them to the rest of the family.
  8. Older children model for younger children.
  9. Younger children learn from older siblings.
  10. All of your children learn from each other as the older children review facts mouthed by the younger siblings. That equals natural review instead of forced worksheets.
65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages and Ideas You Wished You Knew Earlier. After 20+ years of homeschooling multiple children together through to high school, you'll love the HUGE LIST of tips to know from how to choose curriculum to understanding the definition.

8 Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages

Also, look at my YouTube video 3 Lesser Known Problems Homeschooling Multiple Children the Fixes

Identifying the challenges I’ll be addressing will help you to see which part of this process gives you a bump in the road.

More important, I’m also giving you tips for smooth sailing on teaching your mixed ages.

Next, let’s dive into listing the challenges.

  1. Does teaching together really mean at the same time? Should I teach a few kids separately?
  2. How do you give each child one-to-one and when?
  3. It could create an unhealthy spirit of competition. For example, an older learner may outshine a younger learner. Also, in some instances an advanced younger learner can outshine an older sibling.
  4. Also, if you have several small children creating a lot of interruptions this can make for an atmosphere of chaos instead of calm.
  5. Another challenge is how to create lesson plans which fits all ages.
  6. What activities are good for all ages?
  7. Teacher time planning is increased.
  8. Determining if this approach is good for all of your children can be stressful.

If you’re new to homeschooling, you’ll love my online self-paced Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

New Homeschooler Online Self-Paced Boot Camp By Tina Robertson

Now that some challenges and benefits have been identified, I’m moving on to explaining what is homeschooling multiple ages.

DEFINING HOMESCHOOLING MULTIPLE AGES

Understanding a definition brings clarity which is sanity saving.

Look at six ways to understand what it means to juggle mixed ages.

6 Ways to Define Homeschooling Mixed Ages

  1. It means you can teach your children together, but each one can be working independently on an assignment. The kids are not all huddled together in front of you every minute. Of course, unless you want that. Just saying.
  2. Creating multiple assignments on one topic for each child’s needs is the very foundation of homeschooling multiple children.
  3. You can create individual hands-on projects based on ages.
  4. Creating ONE BIG project by all the kids teaches siblings how to collaborate. You decide which projects and how many projects your kids do jointly or individually. Maintaining flexibility of how many hands-on ideas or projects you want to assign to your older or younger set of kids or assign individually is key to savoring the process. Flexibility is king for projects.
  5. Understanding that you do NOT have to do all the teaching when the kids are together is another important element to know.
  6. Older siblings reading to younger siblings or reviewing math facts is part of how you juggle mixed ages.

Did you know this method of teaching is time tested? It reminds me of the one-room schoolhouses of the past.

If you were to ask a seasoned homeschooling mom if a one-room schoolhouse is a thing of the past, they would probably say no.

The building may be long gone, but the idea of teaching mixed ages together is alive and strong in the homeschool world.

More Homeschooling Multiple Ages Tips

  • 65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages
  • 6 Best Homeschool Hacks Teaching Multi-Aged Children
  • 5 Days Of The Benefits & Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages Together – Day 5: Tips For Homeschooling Multiple Grades
  • How to Choose the Perfect Homeschool Planner for Multiple Students
  • 26 Nature Unit Studies for Multiple Ages
  • 5 Days Of The Benefits & Challenges of Teaching Mixed Ages Together – Day 4: Embrace Homeschooling Multiple Grades

NUTS AND BOLTS OF HOMESCHOOLING MULTIPLE AGED CHILDREN

One of the most common mistakes or misunderstandings about teaching multiple grades is that all your kids sit down together in front of you and you teach them at the same time. 

That is not true.

While it’s easier to do this when they are young, it gets harder to do as they get older.

In short, one huge tip to teaching multiple grades is to remember that you are teaching multiple lesson plans on one topic. A big difference. 

So this means you have to know when to teach together at the same time and know when to teach separately.

65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages

Key to teaching ONE lesson plan for multiple ages is knowing that some subjects are more essential while other subjects can be taught in a variety of ways.

Six GENERAL Tips for Homeschooling Multiple PRESCHOOL and ELEMENTARY Children

Look at the nitty-gritty tips of teaching when ALL your kids are 8 years old and younger.

  1. When teaching young children who have shorter attention spans more breaks are needed between topics. Knowing this you want to prep for several 15 to 30 minute teaching slots throughout your day.
  2. Do reading aloud first for the school day. This way you have set the tone for the teaching day.
  3. Reading aloud can be any book which covers a subject you need to teach for the day. History, science, math, literature and even books which teach grammar in a humorous way are your guides for reading. One budget saving tip is to use a book, yes even a textbook which you already have. A textbook is not my first choice because it’s tweaked to fit one age. A book which covers multiple ages is your aim.
  4. However, if you don’t have a book which covers multiple ages to teach the subject and only have textbooks aim for the book that targets the middle age of your children or your oldest children. For example, by a rule of thumb your 8 year old would be considered third grade. You want to use a second or third grade textbook.
  5. When choosing resources for your children know it’s ALWAYS easier to adjust lesson plans DOWN from a resource for younger children than up for an older child.
  6. Another sanity saving tip when working with young children is that you give one-to-one time starting with your YOUNGEST and work your way up to your OLDEST.

Now that you have some general tips for homeschooling younger children, it’s important to know that subjects fall into two types of category.

For instance, language arts and math are skill subjects.

While it’s not completely impossible to do so, it’s harder to teach those skills to multiple children using one level.

Incidentally, this is a concept that even public school teachers understand which is that even children in the same grade are all over the place skill wise.

On the other hand, content subjects like history, science, art, and many others can be taught together.

Although you want to keep the information at your children’s level, it’s not critical for them to master one concept in content subjects before moving on to another one. However, it is for skill subjects.

Children need to know the four basic operations of math before moving on to Algebra.

Another example of the important point I’m making is if a child does not learn to read and write well by the older grades, he could be at a deficit for learning.

He may be set up for struggling if enough time was not spent mastering skill subjects as his individual pace.

However, if a child did not learn the capitals of every state by fourth grade, he will not necessarily be ill-equipped in adulthood.

He would need to know how to read to look up the capitals of states.

Learning styles and learning modalities can be complex. However, tapping into the way a child prefers to learn is essential to success.

Five Specific Tips for Homeschooling Multiple PRESCHOOL and ELEMENTARY Children

Now that you understand the differences in the types of subjects, look at these specific tips for homeschooling multiple young children.

  1. After reading aloud, begin one-to-one with your preschoolers and toddlers on the lesson for the day.
  2. Start with the skill subjects first since they’re most vital at this age. If you did a literature read aloud, then work with letter recognition or sound with your group of littles.
  3. Fine motor skills can be done at this time too. Set up your learning area for painting, beading, or playdough.
  4. Bottom line is to teach all of your youngest children together. As the youngest learners they’re your true schedulers.
  5. Before you move on to the group of older kids or your next group, being READY INSTANTLY with activities is key to teaching the littles. If you have a large family, you may need a division of three groups depending on the ages.

Next, let’s move on to tips for older learners. It’s one thing for your kids to be real little and have years to teach, but it can be quite scary as your kids approach middle and high school.

For the most part, skill subjects are just as important in the older grades as they are in the younger grades.

The huge difference is in the upper grades content subjects need equal attention. That can be the rub, but I have some tips and tricks for you in a just a bit.

By the time a child is in the older grades he is reading to learn instead of learning to read. When a child is past that point of the basics of learning how to read he is ready to focus on more content subjects.

As I mentioned earlier, the general rule of thumb when working in a group is that you work with the youngest group of children first and work your way up.

In short, your older kids will get your one-to-one later or even last. This calls for an absolute clear direction for them to start their day on the topic.

Six Practical Tips for Homeschooling Multiple OLDER Children

Look at these tips for homeschooling multiple older children.

  1. After you come together to start your day with the lesson topic, then let your older kids decide what lesson to do OR even a different subject. For example, if you’re teaching a science lesson, he may want to do math instead. Allowing your older kids to make decisions like that gives them control over their learning journey. Having an order for lessons is key because you will always need to work with the youngest first. Your older kids can’t be held up for the day waiting on you.
  2. This brings me to my next tip. Let your older kids do lessons or subjects that require minimal help from you.
  3. On the other hand, if they struggle with a subject like math, I suggest they do that first when they’re freshest in the day. The key here is to use a program which teaches step by step or even visually.
  4. Let them do some of the reading or teaching to their younger siblings. It’s great training.
  5. Also, get them to help do the research on an upcoming lesson plan or topic. It’s a win-win. They learn research skills, you get help, and your older kids are diving deeper into learning. Valuable research skills and outlining are learned. They feel a useful part of your teaching team while increasing their knowledge.
  6. Finally, one more tip that I call the broccoli cheese sauce method is to combine one skill subjects which your older child may not like, maybe essays, with a content subject he does. For instance, assign writing topics based on a science passion, geography, nature, history or a Bible topic.

To summarize this section, it’s important to put all of these tips I mentioned above into a working day.

How does the day or schedule look?

Flexible Homeschool Schedule for Juggling Mixed Ages

1st
Block of Time
(could be morning)

Begin the start of your day together. Usually the morning time is the beginning of the homeschool day. Whatever time is the first to your homeschool day, the key is to start with all kids together.
Then let older kids work independently.

2nd
Block of Time
(could be afternoon)

If you have all young kids like 8 years old and younger, you need time to come back together to teach the lesson in more depth or through a hands-on idea.

Do one hands-on idea/project for all your kids.

If you have a set of older and younger kids, then only come together with the youngest set. This allows the older learners independent time.

3rd
Block of Time
(could be after school)

This time period is a flexible time. I could use this time before supper to help one of my kids who was struggling. Also, we did music and art during this time. As my kids grew older, they used it for fitness time and research time. Too, silent reading time was during this period.

As you see from the above flexible schedule, adjustments will have to be made along the way.

From PreK to high school I’ve used the method above with variations for each year.

In a nutshell, teaching multiple ages always included some part of the day being together no matter the age.

While it’s true that as each son entered high school, the time together was shorter. It wasn’t because my older children needed more time alone; it was because they learned to be independent using this method of teaching multiple ages. On the threshold of adulthood, they were already using their time wisely.

ACTIVITIES FOR MIXED AGES

Next, having a list of activities ready to choose from and which will work with a variety of ages was indispensable.

Look at some activities below which will simplify your day.

21 Ideal Activities for Juggling Mixed Ages

  • Watching Dvds.
  • Coloring. Museum quality coloring books and coloring books are not just for young kids anymore. These high quality pages are great learning aids for any age, but especially young adults.
  • A mixed age homeschool co-op.
  • Drawing and labeling. Whether your kids draw and label an animal or plant cell, it’s an activity that adjusts to each age.
  • Poetry recital. When one kid remembers one poem and recites IT, all your kids benefit.
  • Listening to an audio book can be enjoyed by all ages.
  • Growing a garden or tending plants is a wonderful family activity.
  • Discussing current events.
  • Virtual field trips.
  • Physical field trips.
  • Combining math and art.
  • Drama and plays.
  • Watching a musical.
  • Viewing a documentary.
  • Studying maps and atlases.
  • Reading together, of course.
  • Have your children prepare ONE huge lapbook together or have your kids prepare individual ones.
  • Make vocabulary cards for a game.
  • Educational board games.
  • Make character cards from a movie, documentary, or book.
  • Any life skill like sewing, baking, or cooking.

To summarize, make a list of ideas for you to have quickly available to you. Ideas will vary according to whatever topic you’re teaching.

The point is make a huge list from the resources you have on hand and of course stalk my Pinterest for ideas.

HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM FOR MULTIPLE CHILDREN

Finally, resources for homeschooling multiple children are EVERYTHING; resources can literally make or break teaching multiple ages.

Not having the perfect resources when I started, I still used what I had already purchased because I didn’t have to go out of my budget.

Further, I promised earlier that I would explain how to choose resources and how to choose one book for all ages.

Before I go on, I do want to touch on one important point which made teaching multiple ages successful through to high school for each kid.

I switched to a unit study homeschool.

It may seem harder to lesson plan, but using a unit study approach gave me ample information to feed each of my children’s learning appetite at any age.

Now, look at how to choose resources and unit study curriculum ideas for homeschooling multipe ages.

  1. Although textbooks are not my first choice, it’s what I had when I started. I encourage you to use what you have; I didn’t know the difference between living books and just books. Tip: Use the textbook from your oldest child to teach your subject. As I’ve stated before, it’s EASIER to plan down than up for your oldest learner. You can adjust lessons for younger learners when you have more than enough information to choose from for lesson plans.
  2. In addition, book series work great for multiple ages. I aim for a middle school or higher series. As an example, a few book series are The Boxcar Children, The Little House, J.R.R. Tolkien Set, and The Puffin in Bloom Collection.
  3. Also, some curriculum is easier to use with multiple ages of children than others. Here are the ones I like and have worked timelessly for me through the years: Beautiful Feet, Ellen Mchenry Games and Learning Resources, Home School in The Woods, Literary Adventures For Kids, Art History Kids, Music in Our Homeschool, Tapestry of Grace, NaturExplorers from Shining Dawn Books, Five in A Row series, Learning Language Arts Through Literature series, and All About Spelling.

In summary, it wasn’t easy to let go of the thinking that children need to be segregated by age. 

By nature we fight it because are so very aware of the fact that the educational future of our children is in our direct hands.

Now that I have three young successful adults, I can say without a doubt that this time-tested method works.

It is natural for our kids to compare themselves to each other, but it is our job to be sure we nurture them in their own unique talents.

65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages and Ideas You Wished You Knew Earlier. After 20+ years of homeschooling multiple children together through to high school, you'll love the HUGE LIST of tips to know from how to choose curriculum to understanding the definition.

This means separate time for the little ones so they can shine and not be overshadowed.

The one room school house is still alive and well in homeschooling today. Though it has its challenges, the rewards are well worth it.

Did you find a part here that can help you? What part do you struggle with in teaching multiple ages?

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Homeschool Simply, How To - - - Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschool joy, homeschool schedules, homeschoolmultiplechildren, homeschoolplanning

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

February 28, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today is Day 4 homeschool high school graduation menu and party venue ideas for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue.

We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments.

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them.

We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. Keeping it small keeps it affordable too.

At first, Mr. Senior 2013 decided he wanted Italian food. We love Italian food.

However, I feel when serving to a larger crowd and because not everybody has the same taste palate, a more diverse menu was in order.

10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation: Menu and Venue (Day 4). As I learned, choosing a menu goes hand in hand with choosing a venue. We knew we were wanting to host a graduation with a sit down dinner and not just serve light refreshments. I feel there are a handful of occasions that come around in life that deserve more attention than normal; graduating high school is one of them. We chose to serve a dinner for our guests. CLICK here to learn how we celebrated!

Making Homeschool Lifetime Memories NOW

He agreed and in the end we kept to our southern roots and added in something special, like the prime rib.

Here is our menu for the night

  • chicken friend chicken with smothered cream gravy
  • prime rib
  • garlic mashed potatoes
  • southern style green beans (no half cooked crispy green beans)
  • salad/trimmings
  • homemade bread sticks

Having hosted many parties where I both prepared the food and brought it, I didn’t want to do that this time.

I wanted to enjoy the out of town guests and family instead of running around serving/preparing food.

Look at these tips I learned when ordering the food through a catering service that saved us some money.

  • Choose a time of the week when it’s not as busy. Saturday is more like a peak time, so having our party on Friday, it was a better price break.
  • I chose entrees and sides separately instead of paying by the plate. In other words think like you are picking up the food with 40 servings instead of telling them they are catering.
  • By serving the food ourselves, we didn’t have the extra charge for set up, serving and tips for servers.
  • For us, the venue was right down the road, so the caterer only charged an extra $25.00 for delivery. If the place is further away, having somebody responsible with a huge van works too. For me, having the chef deliver the food worked out better since he had rolling carts and brought his hired help.
    • Cake and Food - Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

At this time, I ordered the cake too. Being the guy that he is, Mr. Senior 2013 only had a few things he wanted.

One thing was he didn’t want it to look like a wedding cake or “too girly”.

I think if you have a daughter, she will probably have a lot to say on this.

Homeschool High School Graduation – Party Time!

I think it’s hard for cakes to look anything other than plain pretty.

I ended up having it made and chose an ombre (graduated color) blue design.

Keeping the table simple with candles, flowers and a white cake stand, kept it pretty, simple, and elegant.

Homeschool Venue @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusWelcoming Lobby Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
homeschool graduation location @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusKitchen matters Homeschool Graduation @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

As far as the venue, we have a lot of places around us to choose from.

I have lived in places where you only have a handful of places that are nice. But, if you have a choice, look for these things.

  • Is there a fee for set up or cleaning?
  • Do you have to clean? Can you pay for somebody to clean it afterwards? We got the place clean and so all we had to do was pitch in at the end and clean up. Our homeschool kids are use to doing this because of how many field trips we have had hosted.
  • We ended up going with a community center that has a nice kitchen so I could keep the food warm when it was delivered. There was plenty of parking and it was easy to find so I didn’t have to send out instructions with the invitations. The lobby was warm and inviting.

But, I think the best tips of all are the money savings tips because why not take advantage of them. Who wants to pay full price when we can get a deal?

Remembering that some managers gave me a discount for places we have rented for our homeschool co-ops during the week, my hubby asked them for renting the place on FRIDAY and not a peak time like Saturday night.

They were delighted because hardly anybody rents a room or building on a Friday.

We cut our cost significantly, about 40% by renting it on Friday.

Our homeschool friends are pretty flexible and as long as they knew ahead of time, they can arrange their schedules.

Choosing to do some of the serving and cleaning ourselves, the party was fast becoming a part diy party.

But that is not the only diy thing we did. You know homeschoolers become true do it yourself people the longer we homeschool. It’s true.

Next post, I will share some more things we did to prepare for the decorations and yep, it included getting the Mr. to help us out too.

If you missed the other posts in this series, you can catch up below:

Homeschool High School Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4 of 10 Days

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 
    10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation: Day 1 Start the Planning

    Day 2 Senior Portraits/Cap & Gown. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations Which Words Matter Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus thum Day 3 Homeschool Graduation Invitations–Which Words Matter. 10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation

    Leave a CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: fearless homeschooling, homeschool, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, homeschoolgraduation, middleschool, teens

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    February 27, 2023 | 1 Comment
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    Today is Day 3 high school homeschool graduation invitations for the updated 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, look at more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

    You would think it would be easy.

    Pick out some homeschool graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that?

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do-it-yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. 

    The words mattered to me because we have traveled a different road for almost our whole journey.  

    Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now?

    I admit it, tears came with mulling over and searching to find the right words of how I felt deep down. You know not the surface wording we are suppose to say on an invitation.

    But words you keep tucked away low down, because if they surface people may think you have lost it.

    Planning Homeschool High School Graduation: Invitations – Which Words Matter (Day 3). You would think it would be easy. Pick out some graduation invitations and have them printed or ordered online. What could possibly be hard about that? When it got close to the time of having to pick them out, the do it yourself homeschooler in me kicked in. Why should I end up with something normal when it matters the most now? Click here to get ideas for wording for your homeschool graduate's invitation!

    I wanted to express how grateful his father and I were that we had the privilege to homeschool Mr. Senior 2013. I wanted to thank the Creator for the blessing of having him in our life.

    Heart Felt Words Meaningful to Your Family

    Tears streamed as my hands typed.

    Knowing the quiet, dignified demeanor of my son (he doesn’t take after me, must be his father) I knew right away he would be, to say the least uncomfortable by what I had already drafted.

    Remember, what I said earlier about this not being just your party? It’s true. Mr. Senior 2013 cared about the details of the party including the invitation wording.

    I had always thought because he was a boy, he might leave some of that up to me, but he didn’t.

    I think that it is one of the privileges of homeschooling – teaching kids to care and being responsible even about little things.

    Front Side of Mr Senior 2013 Homeschool Graduation Invitation | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    So after realizing that much of my wording was way too sentimental for an invitation and that it wasn’t a Thank the Lord invitation for his life, I was able to pick out words that expressed how we felt without scaring away my guests.

    Too, by this point you will have decided if you will do a group graduation, which we decided not to. 

    We really wanted something private where we dictated the events for the evening.

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 

    Look at some of these ideas for wording for both individual and group graduations.

    Homeschool Graduation Invitations

    • “Join us as we celebrate the homeschool graduation…..”
    • “The Class of 20__ proudly announces the homeschool graduation from (use the name of your school).”
    • “We have accomplished our God-given assignment and proudly announce the homeschool graduation of…”
    • “Mr. & Mrs. You are proud to announce the graduation of …….from their homeschool education.”
    • “With thanks to God for his guidance, the parents of ….. announce the homeschool high school graduation of……”
    • “…….will be receiving his high school diploma from (name your school) Homeschool Program.”
    • “As our final years come to an end, we pause to reflect on the joy and memories. Please join us as _____ celebrates his homeschool high school graduation.”
    • ‘We celebrate the blessing of our homeschool journey by announcing the high school graduation of……”
    • “Please join us in honor of ____’s graduation from (your school name)”
    • “It is with great pride that we announce the graduation of our son………..from ………”
    homeschool graduation invitation back side @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Do Save the Date Text or Email

    Deciding to do a double-sided card also allowed room for more wording on the back which was important to us.

    We were able to express our thankfulness for Mr. Senior 2013 and keep his dignity. Looking above I was able to get in all the details on the card.

    Just as a side point to remember, I did send out a save the date email/text way early to my guests.

    Especially if you plan a graduation in the summer, you will want to do this way ahead of time even if you don’t have all the details worked out.

    I know our friends appreciated the save the date email/text so they could make vacation plans.

    Homeschool High School Graduation Invitation Wording

    Though saving money was not the main driving point for me preparing his invitation, it was a nice side advantage.

    Two ways I have saved money so far, but felt like we were still having a unique experience are:

    • I had 2 photographers. One was not quite so professional where I had more time to devote to the photo shoot. The second one I knew exactly how long I would have him and had a list of photos for him too which I will tell you about in an upcoming post.
    • I designed my own invitations and only paid for printing/envelopes. Even if you don’t have the skill set for creating graphics, a lot of homeschoolers do. It is possible among your local group that you may find a homeschool teen or parent that can do this.

    In the end, choosing invitations mattered more than I realized, and I didn’t want to leave the words that mattered most up to a stranger.

    High School Homeschool Graduation Invitations Day 3 of 10 Days Planning a Graduation

    Whether you homeschool the whole time or a few short years, it is is a treasured time and there is no substitute for expressing your heart.

    The other words that I have for my son as his mom stayed where they should be and that is with him.

    But those are not the only ways I unexpectedly saved money.

    The venue or location to have our graduation was equally important and by accident I stumbled across another way to save money on this part of the planning too.

    In my next post on this series, I will give you some tips on how we chose a venue.

    More High School Help

    • Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses
    • How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon
    • Best High School Homeschool Curriculum Packages (Accredited and Not Accredited)
    • What You Must Know to Teach High School Unit Studies
    • How to Make A Homeschool High School Transcript & Middle School (Free Editable Form)
    • 3 Free High School Planner Cover Designs
    • 25 Great Homeschool High School Science Curriculum
    • How to Easily Meet the Lab Component of Homeschool High School Science

    1 CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: boys, high school, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschoolgraduation, homeschoolhighschool, teens

    Planning Homeschool High School Graduation Day 1 of 10 Days

    February 25, 2023 | 1 Comment
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

    A lot has happened since I graduated my first senior. Today on planning homeschool high school graduation, I’ve updated my 10 days series for planning a homeschool graduation. Also, grab more ideas on my how to homeschool high school page.

    How do I put all my plans, fears, successes, failures, and momentary lapses of insanity in one blog post?

    I can’t. Instead, I will share 10 days of planning a homeschool high school graduation so that not IF, but when your turn comes, you will have a place to start.

    As of now, all my homeschooled kids have graduated and I’m still in the trenches with you as a coach.

    Planning Homeschool High School Graduation Day 1 of 10 Days

    Right away I will ask for your forgiveness during this series too because sharing our homeschool journey has never been so scary for me as it has been over the last few years.

    Much of life and school was up, up, and down, down.

    I have had feelings of overwhelming happiness at the same time sadness, feelings of joy yet fear wondering if I did enough with Mr. Senior 2013.

    10 days of Planning A Homeschool High School Graduation: Day 1 Start the PlanningHow do I put all my plans, fears, successes, failures and momentary lapses of insanity in one blog post? I can’t. Instead, I will share 10 days of planning a homeschool high school graduation so that not IF, but when your turn comes, you will have a place to start.Click here to get tips from a seasoned homeschool mom!

    Yet, I pressed on to have Mr. Awesome graduate in 2015 and Tiny graduated in 2018.

    Planning the BEST Homeschool High School Graduation Celebration!

    I can’t help but have tears as I reflect as I’ve savored every mommy moment with him and think how vulnerable I felt when I held him in my arms as I taught him to read.

    A tear or two may run down my cheek as I type this because that has not been the only feelings I experienced as we celebrated the next chapter of Mr. Senior 2013’s life.

    You know I tend to be private about hubby’s health, but it impacted our homeschool significantly these past two years.

    So, the blessing of graduating our first son was special in more ways than one because my husband was around to celebrate it with us.

    It may sound a bit dramatic, but for us it was also celebrating life.

    10 Days of Plannning Homeschool Highschool Graduation | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    So although we weren’t able to have the graduation at the time I planned because we were with the Mr. at the hospital, the day was filled with more meaning when we finally did.

    Nothing mattered more on ending Mr. Senior 2013’s journey than being with the ones who were there from the beginning and matter the most. Even at the end, he was still learning valuable life lessons.

    Moving on to what matters, the beginning of planning a meaningful homeschool graduation starts with long term planning.

    Celebration Countdown


    Here are some things to think about and that will affect what type of homeschool graduation you plan.

    • Do you want to be part of a larger homeschool group or not? Most large groups I know plan a whole year out and hire speakers and usually hold the graduation in a large auditorium. If you do, you need to notify a group right away.
    • What type of personality does your young adult have? Yes, he is forever your child, he’s now just not a child. This is really important because what you might vision for the day and what he or she might vision may be two completely different things. It is their celebration too. It is hard for us capable mamas to remember that at this point because we have been so strong in nurturing and leading them but surrender to it because our young adults are capable now.
    • Does your teen vision a late night out on the town and a small gathering?
    • Does your teen vision a formal night complete with catering and closer to a wedding than a graduation?
    • Does your teen vision a family trip like a cruise with many of his or her friends and their parents?

    More Homeschool High School Graduation Planning Resources

    • Start the Planning Day 1.
    • High School Senior Portraits Day 2
    • Invitations Day 3
    • Graduation Menu and Party Venue Day 4
    • Home Graduation Ideas Day 5
    • DIY Decorations Day 6 
    • Table Decoration Ideas Day 7
    • High School Graduation Gift Day 8
    • Free Editable High School Diploma Template Day 9 
    • Graduation Celebration Day 10 
    Planning Homeschool High School Graduation Day 1 of 10 Days

    Check that List Twice

    I will be sharing some printables on this too, but I want to list some things that you need to brainstorm way ahead of time.

    • date, time (beginning AND ending times), and venue
    • type of dress
    • do you want a meal, just snacks, no meal or cake/punch only
    • how many people to invite
    • how many parties to have (yes, I was going to have two. One with our church friends and one with our homeschool group. Two small gatherings keeps each manageable. I ended up having one because of our circumstances.)
    • how to present the diploma
    • cap, gown, and ring can all be ordered ahead of time as long your teen doesn’t change their mind about colors he or she likes
    • what type of decorations do you want

    The beginning is about brainstorming and including your young adult. In the end we both realized we had some ideas that ended up being too much work or that really were not that important to us.

    Next post, I will share some of the details and plans we reached early in our planning and share with you a few time and budget saving tips I found along the way.

    I will try hard to not have too many sniffles on this series, but no promises okay?

    1 CommentFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Graduate a Homeschooler, How To - - -, Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool graduation, homeschool highschool, homeschool joy, homeschoolgraduation, homeschooljoy, planning graduation, teens

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