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5 Ways to Handle Off Days When Homeschooling

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

I have had many days where I was waiting for my latest cup of Jo or tea to kick in so I felt awake and ready to homeschool.

Though I was tempted to add another shot of caffeine to my latest brew, I figure out quickly that I was just having an off year day.

5 Ways to Handle Off Days When Homeschooling @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Of course, if you were to ask me that day, I probably would have embellished my bad day to say that the whole year was off.

Today, in sharing 5 ways to handle off days when homeschooling, I want to share ways I faced the wimp-itis monster for the day.

Just Say No!

■ Go back to bed.

Okay, maybe you can’t do this completely because of the sweet kids. But sometimes an off day in homeschooling is a signal that you just need more rest.

When I am completely unreasonable, I have figured out that I just need some down time. At least get some rest for the day and sometimes that means just saying no to school for the day.

■ Start the day slower.

My normal time to begin school when the kids were little was about 8:00 a.m. because my household was young and everybody was up by 5:00 a.m.

Now that we have hit the middle and high school years, we start school about 9:00 a.m.

I have figured out that starting school even an hour later helps me to still have a productive day and to figure out if I am having an off day because I am tired or just over planned.

■ Toss Out Your Homeschool Approach – Temporarily

One year when I had many off days, it was because I tried to forge ahead using a homeschool approach I was adamant about using.

A few of my off days, I tried using a topic or unit study approach along with hands-on ideas sprinkled in. My day came alive with the new approach.

Check out my article, 5 Signs that You Need to Switch Your Homeschool Approach.

Temporarily trying something new for the day was the twist I needed to see that my homeschool approach wasn’t a match for my boys.

Give yourself permission to try a homeschool approach that you have been mulling over. Doing it temporary lets you know if it’s a fit for your family or not.

■ Head Outdoors

Many days, I needed to get away from the house though I loved being there every day.

Many of us homeschoolers like the comfort of our homes because we can learn in a relaxed way.

But the change of scenery gives you a new energy for the day even though you may not think you need it.

If the weather is unbearably hot, look for something to do indoors like rock climbing, ice skating or hit the library.

It doesn’t have to cost a lot when you feel off.

If the weather is glorious and dreamy, my favorite is to take a nature walk and have the kids collect their nature bounties.

Use what they collected to teach science the next day. We had snake skins, feathers, bark, tons of flowers and all kinds of leaves.

■ Meet up with other homeschoolers. Excitement is contagious.

I always say if it was left up to me, I may never leave the comfort of my home.

But my boys love being with other homeschoolers and when it’s all said and done at the end of the activity together, I felt the same way too.

I find that when I’m tired or can’t figure out what is off about the day, I call just a few homeschooling friends and spring an unplanned field trip on them. Live wild (well for me anyway because it was unplanned) when you homeschool because the years pass by fast.

From Drudgery to Dynamic Homeschool Day

Having an off day in homeschool doesn’t have to be a waste, but can be a lesson for the day.

I would have never switched my approach to homeschool unless I gave myself permission to tiptoe over into another approach and try it.

An off day created an outlet for me to try something new that eventually became a permanent part of our homeschool and an approach I treasure to this day.

Embrace off days when homeschooling, you never know what might unfurl.

When to Skip Ahead Or Stay Longer on a Homeschool Subject

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7 Tried & Tested Tips.

Knowing when to skip ahead or stay longer on a homeschool subject can mean the difference between delight and drudgery when learning.

It is hard not to press the panic button when we hit a wall.

There are some basics to evaluating when to pole vault ahead or simmer on a homeschool subject.

There are a few guidelines that I have benefited from through the years and I’m sharing them today though each scenario may have very different circumstances.

  • If your child is real young, basically up to 3rd grade, you are not wasting time by going back over such important topics like reading.

If you are new to homeschooling, you soon find out that it takes at least the first year to know what your child knows and doesn’t know.

  • If purchasing a curriculum turns out to be more of a review than teaching new concepts, then move on just a little faster and skip lessons.

The advantages as the teacher is that you have started from the beginning. You can better evaluate where your child is academically. I had one new bee homeschooler tell me it’s like when you go to a medical specialist for a second opinion.

They don’t really care about your old test results. They start over so they are certain what they are dealing with (wise advice).

It is the same for you. It is not a waste of your time, but enriches your journey when you quickly cover what your child has been taught before. You now know for sure basic concepts have been mastered.

  • It is very different for an older child.

When to Skip Ahead Or Stay Longer on a Homeschool Subject


When to Skip Ahead on a Homeschool Subject

A child that is reading well and past the basics of learning can easily become frustrated when they repeat content they may have done over and over in previous grades.

If you are not sure if it’s the curriculum, but detect resistance, cut back to half the lessons.  Speaking to them and listening with your heart as your child tries to articulate the frustration goes a long way to smoothing over any rough spots. A budget may limit you switching curriculum.



  • Because switching curriculum may not be the answer, learning in a different way may be the solution.

If it is math you are working on, can you do some of it orally? If the complaint is handwriting, can some of it be typed or better yet use their iPad? Turn a project into a creation.

  • Give them a reprieve.

If your child knows that a subject they excel in or will enjoy follows one they struggle in, it makes struggling seem less.

Take a look at the order the subjects are being covered to be sure it fits your child’s personality and remember to give attention to the subject they struggle with the most when your child is at peak performance.

  • Resist the urge to determine curriculum level based on their prior public school grade.

Most of the large curriculum vendors provide free downloadable tests to give you a better rule of thumb.

Don’t be embarrassed if your child is not where you think he should be. Just give them the 1:1 mentoring they deserve, build your confidence and know you are not alone.

  • Finally, don’t be afraid to skip lesson plans or grade levels.

Jokingly, I had another new bee homeschooler tell me that when she started homeschooling she didn’t realize that most homeschool children are gifted.

Reckless or Worth it Risk?

While she was kidding, it is true in a way. It’s not because we push our children, it’s because we prepare them.

Nowadays children that receive an excellent education are viewed as gifted.

Make adjustments needed each year and don’t worry about skipping ahead or moving on. If you make either choice and it’s not right at the moment, you can start back over in the morning.

When to Skip Ahead Or Stay Longer on a Homeschool Subject

You’ll love these other tips:

Hugs and love ya,

When to Skip Ahead or Stay Longer on a Homeschool Subject @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them? Part 3 of 3

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What Homeschool Subjects to Teach And Does It Matter When I Teach Them Part 3 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them?

Day 1.What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them?
Day 2. What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them?

In one of our co-ops, the kids learned to sing Greensleeves.

Once they learned the words and melody it was the most beautiful and soothing sound to hear them sing again and again. I feel your homeschooling day can be the same way when each subject complements the other.

An important point to keep in mind regarding the skill subjects like reading, writing and arithmetic is that just because your child is doing well now does not mean he has mastered that skill.

HOMESCHOOL TWO STEP DANCE

Learning takes place in a three steps forward, take two back ritual.

That is why we wonder sometimes what happened to them when they had “it” once, but now forgot it.

Information needs to be introduced at one time, but later it becomes mastered or it becomes part of their learning cycle.

Like an orchestra or singing Greensleeves, it required several rehearsals.

Each time, we focused on different parts of the songs or music until it was finely tuned. Your subjects need to be the same way.

So do not be so quick to discontinue phonics early. Even if your child is a good reader, keep on with phonics until the 4th grade or even 5th grade. Phonics is more than just about reading, it’s about spelling too.

Knowing basic letter sounds is just touching the fringe of learning phonics. It includes learning how to change endings on words. Changing the ending on a word, for example, like “act” to “actor” changes the meaning completely.

As mentioned, phonics is about spelling too and not just reading. It involves the connection between letters and their spelling. Continuing spelling until 8th grade can be sufficient for most children, however, if your child is still struggling continue through to high school. I have now stopped teaching my oldest son spelling however I do hold him accountable for each word he writes. In this way, he can focus on the words that may still give him problems.

Math is one of those subjects that I feel should continue all the way through highschool and not stop in the first two years of high school. Why? Math is a subject that is so logical. I certainly did not feel that way in the beginning because math was not my strong subject.

However, much like learning a foreign language with a code and set of rules, you can begin to understand the language. The logic and thinking skills that a student acquires in the study of math can serve him lifetime regardless of whether he goes to college or not.

Grammar is a tool to use for composition, but I have always been of the mind set that emphasis should be placed first on writing instead of grammar. Grammar has taken a back seat in my journey, starting formally in 3rd grade for us.

Of course, basic grammar has always been applied early on but applied more formally when my sons are composing.

Composition cannot be enjoyed unless attention is given to penmanship early on and first. What child can enjoy composing beautiful thoughts or silly ones if just holding a pencil or pen causes discomfort?

Many children have needs that need to be addressed regarding fine motor skill, however, many do not. It simply has been a lack of sticking to some kind of writing daily or fun activities to strengthen those fine motor skills.

Daily, if you will give attention to penmanship with tiny baby steps, your child will be well above others for the simple fact he can compose more than one well written paragraph.

History, science, Bible, field trips, game playing and co-ops are at the heart of any enriching program.

Science is not about vocabulary words but out hands on experiments, questioning and investigation.

History is not about dead people, but about the way they lived. What they inspired others to do.

Can you make it come alive by attending reenactments, doing a lapbook, cooking recipes of that time period and wearing costumes. We do and please hear me, I am NOT the crafty mom. But I know that passion on a subject, starts from a spark of interest.

How to Fit It All In a Homeschool Day?

The Bible is a subject that is just part of our daily life but some do include it as a formal subject.

The last tip I want to share is WHEN to do all of this.

IF you school year around, then you can divide up your year into two big chunks of learning.

Along about January, I switch out subjects. I may start one subject in summer and end at this time of the year around November or December just in time to start another one in January.

That is another tool we have in homeschooling – flexibility. Be sure to use it. If you need to stop and not do one subject like history, science or geography for a few months to concentrate on another, do that.

Then by the end of your year, you will have introduced or mastered more areas or subjects.

Have your child taste all the subjects and do not become lopsided even if you feel you like one more than another.

We all like one or more subjects than another, but the point is we want a well rounded out harmonious sound at the end of our homeschooling journey.

Do you have a starting point for knowing which homeschool subjects to cover and when?

Did you miss the other two posts?

Hugs to you today,

What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them? Part 2 of 3

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What Homeschool Subjects to Teach And Does It Matter When I Teach Them. Part 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

In What Homeschool Subjects to Teach and When to Teach Them Part 1, I laid out the general subjects to cover and gave you a rule of thumb as to when to cover them.

As you can see from that subject list that subjects like art, music, foreign language and physical education, to name a few were not included. Why?

Foolproof Way to Choose Homeschool Subjects

This does not mean that they are not important, but it does mean that you determine their importance in your family’s journey.

Should the subjects go above the line (see my document on Part 1) or below the line?

Above the line subjects are vital to your family’s goals or essential and without them you feel your child would not receive a superior education. And below the line are subjects that are important, but may not be necessary to meet your goal in education.

This reminds me of a homeschool family that I helped that were mostly interested in physical education and scholarships for their son for football.

The whole family was athletic and such a joy to support. However, art ranked very low on their family’s goals.

To meet their family’s goal, physical education had to take up a good part of their day after the 3 Rs.

The point in all of this is that the subjects listed on Part 1 are to give you the framework and are at the core of a superior education. After that, you need to determine the importance of other subjects to your family.

Switching gears on you now because I want to hone in on language arts and give you some specifics about it.

Out of all the subjects, it seems that language arts is the area that needs to be demystified.

There seems to be this cloud of uncertainty as to what language arts is and what it compromises of in any grade.

Language arts at its very basic meaning simply means these four areas:

1. Spelling

2. Reading

3. Writing

4. Grammar

As you can see those subjects will draft in other ones like phonics and vocabulary.

For example, a child cannot read well unless he has some phonics and that phonics cannot stop in the first or second grade just because a child is advanced or already reading chapter books.

Phonics has many levels and the basic level is letter recognition and sounds. It has been my experience that some children do well by studying phonics intensely while reading and others focus on reading and understand phonics as they go along.

I have seen some programs continue until fourth grade as well. The point is that phonics is part of the core subjects that make up the 3 Rs and without a good foundation in these subjects a child may not be equipped for lifelong learning.

Too, vocabulary is needed if your child wants to write well and understand what he is reading.

It may not need to be a separate subject. I feel vocabulary is best taught in the context of what the child is reading and not as a separate subject, unless of course you have the time to do so.

Mastering Homeschool Subjects

Then writing includes both penmanship and composition.

In the early grades, penmanship is what we want to achieve so that soon thereafter the mechanics of writing will be mastered and so that the child can now focus on composing his thoughts.

A well written composition is no easy task but harder yet if the basics of penmanship are not mastered.

Do not wait to teach penmanship until later grades.

By grade three, you want your child to be comfortable with the mechanics of writing.

In my journey, I taught all of my sons cursive first and used a simplified version of cursive since I was not impressed with the superfluous cursive I had been taught. By third grade, cursive was mastered.

Two of the reasons children dislike penmanship is that it is not taught early enough so that they have time to fine tune their motor skills and the other is that a parent may choose an old fashion traditional cursive script like the Palmer method and that could add to the struggle.

I used a version of simple script by Calvert, which combined the easy use of print on cap letters and it was free of a lot of the extra curves and lines that the Palmer method of traditional cursive that I learned in school.

Simplified Cursive Alphabet @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Each kid mastered the script as I taught it to them.

Mastering Cursive @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Penmanship gets a bum rap because I hear moans from parents and kids alike, but the secret is to introduce it early and be consistent each day.

It’s not a skill that you do once a week. Penmanship should be one or two well written sentences every day with the focus on neatness and legibility.

Master Cursive Writing @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When you wait until third grade, the child’s writing habits, good or bad are already formed and so it’s hard to add composition on top of that.

Then when it is time to teach composition, your child is not frustrated because he lacks the basics of penmanship and he can now focus on penning his beautiful thoughts.

Reading is another subject that can be misunderstood. From the beginning there should be an emphasis on the purpose of reading.

No, it’s not just about comprehension.

Homeschool Curriculum Helps

Comprehension is important, but to form a love for reading into adulthood a child has to view it as pleasure. Constant worksheets and record keeping of what he is reading does not inspire a child to want to read into adult hood.

Boy or Girl? Teaching Reading Needs to Be Different

Reading changes after about grade 4 from learning how to read to reading to learn, a big difference.

Some children, especially girls are very early and mature readers and can be reading well by the age of four or so. Boys normally struggle on until about 8 years of age until they master reading.

When I first started teaching my sons to read, I didn’t like the statistics I read about how boys are normally behind girls when learning to read. My focus was to be sure my boys didn’t fall by the side and it was my goal for them to read early and to love it.

With a lot of hard work and not missing any precious days when they were little, I got pretty close to my target. I had two early readers and one that read later, but then again I learned that personality plays a huge part with boys too.

Once each of my sons reached the significant milestone of reading, then I could focus on other areas of learning and their appetite can now be satisfied as to what interests them in their education.

Geography, history and science are important to cover, but you may miss the small window of time needed with the core subjects because you focused so much on subjects that can wait a bit.

Do you see now why content subjects {geography, history and science} can wait later?

There are only so many hours in the days and when your day is prioritized with giving core subjects time first, you are making time for the subjects that will equip him for a lifetime of learning.

Then again, I do have secret teaching tips on how to cover core subjects and learn to read or write, but I will save that for another book post, lest I write a book here.

All of this I put in a nutshell for you, but I am hoping it will help you see where you may need to include another subject or move ahead in one area.

In Part 3, I will talk about some of your concerns like time needed in each subject and how to plan multiple subjects.

Also, Part 3 will put all of this together and like a beautiful orchestra that is harmonious you can see your child’s accomplishment in each subject.

Can you start fine tuning your subjects and prioritizing them by importance to your family?

Homeschooling Multiple Children Secret Planning Sheet @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus - Copy - Copy (2)

Remember, they can’t have all the same importance. Some homeschool subjects have to go below the line. I have another help for you.

Download Homeschooling Multiple Children Not So Secret Planning Sheet Here.

Grab this form and start planning your subjects. Fill it in and determine if you have over planned or under planned or if you think you have a doable plan that can be accomplished for the day.

Hugs and love ya,

Grab some of these other reads:

Teaching Handwriting When Homeschooling the Early Years Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic
How to Use a History Spine to Build Your Own Study of History

Stop the Homeschool Time Drain!

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

Because we genuinely care about raising well-rounded children, we are constantly analyzing our homeschool approach, poring over how-to articles and are trying to think of creative ways to connect with more homeschoolers.

We never want to be one of those homeschoolers.  You know the ones that didn’t socialize our kids.

The “art of socialization” is a never ending topic in the homeschool world.

I am not even going to go there about the hotly debated term of socialization because I’ll leave that when I have had more caffeine.

Today, I want to encourage you to think about the stress we bring on ourselves when we try to adopt this world’s view about our children needing socialization.

Are Your Homeschool Activities Losing Value?

How do you stop the homeschool time drain when you are connected with more groups, homeschoolers and co-ops than you would like to be at this time in your journey?

In our quest to raise our kids in the real world, we can take on more than we should when it comes to homeschooling activities.

Justifying our demanding schedule in the name of learning and homeschooling can lead us down a road where we are reacting instead of being proactive about our schedule.  Have you lost control?

Finding homeschool balance is not easy and it’s normal somewhere in our journey to be over involved with outside activities.  Finding the exact number of activities that enrich your year instead of encumber it is what counts.

For example, the time I had when my household was younger with preschoolers and toddlers was a terrific time for outside enrichment.

Not only did going to Kindermusik (music classes for babies, toddlers and early childhood) nurture my sons’ readiness for learning, but it was a way for me to educate myself about child development and to make lifelong friends with other homeschooling moms.  I didn’t realize that of course at the time.

When my son got to high school age and before Mr. Senior 2013 was driving on his own, his need for visiting with other young men his age, his need for fulfilling some of my class requirements in high school and his desire to look for a job made for more demands on my time for outside activities.

Stop the Homeschool Time Drain! It's not easy to manage your time with so many outside activities to do. Look at how one seasoned mom did it!

Gauging how much time to spend outside the house is not easy.

Look at these points that can be used to help you take control back of outside activities.

  • Return on your Time.  What value are you getting from the outside activities?

If your goal is for your children to have more homeschooling friends, then is taking a private class worth the investment right now?  The class has to be weighed against several factors to see if it’s of value at this present time.

For example, if you have several children and they are all very young, then would an active group with a regular park day be a better investment of your time than an activity for one child?  Don’t make decisions based on mommy guilt.

The more kids you have the harder it is to satisfy their individual needs.  I am not discouraging you from doing this, but I am encouraging you to try to meet whatever your goal is for the current year.

I do know this and that is the older kids get, the easier it is to meet their individual needs because you have help in getting out the door, help with the house and even have supper cooked for you on certain days by your teens.

  • Alternating Activities = Sanity-Sparing.  Also, as kids get older, they really don’t care how many siblings they have when it comes to a class or hobby they want to take.

One reason we are homeschooling is to explore unique educational opportunities for each child.  To balance one child’s needs with the needs of the other family members can be downright puzzling.

When I got to the point in my journey when each son wanted different classes, I came up with another solution.  I alternated their classes each week.

I cannot tell you how much stress this relieved, but also how effortlessly it worked.

Though it took more time on my part working out a new schedule other than the one suggested by the different teachers, each of my sons were delighted to be taking classes that interested them and I was glad I was able to control how much time we were away from the house.

Raising Selfless Children in a Selfish World

It worked something like this.

Using Tuesday as an example, we would take art class the first Tuesday.  The next Tuesday, it would be wood working class and then back to art class the third Tuesday and so forth.

Did I mention a couple of unexpected side benefits? The cost was lower because it was spread out and the extra time in between classes allowed the boys to focus more energetically on what they were learning.

The plod along pace was a luxury that made learning about each topic more meaningful for the year.

Too, I switched to year around homeschooling and that was a perfect fit to help my sons finish the full course though it was done slower.

The key to making this plan work is to be sure you use the same weekday.

Making my schedule stick to one day outside the house in what would be otherwise be two days away from the house because the woodworking teacher wanted one son to come on Wednesdays and the art teacher wanted my other son to come on Tuesday is the sanity-sparing tip.

Be very picky in about giving up another day away from home and be very creative in how you use days away from the house.

  • Half-Day School.  Half-day classes are not just for kindergarteners.

This was my other revelation the longer I homeschooled.  If I was going to be away from the house, then I could also satisfy all of my children’s needs for unique classes if I divided up one day.

Getting two classes in on one day for different kids is not easy when they are young, but when they are older, it is easier.

The tidbit to remember here is to try to schedule first in the day the class that is more academically intensive when your child is fresh.

Mr. Senior 2013 took a writing class in the morning with other homeschoolers and then in the afternoon, I scooted by the piano teacher for music lessons for Mr. Awesome and Tiny.

When Mr. Senior 2013 was at his writing class, I headed to the library for read aloud time for my younger boys.

After traveling the distance to town, the younger boys were ready to move around and we will never forget Mrs. Lou Lou at the library because she made reading time come alive through dancing and singing.

The piano lesson in the afternoon was only about 45 minutes for the younger kids and it was time enough for me and Mr. Senior 2013 to grab a cherry limeade at our favorite drive-through restaurant, talk about what he learned without interruption from his younger siblings and to share some heart felt moments when he and I were alone.

It was hectic to get out of the house many mornings but I tried my best on minimizing stress in the morning by having their clothes laid out and trying to prep my crockpot the night before.

It has been worth every effort of both driving in the rain and sitting outside in the car in the hot sun as my sons made lifelong friends.

I finally found just the pinch of socialization we needed each week.

Finding balance with not only filling the individual needs of my sons but my need, though I didn’t always realize it at the time, for homeschool friends was not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

I tend to over do things and have to find my center of balance again.

Over homeschooling, over parenting and over socializing can drain your homeschool time.  It’s worth considering the time you spend away from home each year.

Weigh outside home activities for the return value at the present moment, be creative in alternating your children’s schedule and look at half-day activities to divide and conquer the many activities your children are clamoring to do.

What about you?

Have you figured out other ways to meet your children’s needs without sacrificing your time away from home?

Hugs and love ya,

Grab some more go juice below!

3 Easy Fixes to Recharge Your Homeschool Routine

How To Create a Homeschool Schedule That You Can Stick To

The Sticking Power of a Homeschool Schedule