Five Tips for Making Learning At Home Workable for All

Getting started with homeschooling starts with establishing routines and procedures just like in the classroom. Kids need to know expectations about schedules, where they will work, and what they will do. Otherwise, you'll find an endless list of questions. In this post, I'll share five tips for making learning at home workable for all.

TIP #1: ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE

Children want and need to know that school is a high priority to you. When they feel this, the level of concern for their work, their effort and their on-task behavior improves. They want YOU to catch them doing well. Keeping a routine shows school is important and that the child needs to keep learning and growing.

Now, it's also important to remember that your child is a child. At school, there are scheduled breaks for recess, art, movement education, music, and library. Kids aren't in a desk all day. They need and must get up and move, so they won't be able to sit at a table all day doing schoolwork. Mix it up with a priority on reading, math, and writing. Using cross curricular materials such as books about space or a science experiment that is seen more as fun than work helps keep kids interested. Plus, you might even look on Youtube for links to informational videos. If you spend 2 hours a day, that may be as much as you can get done.

TIP #2: ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED HELP

Hopefully, you have found a group of parents to support you.  If you are in need of ideas or resources, chances are pretty strong that there will be other parents going through the exact same challenges as you. Find a Facebook group for homeschoolers or check with other homeschooling families in the area.

Keep in mind that other teachers may be able to support you too. If you need ideas, there are many educational bloggers with ideas and materials to share. My website, Comprehension Connection offers lots of free resources as part of my email subscription (free). When you join my email list, you are provided access to a free resource library. Additionally, I have a store on my website where you can purchase lesson materials to use in the area of reading. 

TIP #3-TURN TO TECH

I LOVE technology, and one of my new favorite things are Boom Cards. Boom Learning is a great platform for digital task cards. Students can practice all sorts of skills for math, reading, science and social studies. In fact, there are MANY free "decks" available on Boom. Every Friday is #freebiefriday . All you need to do is start an account (for free) and add the decks to your library. If you need help with getting started, you might search Youtube for "boom cards" or "boom learning", and I know you'll see examples. 

Other websites I must mention are Epic and Vooks which offer free digital books for kids. If you have a library card, you also should take advantage of Hoopla where you can download not only digital books, but also movies and audiobooks. Of course, your school district will have website subscriptions for you too. 

TIP #4-FIND WAYS TO RELAX

If you find you just need a break, take it. Your kids definitely will recognize if you've met your limit. Try to keep a sense of humor. Kids really sense when we are under stress, and they don't often know how to respond to it. Humor goes a LONG way for everyone. Playing practical jokes or coming up with corny jokes can make everyone laugh.

Another way to relax and work in an enjoyable time is to bring out the board games or a deck of cards. Teaching your children how to play rummy or other games also teaches them math. We had a Scrabble tournament the other night, and my daughter ended up on top! Scrabble is a great game to work on word building skills. Regardless of the game, there are learning skills involved.

At our house, we also love music. We often stream Youtube videos of our favorite groups in concert. You can also stream music through Amazon Music, I Heart Radio, or other radio apps.

Finally, you might schedule a daily walk with your kids to get them in fresh air. I know our dogs have been much happier with us getting out on a regular basis, and I sure feel better too. Plus...this is PE!!

TIP #5-NO MATTER WHAT...KEEP READING!

One of the best indicators of student success is in the number of words read, so if there is one priority you must have, it's to keep your child reading. I always recommend finding a great series that your child is drawn to because the characters become familiar and once hooked, there's usually a book 2 or 3 in the series making the choice easy. Plus, you can typically find a similar series later on too. With the options I mentioned earlier, hopefully you can have book access. If this is a challenge, be sure to let your child's teacher know. You never know unless you ask. There just may be a collection of donated books ready to be handed out when there is a need.

Before I sign off, I mentioned earlier that you can subscribe to my email list to access to 27 resources in my resource library. I'll add that sign up form below which will direct you to the library, and if you need anything, you can always go to my website and send me a message through my site contact form.

OTHER POSTS YOU MAY LIKE:

9 Ways Boom Cards Can Support Your Amazing Reader

Using Early Morning Book Club to Motivate Readers

Know Your Readers and What Motivates Them