Top 10 Tips for Home Schooling Families On Simplifying Their Lives
1. Plan to do the most shopping and errands you can do on each shopping trip. Avoid shopping more than once a week, if possible. This will add time to your days.
2. Plan meals for 10 days to 2 weeks at a time, depending on your shopping schedule. Know at breakfast (or even the night before!) what you are having for supper, so you can do the preparations needed during the day and not be wondering at 4 o’clock, “What’s for supper?” This will also aid in nutrition and save you money!
3. Each family member should have a treasure box to keep their treasures inside. Teach your children to de-clutter, too! It will be a blessing to them throughout their lives. Remember, “People are more important than things!”
4. Limit the number of items in a collection (OR the number of collections). Keep only what you love and have room for!
5. Be honest with yourself - why are you keeping an item? Does it serve a purpose and do you love it? If you are keeping something out of guilt, let it go!
6. Don’t change curriculum often. Sometimes giving children time to grow helps them to be ready for a curriculum. On the other hand, if it isn’t working, let it go. Stay true to your Home School philosophy and pick curriculum that suits your family - not just because it is the latest fad.
7. Have daily prayer for wisdom. Lift up your children, your home schooling, and your family in prayer and ask God for wisdom concerning each one. What can you get rid of in your life that will help you be a more effective parent and home educator?
8. Commit to being home with your family in the evenings more often than not. Spend more time at home than away. This will give your family more peace in your home. There are many good activities out there, but choose only a few of the best for your family to take part in.
9. The state of your home is an accurate reflection of your mind. To simplify your life, you must de-clutter unnecessary items and ‘consumer clutter’. There needs to be some white space on your walls, some extra room on the toy shelves and book shelves, and some free time every day.
10. Work on only doing one extra thing per day (and do it well)! Sometimes our to do lists are so long, we never stop to relax with our children - which may have been one of the reasons we are choosing to home educate.
None of these tips are 100% easy to implement, but are definitely worth working on.
Compiled by WISDOM moms Kim Robinson, Jocelyn LaRocque and Terry Yaceyko.