3 Tips to Upgrade Your Homeschool Day

Morgan Farr is an amazing young woman with many talents, which she uses to cultivate her ministry and family to better bring glory to God. In this Family UPGRADE, she shares from her practical expertise in homeschooling.

"Homeschooling is one of the most divisive words in parenting," Morgan says. "People had STRONG opinions about it during normal life, but add in the chaos caused by Covid-19 and homeschooling has become polarizing."

I (Dawn) homeschooled my two sons (many years ago); and it was rewarding, but not always easy. I can't imagine homeschooling during a pandemic, but Morgan has some great tips!

Morgan continues . . .

Let me start by saying, I am not going to try to convince you to be pro-homeschooling!

Instead, I want to talk specifically to those who ARE going to be homeschooling for the 2020-2021 school year, and share how to smooth out your homeschool day.

For a little bit of background on me…

• I have three children ages 5 and under, and I am expecting my fourth at the end of September.
• We have been homeschooling since my oldest was two-and-a-half, so I have three years of homeschool experience.
• However, I am also an Army wife stationed over 1,000 miles away from my closest family and often alone in my homeschooling efforts due to the military.

I understand more than most how taxing homeschooling can be!

Here are my TOP THREE TIPS for upgrading your homeschool day.

1. Get Up before Your Kids.

I know this one can be galling to some people. I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination.

However, I get up a minimum of 1 hour before my kids get up. I do this because I noticed that getting up at least 15 minutes before my children do gives me time to get my mind clear, pray, and be fully awake when they get up.

Galatians 5:22-23 lists self-control as one part of the fruit of the Spirit. One source notes: “If we let our desires lead our decisions, our lives (and our bodies) can quickly spin out of control. Self-control is a discipline that God grows in us when we continually choose to die to our flesh and live in Him.”

There are days where I want to just hide under the covers and hope the kids don’t notice, but being disciplined and getting up to spend time with my God BEFORE I spend time with my children helps me to not feel behind before my day has even started.

I know that on the days when I am unable to get up before the children, everyone in the house can feel the difference!

2. Get a "Titus Two Homeschool Mentor."

One of the best things I have in my homeschool is help from what I call my "Titus Two Homeschool Moms."

These women—including my mother-in-law—are where I turn for support, encouragement, and problem solving ideas. I call them Titus Two Homeschool Moms based on Titus 2:3-5 in the Bible:

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”

My mother-in-law homeschooled all three of her children from Kindergarten through 12th grade. She differentiated each child’s lessons based on their needs and interests, and she did this in the 90s when homeschooling wasn’t as “normal” as it is today.

She couldn’t just pop on Pinterest and look up handwriting practice sheets when one of her kids needed something extra. She had to research it, find out where it was sold, and purchase it or make it herself.

So when my son started switching between his left and right hand, who did I ask for help?

My mother-in-law.

When I felt like a failure because my other son had difficulty distinguishing between "p," "d," "b," and "q," who did I call?

My mother-in-law.

When my daughter decided school time was when she would throw a massive fit, because she wanted to "do school" but was only 18 months old, who did I ask?

My mother-in-law.

Do you know a family rocking this homeschool gig? Contact the mom and ask her for tips, suggestions, or how to get started. These ladies can be in-person groups, online, or simply text messages.

Homeschool moms are loving and ALWAYS willing to help out a fellow mom.

3. Do the Next Right Thing.

I am going to quote my mother-in-law: "The best thing you can do to smooth out your homeschool day is to make a plan and stick with it."

That way when someone is sick, or the washing machine breaks, or a pandemic happens, you can just do the next right thing on your plan.

For our family, that meant when the 2019-2020 school year ended, we took two days off and then jumped into the 2020-2021 school year since we were still under stay-at-home orders here in Philadelphia.

Sure we could have taken a couple of weeks off, but our thought was that since we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, we might as well make good use of the time and get ahead.

Then, when things go back to normal—whenever that might be—we can take a bigger break at that time.

For us, the next right thing was to continue school and use the schooling to help provide structure and stability during the pandemic.

Ultimately, homeschooling is HARD WORK. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

If you choose to homeschool, you are going to need support, encouragement, and—in my case—Dr. Pepper!

Find people you can talk to, work with, and learn from. Join online groups, set schedules, and be flexible.

Homeschooling should work for you. That is the best part!

Don’t let it drag you down.

Where can you find support for your homeschool journey?

(If you want tips on where to find support or how to get started, feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to talk with you!)

Morgan Farr is a Texas-loving, succulent-cultivating, book nerd. Stationed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this Army wife is learning to respect her husband, developing her three (soon to be four!) small children, and tackling the homeschool life while moving all over the country. Morgan writes about her transition away from feminism and into biblical womanhood at The Forgiven Former Feminist.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of FeelGoodJunkie at Pixabay.