Advice For New Homeschoolers From Moms Who’ve Been Doing It All Along

More parents than ever will be electing to homeschool for the upcoming academic year, and for a majority, it'll be their first time doing it.

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As with embarking on any new path, there's going to be a certain amount of anxiety and trepidation. For first-time homeschooling moms, this ranges from common concern to full-blown anxiety-driven stress dreams about going to homeschool with no pants on.

I've across some great advice in the last few weeks, and wanted to pass on the best advice from mom's who have been homeschooling all along, for mom's who are homeschooling for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic.

You can find New York State's guidelines on homeschooling here, and if you're choosing this path, you might have already submitted your letter of intent and IHIP forms.

Here's what else you might be forgetting to plan, from one experienced homeschooling mom's Facebook post, and it's got a lot of great suggestions:

1. Meals. Second breakfast is real. Someone has to make lunch and dinner. Plan food prep into your day.

 

2. Outdoor supplies. These kids need to go out EVERY DAY. Go with them. Or enjoy the indoor silence. Do they have raincoats, rain boots, sunscreen, bug spray, bug nets, etc.? These are important school supplies.

 

3. Field trips. Find what is open and what you’ve always said, “We should do that!” but ended up being too busy. You’re no longer too busy. Go.

 

4. Chores. You don’t have time to teach, clean, cook, and still have time to be yourself - read, exercise, whatever. Teach your kids to take care of the house and meals as much as you can.

Here's what I've learned so far: Homeschool is what you make it. While there are many options for pre-packaged paid-for curriculum, none of it is necessary to create a rich learning environment.

And, homeschool isn't for everyone. If you don't enjoy teaching, feeling forced into doing it won't make the experience any better. Educational decisions are extremely personal, and subject to the individual circumstances of every family.