Even a veteran homeschool mom needs to change things up once in a while. This year, I’ve added 3 new sanity saving homeschool routines into our school days that have been a life saver.
This marks our tenth year of homeschooling and each year has been slightly different. A few shifts lately due to the grades of my kids has caused me to evaluate our school days. The result is 3 new sanity saving homeschool routines. These have become a grounding force as I juggle three grades, their passions and pursuits, part-time jobs, activities, and my duties as wife, mom, and blogger.
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FAMILY MORNING TIME
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Throughout the years, we have had a quasi-morning time based upon the idea of a “morning basket.” I’ll be honest though: it wasn’t consistent. This had nothing to do with my kids. It was completely my fault for not managing our time better.
But this year, I have a few {okay, many} resources that I am determined to go through with them. As I realize that we are closer to the end of our homeschooling journey than the beginning, there are some gaps that I want to fill. Plus, there are an abundance of amazing books and programs available that I want to expose their minds and hearts to while I still have the time.
In an effort to hold myself accountable, we have set in stone-{ish} that morning time begins at 8:30AM. Everyone {including me!} needs to be ready for the day and in our living room by this time. So far, so good.
{I chatted more specifically about morning time and resources in a previous post. Click HERE for more info!}
MATH LESSON HELP
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It’s common knowledge among homeschool moms that math can create the most challenging moments of the day. Why must it elicit tears? From them and me?
During the elementary years, we use ABeka for math. But once they reach seventh grade and pre-Algebra, we make the switch to Saxon Math. Up until this year, we have used a CD-ROM teaching resource for Saxon lessons. Then a friend mentioned “Nicole the Math Lady” to me a few weeks before our homeschool year began. We used the free trial for the first week of school. I was hooked. And my older two agreed that Nicole’s lessons were much better than the ones we had been using.
Right after our morning time, everyone gets to their math lessons. Since we have two computer screens, I try and stagger the lessons of my oldest two. But beginning the day with their independent work of math lessons, followed by the textbook work, has greatly increased the atmosphere surrounding math.
You can check out Nicole’s site by clicking HERE.
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AFTERNOON QUIET ROOM TIME
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Silence. {Or at least the illusion of it.} That’s what this introverted momma craves each day. Just a few moments. To catch up. Dream. Work. Decompress. Basically, whatever my heart needs.
Remember the days of littles ones who napped? I do. And when the big kids gave up napping, I instituted “quiet time” while their sibling(s) slept. This went on for many years. But the idea of a set quiet time slowly faded away.
Finding myself craving some time alone, I decided to see how my kids would respond to an afternoon quiet room time. I just knew that in order to keep a little sanity, I need some alone time that didn’t happen at midnight.
To be honest, it was met with a little resistance and I had to break James into this idea too since he works from home. Two months later though and my kids help clean up from lunch and soon after, quietly wander up to their bedrooms.
There were a few “rules” that we had to work out. The first is that I don’t mind them being in each other’s rooms. The noise just needs to stay below a dull roar. The second is that any incomplete independent schoolwork needs to get done first. After that, they are free to do whatever they’d like in their bedroom.
So what do I do? Anything I want. But really. I’m boring and this year is so full that I use this time to catch up on chores around the house, as well as do some blog work.
The hour and a half of afternoon quiet room time goes by quickly, but I love that I can count on this time each day to catch up and also catapult us into the rest of the day. {Also: I think the alone time has been really good for my kid’s hearts as well.}
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Morning time, math video lessons, and quiet room time have become my 3 sanity saving homeschool routines. It took some commitment on my part to get these started, but soon enough they became a regular rhythm to our days.
Any sanity saving homeschool tips you use in your homeschool?
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