This post is part of the Ultimate Homeschool Guide Series.
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The backbone of a successful homeschool is having solid habits in place. We talked about habits for our children in this post.
Today let's discuss important habits for us as moms in order to have a successful year. Each day builds upon the next. How we manage our days is what determines the success of homeschooling for our family.
While each of these secrets may look different for each family, they are pretty universal when it comes to setting up our children for success. It begins with us.
8 Secrets to Success for the Homeschool Mom
Secret #1: Be prepared.
When we fail to plan, we can plan to fail. We must, must, must have some direction in where we are taking our children over the course of the year.
Plan big picture, and slowly break down your goals to monthly, weekly and daily.
Beginning each day unprepared, without lessons ready to go and clear direction makes for a rather messy and chaotic day. As you're running around making copies or printing sheets off the computer or looking up book titles, your children are getting lost and losing focus. This makes it much harder to reel them back in again.
Know exactly what you'll be doing and have all your materials gathered in one place the night before. Make the most of your homeschool day by being prepared.
Secret #2: Be present in the morning.
I learned from experience, at least for my children and how our family dynamics work, that my children need me to be present in the morning in order to help them stay on task with eating their breakfast, moving into their daily routine/chores, and being ready for lessons by a certain time.
Children need to be encouraged and consistently trained in their habits so our job in the morning is to be their head cheerleader and gentle reminder. When we aren't mentally present and are distracted by social media or other tasks which aren't daily routine, our children get distracted and the day falls behind.
We need to be present to help them build those habits into their lives.
Secret #3: Be attentive and available during lessons.
Just as our children need us to guide them through chores and routines, they need us to be available to help them with their work. Moms, this is what homeschooling is all about right here! Helping our children learn, guiding them through rough patches, teaching them to research.
We can't constantly shoo them away because we're busy. That's not to say they can never wait, but it's not something we want to make a habit of doing during lessons.
Raising independent learners is important, but we still need to be available to help them during these crucial times.
Secret #4: Make Bible reading a priority.
I wrote about the importance of reading the Bible with your children in this post. But it's just as vitally important that you read the Bible for yourself, too.
Moms need to spend time alone with God in order to refresh, receive wisdom, and be filled up again. We cannot run on empty and expect to be at our best. We must refill, and often, with God's truths, promises, and reminders of His love.
I don't know about you, but I know I need His wisdom everyday! If you're too busy to read the Bible (and I've told myself this), then you're too busy. Nothing should come before Him.
Secret #5: Be encouraging.
This seems pretty self-explanatory but sometimes we need to be reminded to encourage our children and not just chastise them when they do wrong.
I'm not saying we need to praise every little thing, but do encourage your children everyday. They need to know that we are happy with their efforts and that excellence gets a little extra praise.
If you have a child really struggling, nagging them or leaving them to themselves may not be the best way to help them. Sometimes a child really needs the encouragement of a parent to keep moving forward.
Even if they are struggling, encourage them in something they ARE doing well. Encouragement is fuel for the soul. Keep feeding it, using discernment.
Secret #6: Eat every meal.
Maybe some of you don't have a problem eating meals, but I know there's another group of us {ahem} who forget to eat.
This can cause low blood sugar which can cause moodiness and lack of clarity. We need to make sure we eat regularly so our children have the best of us and we aren't dragging our feet for lack of energy.
Don't just eat anything. Eat somewhat healthy so what goes in your mouth is real fuel and won't cause you to crash an hour later. Between breakfast and dinner is prime time for moms. Every meal matters.
Secret #7: Take regular breaks.
Taking breaks may vary from mom to mom. Each mom's capacity is different so you will need to gauge your need for a break. But everyone needs a break some time.
Some moms need a small break everyday. Others can go a week or a month without needing a break. Wherever you fall doesn't matter. Just be sure you're getting a break.
You can hide in your room. You can leave the house. You can set up a daily quiet hour for your children and send them to their beds.
Many moms need a time for white space and there's no reason to feel ashamed or guilty for that. Just make sure whatever your break is, it's productive enough to refresh you again. If you need a nap, take a nap. If you need a night out with the girls, go out with the girls!
You are NOT less of a mom for needing regular breaks. Just make them productive breaks.
Secret #8: Have fun with teaching!
OK, so I know teaching academics can be all serious business, but honestly? If we are too serious about it, albeit boring, we will lose our children to academic boredom.
Now, I'm not saying we need to constantly bust out in song and dance or dress up all history lessons into a theatrical production.
But if we treat everyday learning with doldrum and drudgery, our children are going to as well. This can be one of the most exciting seasons in a persons life -- the homeschool years. These are the years we have to teach and have fun with our children. Let's make the most of it!
At the very least, have an exciting tone when reading aloud texts or be interested when having conversations about what is being taught and learned.
I have found some pretty fascinating facts and stories learning alongside my children, and I don't hide my excitement. It rubs off on them and they want more.
Maybe some of these "secrets" weren't a secret to you. But I think we often throw out the most obvious necessities without realizing just how important they are for success.
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