7 HOMESCHOOLING TIPS FROM AN EXPERIENCED HOMESCHOOLING MOM WHO ALSO WORKS FROM HOME:
STOP RECREATING SCHOOL.
SERIOUSLY.
I’m seeing so many parents online commenting that there are tears all around, they’re hating homeschooling, they’re all giving up and trying to homeschool aka recreate school again tomorrow. They’re threatening their child (which makes the child more stressed and not able to learn, plus it makes the parent feel guilty).
Your mental health and your child’s mental health is MUCH more important than “school work” and grades.
If we look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example, health and well-being is above education. Our children could go without a year of formal education, but they can’t go without a year of health and looking after their wellbeing.
So go easy on yourself and your child with homeschooling during this time.
I heard from a friend that their children’s school is piling more and more homeschool work on them, they’re so stressed, they’ve got a few kids of different ages. Teachers might not actually know about the importance of mental wellbeing, or their personality type shrugs it off in favour of doing more and more and more (and then burning out), or they’re super stressed about the worldwide pandemic and they’re passing their stress on to you/your child. Or they’ve had no experience in actual homeschooling, because it’s totally different to school.
Just because teachers are in a position of “authority” does not make them right. It certainly does not make them right about your child. You know your child and family best, trust yourself with homeschooling.
Parent first, teach second.
Here’s what I do as a a child led learning /interest based learning homeschool mom:
1. Play
2. Make learning fun
3. I become a child again (it’s amazing for our wellbeing too – inner child healing – especially during this pandemic).
4. Get the children involved in cooking, measuring and reading instructions.
5. Build robots and inventions together, although I usually just sit back and admire them creating, helping if I’m needed.
6. Arts and crafts – fabulous for wellbeing during this time, too.
7. We also get out in nature as much as possible. Even just spending time in the garden playing with sticks and rocks is educational and brilliant for child development. If you step back and watch the little ones with really curious eyes you will start to see the learning that’s happening in these simple things. You see the learning that’s happening in just living.
Oh, we also meditate, do some yoga, silly dances and races against our previous record (we compete against who we were yesterday, basically, in order to grow and enjoy self-improvement, rather than compare ourselves with others).
And if you’re worried about homeschooling affecting education and jobs in the future?
There are plenty of homeschooled children that go on to university, even unschoolers (children that are given complete autonomy of their education and life). Why? Because you can still take exams during and after homeschooling but I know homeschooled people who have gone to university even without getting traditional qualifications.
Actually, emotional intelligence is more important than IQ, because when our attitude is correct and we have great soft skills we are teachable for life – and employers are realising the value of that.
Google is one example – not only have they created their own university equivalent course and their employees don’t need a degree to work for them, but they’ve got all sorts of progressive projects going on.
In the future I’m sure there won’t even be universities as we know them.
As an entrepreneur myself, entrepreneur acquaintances have told me that they can tell when an employee has been homeschooled, because they just seem to cope better, learn better, think for themselves and take action.
We need to build our children for an ever-adapting and fast-moving world – and letting learning be enjoyable for them is the most important part of that.
Kim 🧡
