5 common homeschool mistakes to avoid

Back to Homeschool Challenge: Day 8

As we begin the year, don’t let any of these ruin your homeschool day…

homeschool-mistakes

Comparison – Every homeschool is unique.  Don’t worry about what your friends are doing. Don’t feel like your homeschool has to incorporate every project on Pinterest.  Don’t compare someone’s best day to your worst day.  Remember that when someone tells you about their homeschool day or writes about homeschooling online they are probably not telling the whole story! Know that there were parts of their day that did not go as planned. Parts of their day they wish had gone differently!

Letting time be eaten away – Make sure you have some clear boundaries for yourself and the kids – about electronics, answering the phone, doing one more chore, putting away just one more dish.  If you sit down at the computer, time is very likely to slip by too quickly. You don’t want to glance up and notice that an hour has gone by.  Dishes will wait, you can return a phone call in an hour. Be mindful and protect your homeschool time.

Being a slave to the curriculum — There are times when a particular curriculum won’t work.  Remember, no curriculum is perfect. A curriculum might work well with one child and not with another. Don’t be afraid to ditch the curriculum and turn to something different.

And on that same note, don’t feel like you have to cover “everything” in a certain time-frame.  No matter what, there will be holes in your kids’ education. Remember, you are helping them develop skills for life-long learning. If they don’t cover a certain topic, they will be just fine!

Curriculum plans and guidelines are just that… You can’t really be “behind” if your kids are learning and growing, so take your time covering the material, take those field trips.

Expecting perfection – The kids are going to bicker, fight, be tired, be moody.  You are going to feel sluggish, unmotivated, anxious… All of this is normal!!  Be kind to yourself and take some time to really know what your triggers are… Are you less patient when you don’t get enough sleep? Then make sleep a priority if you can.  Does it bother you when the kids fight over silly things… Try to anticipate the situations where they are likely to argue and get a set routine in place to try to avoid those.

Thinking you can do it all – Sometimes we get grand visions in our head that we’ll wake to baked bread every morning, dishes will be wisked away magically, the kids will be begging for the next amazing lesson… Ahh… wouldn’t that be nice? The reality is there is lot of give and take in homeschooling.

Homeschooling is a full-time job and when you add in all the other demands on our time… well, it’s definitely a challenge to get it all done.  Remember, when you choose to do one thing, you have made a choice NOT to do something else. Keep that in mind with all the plates you’ll be spinning this year!

Your back to homeschool challenge for Day 8

  • Keep a journal of the precious moments in your homeschool day. Find the reasons why your homeschool and your family really are the best, most precious things in the world!!
  • Set boundaries for yourself.
  • Know your triggers.
  • Get some help – from the kids, from your spouse, by hiring a baby-sitter every now and then… Homeschooling is wonderful, but only if you avoid becoming overwhelmed and burned out!

Have a great day! Happy Homeschooling!!

Here are links to some of the other posts in our Back to Homeschool Challenge Series:

  • Our first challenge was just to spend a few minutes reflecting on the journey we’re on and being grateful for the opportunities we have as homeschoolers

Homeschooling-Thankful

Sick-Days-for-Homeschoolers

Are you getting ready for the new Homeschool Year?  These posts might be helpful:

Free Homeschool Planner

If you are still in the Planning Stages of your Homeschool Year, you might want to check out this free resource:

Homeschool Planning for Next Year (Free Planning Pages): Homeschool Vision Planner

I shared these free Homeschool Planning Pages that I use as I try to figure out our long-range homeschooling goals.  This post shares share the process I go through as I plan out the next year… I shared the planning pages that I’ve been using the past few years. I like having colorful planning pages to work on. This isn’t really a weekly/monthly planner, but rather a homeschool vision planner. This 30+-page pdf is currently FREE to download! Let me know if it’s helpful! ~Liesl

Free Homeschool Planning Pages (Homeschool Vision Planner)

Free Homeschool Planner

You might also be interested in these FREE Homeschool Curriculum Resource Guides:

If you are looking for more practical homeschooling tips, you might be interested in our Homeschool Planning Series with tips on Creating Your Homeschool Curriculum. We have three (of four) free resource guides available for K-1, Grades 2-3 and Grades 4-5. (The Grade 6-8 Resource Guide is mostly finished. I hope to share that early this next Fall 2017.)

homeschool-planning-knowing-what-to-teach

Creating a Homeschool Curriculum: Kindergarten, Grade 1  This FREE 50-page Resource Guide has been created to answer some basic questions: What subjects should I cover? Where do I start? How do I know what to teach.  It offers topics, units and hands-on activity ideas that might appeal to your kids.

creating-a-homeschool-curriculum-kindergarten-grade1

Creating a Homeschool Curriculum Grades 2-3  FREE 30-page Resource Guide
This guide is a starting point for choosing the material you might want to cover in your homeschool. What subjects, units and topics should you cover in Grades 2 and 3?  Where do I start?  This resource guide will offer suggestions on what topics and hands-on activities might be engaging for your kids at this age.

creating-a-homeschool-curriculum-grades-2-3-free-resource-guideCreating Your Homeschool Curriculum – Grade 4-5 FREE Resource Guide

Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum Grade 4 - 5

As many of you know, we started a Homeschool Den Chat FB group last January.We take a summer break, but  so I’m not posting at we’ll resume regular posting toward the end of August. This is a closed FB group to share what’s working (and what’s not) in your homeschool. It’s a place to talk about the ups and downs of homeschool life.

• Share what’s working in your homeschool.
• Get inspiration from others!
• Talk about homeschool strategies that work.
• Learn from one another.

Find out more about the Homeschool Den Chat Group here.


See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! You might also want to check out some of our resources pages above (such as our Science, Language Arts, or History Units Resource Pages) which have links to dozens of posts.  You might want to join our free Homeschool Den Chat Facebook group.  Don’t forget to check out Our Store as well. :) ~Liesl

I’ve chosen not to use pop-up boxes at this point, but you can click here to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter! Newsletters will resume in the Fall.

SubscribeHappy Homeschooling!

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