4 Tips to Successful Homeschooling

Join a Homeschooling Co-op or support group to talk to and share ideas with when things get difficult. Sometimes you just need to know you're not alone. I have learned so much by observing other women interact with their children. 

Don't Feel Pressured into Recreating a Classroom Setting. When I first started homeschooling, I tried to recreate a classroom setting similar to that of a public school system. I even had my children wear uniforms, which is not a bad idea, but in the end it didn't work for us. 

I found that taking my children to the grocery store with a calculator taught subtraction and addition in a more tangible way. Trips to the library opened our hearts and minds to some of the finest literature and stories available, working side by side with my children taught them life skills in organization, cleanliness, administration, time management, budgeting, craftsmanship, and more. 

Children learn differently and have talents and abilities unlike their siblings or friends. Teach according to those differences, abilities, and talents. You may have to learn to be a bit more creative, but the bonus is less stress and happier children.

Listen to Your Husband's Counsel. If you have boys (and girls), the importance of going to your husband for wise counsel is necessary for your sanity and success. I cannot count the times my husband shared a tip or gave advice that worked wonders for me and the boys. 

One day my boy was giving me a hard time and I was trying to lecture him out of his funk (tip: lectures do not work on boys <-- tweet this ). I remembered a conversation I had had with my husband and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I instructed this man-child to grab his jacket and run twenty laps around the house. The twenty laps energized him so completely that after the run he organized the entire garage without being told to do so.

Give Yourself Permission to Fail. I have adopted strategies that have failed, but at least I know it doesn't work. The beauty of homeschooling is you can change something that isn't working in a matter of days. Sometimes a routine is all that is needed, maybe more flexibility, or maybe a day off. Don't beat yourself up. You'll figure it out!

Take a minute or two and write down the reasons you have chosen to homeschool; refer to them often as an encouragement when frustrated or confused. 

Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got! Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.

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Jasmine has been married for 17 years and is a homeschooling mom to a quiver-full of children. She has a passion to help women reach a biblical view on womanhood. Between teaching and homemaking, she is also an advocate for families of children with special needs. You can find Jasmine sharing her thoughts at Far Above Rubies.