Episode 93: 10 Homeschool Hacks
It's the small things we do throughout our homeschool days that make our lifestyle a bit easier. We offer 10 shortcuts to creating the homeschool life you want. We also answer the question, “What do you say when your child says she is bored?”
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Scoop on the Coop
We kicked off our first Coop Group Monthly with a LegoMasters day! We had about 45 kids from our co-op (now 18 families). Needless to say, we were up to our eyeballs in Legos including challenges, free builds, Lego story-telling, a rainbow theme of food, and even a Lego baton building relay race. It was an imagineering time - full of imagination and engineering. This year’s theme is STEAM, and so obviously, LegoMasters was the “E” in STEAM!
10 Homeschool Hacks
1) Picture Books VIA YouTube Read-Alouds
Unit studies or morning time curriculum might be asking for a picture book or more per day - that’s a lot of books! So, why not let someone on YouTube read it to you and show the beautiful pictures - without spending a cent!
Some books are not available at a library at all, or at least when you need them.
This hack saves you from buying books for a one time use, which helps keep your book budget low
Are you a minimalist? This hack helps with that.
You get to preview a book to decide if it’s one your child will like or not
These books are sometimes read by the author - how cool is that?!?
As a type of comparison, children’s museums or botanical gardens with children’s programs host superior book YouTube read-alouds. Christian books especially - sometimes read aloud by pastor or children’s director, or even a musician
Sometimes the stories are set to music
We love hearing the British read stories to us too! There are fun accents to expose your child to and develop his ear with read-alouds conducted by people outside your culture.
2) Low Pressure Homeschool Style
Not everything needs fanfare. It’s easy to see the Instamoms and Pinterest Moms making elaborate deals of every event - documenting everything with a professional photo shoot. You don’t have to do it that way - unless you want to! Surely there might be moments to make special, but the beauty of homeschooling is customizing. What is special to your family? Does your homeschooling experience and child’s education need fanfare? If not, just ease into new things and enjoy the moment.
3) New Beginnings - refresh and restart throughout the year!
How do you feel at the end of the school year - or during the summer? Are you excited for a fresh start for the next school year? A lot of us do want big fanfare to kick of the school year because of the fresh start.
First Day of School Fresh Start - We have a ton of ideas for your first day of school here.
Fun, bonding special moment
Low expectations
Kids are on-board
Easy! Just do favorite things that day
Curriculum Refresh - Starting a Unit Study? Treat it as an exciting new experience! (For more about Unit Studies, check out episode 29.)
Seasonal Refresh - Is it a new season? Kick-off the new season with a fun day! (Check out some of our fun ideas with these podcast episodes Fall Traditions, Winter Traditions, & Spring Traditions)
Calendar-Based Refresh - Use the first Monday of every month as a fresh start! Treat that as a refresh! Take a couple of days off at the end of the month, and then that first Monday will feel like a new beginning. Try a special new fun book like a joke book, reference book, or interactive picture book. Try a new game you want to incorporate that month. Introduce new curriculum and fun new plans that day.
Activity Refresh - Have you been putting off high-prep or non-academic activities - spend a couple days just doing those activities to give the academics a break! Do a poetry tea time, break out your Raddish Kids, make slime, try a theme day!
Pretend it’s Summer for a Week - What a fun way to renew your motivation and refresh your enthusiasm for homeschooling! The idea is to just relax, enjoy giving your children the gift of boredom, and utilize our summer refresh ideas - in the middle of the school year!
4) The Snack Hack
Use a fun snack for moments they aren’t excited about.
Testing online? Teaching a subject they don’t enjoy? Is there a read-Aloud they aren’t super excited about? Use a fun snack to take the pain away, even if it’s just for a little bit.
They can make the snack together, you can gather their own ideas, or just have their favorite chocolate covered pretzels mixed in with pretzels.
Ideas: Animal crackers, a favorite cracker or chip, surprise them with Yum Earth gummies, tiny chocolate chips, etc.
5) Exercise Ball
My kids LOVE it. It allows them to be active while still being in the room while we learn together.
They sit on the exercise ball while we work on unit study workbooks together, watch informational videos and documentaries, watch shows they love, do math, and more.
It keeps their blood flowing and works their muscles
It adds pizzazz to their school time! I never need to suggest the ball - they just go get it and switch out their chair on their own.
They try new tricks, utilize the ball in different ways (including rolling on their tummies and balancing on their hands) and develop their core all day long sometimes.
NOTE: Try exposing your child to an active, non-distracting, exercise element by putting it in your child’s seated area to see if they enjoy it - with no requirements or obligations. Make sure to pick the correct height for your child (do not get the adult size if your child is small).
6) Subscribe
Subscribing to the email list for website and blogs can help you do the following:
Figure out what sources you trust
Find what you might be interested in pursuing
Receive free downloads to use in your homeschool
Sample partial curriculum to see if it is a good fit for your homeschool philosophy
Receive ideas, tips, advice, and homeschool hacks
Some of the Websites We Subscribe to:
GatherRound Homeschool - just this month we received a free artist unity study, a partial nature unit study, and sample letters and numbers lessons
Big Life Journal - weekly free downloadable that over time really adds up to a nice notebook of activities to develop a growth mindset
It’s Not that Hard To Homeschool - get ideas and tips, especially for your high schooler
And don’t forget to subscribe to our email list! We provide so many ideas, tips, and hacks on a weekly basis!
7) Topic Display Area
If you have a space, set out all books, workbooks, games, maps, etc related to a topic of study in one place!
You won’t forget about all the enriching resources you want and need to reference as part of your studies
It allows your children to peruse educational materials on the topic in their own time
Visitors can also show their curiosity and interest in what your children are learning by checking out your display as well.
8) On-the-go Water Color Art Supplies
Be present and make memories with on-the-go art! We love these supplies! They allow you to keep art opportunities with you wherever you go, without the bulky materials or mess! Art on-the-go creates memorable moments on hikes, on trips, during picnics, in restaurants, etc. The possibilities are endless! This takes the nature journal to an entirely new level. Don’t forget to do it too and model delighting in God’s beauty all around you. Bring extra canvases/paper for friends or family who might be adventuring with you.
The Brush - This brush provides the opportunity for you to bring water with you without any need for a cup or bowl of water, since the water is IN the brush! (Linked here.)
You just squeeze more for more water to come out on your canvas or to wash out the color.
Bring a paper towel for each brush so that there’s a place to “rinse” out the brush by squeezing out the color and gently wiping on the paper towel.
Foldable Tin Palettes - There are all sizes, but we like a smaller one to make it easy to bring (linked here).
These water-colors just need a few droplets squeezed out of the brush onto the color to work
Use the foldable parts to mix colors or dilute your color
Close it up with you are done (use your paper towel to soak up the unused color)
Canvas - We love this pad of watercolor paper as our canvas. (Linked here.)
Cut them down in half to make it easier to throw in a tote, purse, or pencil case
Slice into strips to make bookmarks
9) Trampoline Park Passes
We love having passes to our favorite trampoline park (or you can try an activity zone type place)! It’s like a playground, but better because…
Temperature controlled
Safe and clean bathrooms
Tables to work for you or your kids who don’t feel like jumping
Your kids don’t get dirty
Many places have different options in addition to their trampolines
Climbing walls
Obstacle courses
Balance beams
Parkour obstacles
Dodgeball courts
Basketball hoops
Pit jumps
Trapeze swing
Silks
Benefits
This place is our second day of “gymnastics” per week for a price 5-10 times cheaper than gymnastics. (We pay $15-$20 per child/month for 2 hours daily.) You can also request a “homeschool rate” dates and time.
Lots of homeschool families are there during the weekday, during the school year! Or lots of little kids for your young ones to play with while your olders do school work or read!
Play Dates
Great way to do playdates if you have multiple kids - keeps your other kids busy and active while your one child gets their playdate
Don’t have to clean your house
Limits the commitment level to jump time
Allows you time to be active or have your own “me” time. I bring my laptop, I get mom time, I could exercise too.
Our kids get super sweaty from their awesome workout
Allows for opportunities to navigate other kids of all ages and learn to practice boundaries with kids they don’t know
You get to make new friends! My child and I have made new homeschool friends there
If you can get a group of friends to sign-up for it, you can have birthday parties and just bring goody bags and donuts! Many places are pretty lax when it comes to during the weekday. Rules don’t really apply when it’s not crowded.
10) Offer Simple Choices
Find things in your homeschool day that you can let your child decide: would you like to do school or chores first? Would you like to do math or history first? Give them a little ownership over their time and day to help them feel involved in their education.
More Homeschool Hacks!
Check out our other Homeschool Hacks episodes dedicated to just one Hack in a more robust way - for Audio Books, Adding Novelty, and Bedtime Education! Also, how to car-school and how to homeschool when you are sick! These are all homeschool hacks!
Coop Q & A
Question: What should I say when my child tells me she is bored?
Answer: Offer chores, cleaning room time, and other responsibilities that need to be tended to in order to help you or the family. Also, see it as an opportunity that your child gains a quiet moment to figure out how to grow as a person - to expand her horizons and become more creative! Check out The Gift of Boredom for more about that.
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