4 Survival Tips for Your First Year of Homeschooling

Are you thinking about homeschooling this year? If so, then welcome to one of the most amazing adventures you will ever experience. Homeschooling is a wonderful journey, but if you’re first beginning, it may also feel a bit daunting. I’d love to share a few survival tips with you that I wish someone had shared with me before I began homeschooling a few years ago.

1. Pause and Pray

As parents, our days are full with appointments, extracurricular activities, cooking, and more. When you add homeschooling into the schedule, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the commitments.  Before you begin planning for your year, pause and pray. Ask the Lord to give you a vision for your children. Where do you want to take them on this journey? Then, slowly take them there. If the Lord called you to this journey, He will equip you along the way.

2. Homeschool Curriculum 101

There is a wealth of information and resources available for homeschooling families. When I first decided to homeschool, I looked online to find the best curriculum for my 4^th grader. My, oh my, did I go down the rabbit hole on that one. All of the resources were exciting, colorful, and new.

However, I became overwhelmed at which one to choose. Perhaps you’ve already experienced this. Let me encourage you that there is not a “perfect” curriculum out there. These resources were created to guide you but not to be a master of you. When it comes to educating your children, sometimes less is more. The best one is the one that you will both enjoy and the one that points your children to Christ.

3. Consider the Frame

I don’t know your reasons for considering homeschooling, but I can tell you that creating an individual plan is my favorite part. I love that I have this amazing opportunity to educate according to my children’s strengths and weaknesses. You can enjoy this too! For example, if your child struggles with mathematics, you have the freedom to slow the pace and present the material in a way they’ll understand. If your child has anxiety about a subject, consider their frame and rework the schedule to help them adjust.

4. Savor the Feast

We have a unique opportunity as homeschool parents to cultivate a beautiful picture of Christ in our homes. Part of this involves spreading a beautiful, rich “feast” of education for our children. Charlotte Mason, a pioneer of educational philosophy, quoted that “Education is a life.” Even when we are not engaging in formal academic time with our children, we are still teaching them. We can slow down and take time to savor the sweet moments with our children.

These are just a few tips to help you embrace your first year of homeschooling. Let me encourage you to take time and read books, sip tea, and talk about the wondrous things you’re learning together.

Danielle is a former classroom teacher turned “work-from-home” and homeschooling mother of two. She now spends her days teaching her children, reading numerous books, and sharing her gifts with others. She blogs about her adventures at DanielleHope.com.