Okay, how are you guys doing with the transition from public or charter school to homeschool? I’ll admit now that we are in homeschooling for the long haul, it was time for me to make a few adjustments to make it a little more awesome. Now I know every family is different and some of these won’t work for you, but I’m guessing no matter the ages of your kids, you could implement of couple of these ideas.

1. Make a schedule. When we started homeschooling, I saw a few schedules floating around social media. I saw them, but quickly passed them by thinking, “I’ve got this, I don’t need a strict schedule.” Little did I know how much that would fail. Finally, I created a very laid back daily schedule, one that we could follow. If you like your day strictly outlined then go for more detail, but mine is as follows:First off, I’ll admit we sleep in- so whenever we wake up we eat breakfast, do a chore, straighten up our school supplies and have free time until 10. This is when I’m finished working and ready to focus on the kids.

   10am-12pm School work that is given by their teachers. I rotate kids and help them when needed. I have a toddler too. So usually one of the grade school aged kids is playing with the toddler, while I’m helping the other two kids. That’s worked out great so far.

   12pm -1pm Make lunch and eat/free time- we have been going on a walk around the block or do a quick P.E. activity during this time too.  (see number 2 & 3 for a little help with this too)

   1pm  Zoology with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. They have started doing a Facebook Live every day at 1pm MST. The kids love watching and learning about different animals.

   1:30pm-2:30 pm Reading time/Finish school work from teachers. They usually have reading assignments from teachers they need to finish. If you’re all caught up with school work, you can do extra fun learning activities here as well (see #3 listed below).

   2:30pm-3:30pm The kids can do their fun screen time, creative play, outside time and help with dinner.

   So as you can see, this is a super easy to follow outline where I have options for us to do, yet a guide for what we need to get done and what could be done next. It has helped me stay sane and not be scattered and behind in their school work.

2. Make a list of lunches for the kids. Since they have to eat every day at home for lunch, it can get overwhelming finding things they like and won’t complain about. First, be sure to see if your school is providing free lunch during the coronavirus break. Ours is, which has helped a ton. We try and get that a few days a week. If not, then make a list of lunches the kids like and put it somewhere they can see everyday. This way you don’t have to tell them every day what they can have. They can look at the list and make it themselves, or tell you if they need help. Taking that one worry out of your head is so great.
3. Take advantage of the free educational learning activities that are available right now. Since we are all in this pandemic together, a lot of companies have offered free subscriptions or access to their sites. You can check out a great list here.  My kids love doing some of these during their extra free time. I also love the Kids Art Hub on Youtube and Mystery Science. 
4. Know that the kids’ emotional well being is just as important, if not more important, than their education. I read something about this lately and it really struck me. The first few days I was hard on my kids. I feel like they should understand everything, right? I have to get back into teacher mode, instead of mom mode. Take the time to be patient and understanding. I would rather look back on this time and have them know I loved them and we tried hard instead of me yelling at them and putting them down. Try to be positive, then go yell in a pillow. Your kids are hard on themselves enough.
5. Get outside everyday. This is definitely a life saver for me. Even if it’s a little chilly, grab your coats and get outside. Go on a walk, bike ride, jog, play in your yard, play sports, do anything you want outside. Take breaks during your school day and get outside. It makes you feel better about the world. We can do this!!