I admit that the first few weeks of being a homeschooling parent were very tough. After all, homeschooling is much more complex than it seems.
It is not all about letting your child cut pieces of paper and form origami while you attend to several house chores at a time. I have to organize two schedules: my own and my child’s. Most days, I ignore the importance of strictly following the timelines I have set for myself as a homeschooling mom. However, little did I know that those timelines play a considerable role in my momentum and the efficacy of our learning sessions.
Also, in most cases, I have to tell my kid to color his color book while doing the dishes as quickly as possible. Then, I realized that I am juggling many tasks when I failed to master one of them. Managing and organizing my time well is a tough challenge. I wished it could have been an obsession. Still, there are moments when I can’t help but stay loose because of the many responsibilities I have as a wife, parent, and human being. Right now, I am better.
My child and I have enjoyed the smooth process to the point that I no longer have to constantly remind him what to do next. He manages his time the way I manage my time. Do you want to know my secret?
In this article, I will outline how to effectively manage your precious time as a homeschooling parent.
1. Take inventory.
As a homeschooling parent, keeping track of my precious time and budget is one of the many things I’ve learned from managing my household. The best budgeting technique is continuously determining where your money goes.
The concept is also applicable to time management. You should know where you’re actually spending your time before you distribute it elsewhere. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you start organizing and sticking to your schedule for at least the whole month. You have to spend time observing the needs and routines of your family members, especially your children that are about to homeschool anytime soon.
By familiarizing yourself with their routines, you will get to know how to modify them in a way that would be easier for you and your child to cope with. This might sound unnecessary and ridiculous, but this is indeed an essential exercise. You can establish your complex routines by starting with the basic ones.
2. Work.
Well, this is actually the primary reason I have a pre-curated curriculum. Most people are only interested in it at first. Most people are only good at the beginning. This is why every parent has to be serious in executing their homeschooling plans and getting things done.
Every grade-oriented curriculum has a systematic timeframe to effectively get things done. While all of these seem like a bright idea and easy enough, this is actually pretty tough to actualize.
The main challenge is that the standard work should actually follow a general set of guidelines similar to a traditional classroom setting. You must identify how many hours should be allocated on specific tasks and be tough enough to follow through.
3. Make a template that doesn’t overwhelm your child.
Since you already know everything that has to be done and the amount of time you must optimize during the day, you may now start incorporating school tasks into your child’s “normal” schedule.
The process should be done as smoothly as possible to the extent that your child wouldn’t even know they’re already doing it.
Your child has been accustomed to doing several mundane tasks every day. Your role as a homeschooling parent is to insert their school works into that routine seamlessly. Never try to rush the process.
Create a kind of schedule that does not overwhelm you and your young learner so that their interest will remain constant throughout. It is just like doing what they love to do every day— but more productively.
