Even in the best Christian homeschool environment, difficult times still occasionally arise. To help you survive during those times, here are several helpful suggestions:
Remind yourself of the reasons your family chose to homeschool in the first place. In most cases it is to have more time together.
When problems arise, don't start looking to the public school system to solve them for you. Your answer is within your family, so gather the family together to discuss the issues, and brainstorm how to fix them.
Children need stability in their home lives, and one of the best ways to provide this is to set up several family traditions. Maybe you'll decide to have a prayer and devotional time each day as part of your Christian homeschool. Maybe you can develop a charitable work that your children can participate in on a regular basis as part of their homeschooling. Be creative when thinking about what traditions you can have in your family.
To help revitalize a stagnant homeschooling setting, start celebrating strange and unusual holidays and birthdays as part of your school day. Which authors are your children currently reading? Go online to find out what they're birthdays are, and then have your kids bake a cake to celebrate. What great events throughout history happened today (do a search online to find out)? Perhaps your kids can dress up and re-enact the event. Christian homeschooling shouldn't be boring!
Have you ever took the time to ask your children what they would be interested in studying? Maybe what you're currently teaching holds absolutely no interest to your child at this stage of his education. So, who says you have to continue? You're in charge, so go ahead and change it if you need to. The more your kids are interested in learning what you are teaching, the less conflict you will encounter. So go ahead and ask them!
Always remember that you are the one in charge of your Christian Homeschool. If you need to change something that isn't working, then go ahead and do it. You don't need anyone else's permission. If the curriculum you have is creating more problems than solutions, then switch to something else.
Don't plan on having the utopian Christian homeschool. It's not going to happen. Just as you'll have some days where you seem to floating on cloud nine, and everything's going perfect, so you'll also have days that are just the opposite. Come to think of it, your homeschool experience is just like real life outside the school environment, isn't it?
Every child learns things differently. After teaching your children for awhile, you will soon learn what their strongest styles of learning are (ie: auditory, visual, hands on). When you discover this, then start teaching the subjects that the are not very good in, using the style of learning that they enjoy the most.
One of the great things about having a homeschool is the freedom to teach our children in ways that are different than the traditional school. Use your imagination and be creative with coming up with lessons and activities.
Everyone has days when they just want to quit. Maybe you've come to the place where you just want to walk away from it all. When those moments come, think back on the reasons you chose to homeschool in the first place. Also, make sure you're part of a local homeschool support group. They will be invaluable to you during the tough times. All homeschooling parents have been there at one time or another.
Have a play day! There are going to be days when it seems like all hell is breaking loose in your homeschool. What do you do? Certainly spend some time in quietness and prayer, but perhaps you just need to cancel school for the day too. Go for a walk. Getting away from the situation will help you think more clearly.
Always remember that if you're continually stressed out, your children will be too. You can't give your children peace of mind if you don't have it yourself. So go ahead and pamper yourself once in a while. Go to a movie, have a special date with your spouse, go the spa! You get the idea. Get your life spiritually and emotionally re-filled, so you have something of value to give to your children. - 16003
Remind yourself of the reasons your family chose to homeschool in the first place. In most cases it is to have more time together.
When problems arise, don't start looking to the public school system to solve them for you. Your answer is within your family, so gather the family together to discuss the issues, and brainstorm how to fix them.
Children need stability in their home lives, and one of the best ways to provide this is to set up several family traditions. Maybe you'll decide to have a prayer and devotional time each day as part of your Christian homeschool. Maybe you can develop a charitable work that your children can participate in on a regular basis as part of their homeschooling. Be creative when thinking about what traditions you can have in your family.
To help revitalize a stagnant homeschooling setting, start celebrating strange and unusual holidays and birthdays as part of your school day. Which authors are your children currently reading? Go online to find out what they're birthdays are, and then have your kids bake a cake to celebrate. What great events throughout history happened today (do a search online to find out)? Perhaps your kids can dress up and re-enact the event. Christian homeschooling shouldn't be boring!
Have you ever took the time to ask your children what they would be interested in studying? Maybe what you're currently teaching holds absolutely no interest to your child at this stage of his education. So, who says you have to continue? You're in charge, so go ahead and change it if you need to. The more your kids are interested in learning what you are teaching, the less conflict you will encounter. So go ahead and ask them!
Always remember that you are the one in charge of your Christian Homeschool. If you need to change something that isn't working, then go ahead and do it. You don't need anyone else's permission. If the curriculum you have is creating more problems than solutions, then switch to something else.
Don't plan on having the utopian Christian homeschool. It's not going to happen. Just as you'll have some days where you seem to floating on cloud nine, and everything's going perfect, so you'll also have days that are just the opposite. Come to think of it, your homeschool experience is just like real life outside the school environment, isn't it?
Every child learns things differently. After teaching your children for awhile, you will soon learn what their strongest styles of learning are (ie: auditory, visual, hands on). When you discover this, then start teaching the subjects that the are not very good in, using the style of learning that they enjoy the most.
One of the great things about having a homeschool is the freedom to teach our children in ways that are different than the traditional school. Use your imagination and be creative with coming up with lessons and activities.
Everyone has days when they just want to quit. Maybe you've come to the place where you just want to walk away from it all. When those moments come, think back on the reasons you chose to homeschool in the first place. Also, make sure you're part of a local homeschool support group. They will be invaluable to you during the tough times. All homeschooling parents have been there at one time or another.
Have a play day! There are going to be days when it seems like all hell is breaking loose in your homeschool. What do you do? Certainly spend some time in quietness and prayer, but perhaps you just need to cancel school for the day too. Go for a walk. Getting away from the situation will help you think more clearly.
Always remember that if you're continually stressed out, your children will be too. You can't give your children peace of mind if you don't have it yourself. So go ahead and pamper yourself once in a while. Go to a movie, have a special date with your spouse, go the spa! You get the idea. Get your life spiritually and emotionally re-filled, so you have something of value to give to your children. - 16003
About the Author:
Brian Lehr has been a homeschooling parent for nine years. Save yourself time, money and headaches by visiting his Christian homeschooling blog for great tips, reviews, and fun advice. Also visit to discover some easy ways to help finance your Christian homeschool.
