When I woke up this morning, I really had no idea what I was going to write about today but I did know that I wanted to start a series on homeschooling since that is now our life. The good, the bad and the ugly of homeschooling since homeschooling has a stigma attached to it.
When I homeschooled Danyella before and would go out in public during the day, the looks and questions we would get were enough to make me snap… which at times I did because I refused to send my child to a shitty public school and not learn anything when I can provide her with a useful education at home.
Something that I learned when I homeschooled Danyella before was that she is the child that needs the structure of a schedule. If I let her take a million breaks or get up and walk away from something to many times, it became a game to her. One that she used to push-off her schoolwork as long as possible. Not this time!
A comment on my Instagram post of Danyella and Max while she was doing her schoolwork and Max looked sad that his buddy wasn’t playing with him really bothered the hell out of me last night and this morning so that is where this post is coming from. The comment was kinda asking, kinda implying that Danyella should get lots of breaks in the beginning to start homeschooling…. ABSOLUTELY NOT!
When public school kids go back to school, do they get lots of breaks to start their year off? NO! Most come home with homework for both themselves and their parents. Just because she is being homeschooled doesn’t mean that we just fly by the seats of our pants. We have a daily schedule of what happens from 8am-5pm everyday. We have meals, chores, school and other activities scheduled throughout our day.
Yes, she does get some free time like kids get recess BUT it’s not multiple times through the day and it is not to play with the dog because he is lonely. Teaching my child structure and a schedule is important because as adult we live by structure in order to be successful (or at least the successful adults that I know do). As parents, if we do not structure our schedules and our children’s schedules then we have chaos and chaos leads to negativity which leads to unhappy, disconnected children.
Danyella is a dancer, a competitive dancer, and is taught a schedule and structure for each of her classes and her competitive team. Each teacher has a different style for their structure but the child thrives in class when there is structure.
Whether your child is a toddler/preschooler and you are teaching them at home or if they are older and you are homeschooling, a schedule is key to keep them on track and you sane. When a child wakes up, knows what they need to do for the day and at what times, life just runs smoother and happier for entire family.
Benefits:
- Schedules teach structure which is important to instill for adulthood
- Schedules keep the expectations of the child in focus
- Schedules help the child understand that School is serious not a game
- Schedules keep parents sane
- Schedules help families stay on track with their life goals
- Schedules make for happy children which make for happy parents
What are your thoughts on keeping your child on a schedule (whether you homeschool or they attend a school)?
Definitely saving this because I’m considering home schooling
Tuesdays I will be featuring homeschooling tips so I hope any will help you make a decision. Homeschooling isn’t for every kid but neither is public/private school
Awesome! Looking forward to it
I agree that a routine and schedule is vital to homeschoolers, but also to kids in general. Children thrive on predictability and routine. Don’t let anybody get ya down. You know what you are doing. 🙂
Thanks! Yes I love having the routine that she knows what is coming and expected when we are in school mode to avoid her tantrums so she gets out of doing her schoolwork or puts it off.
My kids definitely have a schedule, but we follow a very loose one. I think schedules are important but at the same time, children need to experience the freedom and spontaneity of an adventurous life.
We definitely have our spontanious moments especially on our free weekends, summer and nights. My kids just need to the structure of a schedule in order to keep on track when we are in school mode
I couldn’t agree with you more. In fact, I don’t think it applies to all kids, not just homeschooled. My kids go to school, but we still have a weekly homework schedule hanging on our fridge with dedicated times or at least length of time (eg. 15 continuous minutes of piano practice a day).
Exactly even as adults it helps us structure our lives. Kids need the structure with a dose of fun time