Tips from a homeschool mom & entrepreneur to all the moms who are now homeschooling.

If you’re a little stressed about homeschooling, I’ve got you. I’ve done it for 12 years and can tell you it’s not for the faint of heart.

But what I do know is, there are lots of benefits and freedom when you approach it the right way.

I hope these tips help put you at ease. And believe me, after 12 years of being home every day with the kids, I completely understand the feeling of wanting to escape or feeling stuck. But I’m still here and I still love my kids and the rhythms we’ve created allowed me to run a very successful business from home.

Yes! You CAN be an entrepreneur AND homeschool your kids.

1. Release any expectations

If I've learned anything at all these past twelve years, it's that expectations are rarely met so there's no point in setting any. Give yourself and your kiddos some grace. Especially if you're finding yourself forced homeschooling because of the quarantine. This is new for all of us and we need to treat it like a learning experience.

2. Don't try to recreate school at home

The school system is created the way it is for so many reasons. Reasons I won't get into in this post because it would end up being a 10 page essay. But I will point out that having a strict bell schedule is not needed in your own home. You have one or two or maybe four kids you're trying to wrangle. Not 30! And believe it or not, it should only take a few hours to get the school work for the day done. The reason school days last about 7 hours is because there are so many kids. Lining up, recess, waiting for the stragglers, busy work... those are all things you won't need to worry about in our day.

3. Let them sleep in

They need the sleep! In fact, especially during this time, more sleep will help keep their immune system up.  Doing this, will  finally give you a little quiet morning to yourself. Get up about 30-60 min for the kids and fill YOUR cup. This is a game changer! 

4. Give them chores

They’ll LIVE! And now they finally have the time to do them. We always start our day with breakfast and chores and don't officially start school work until about 9 or 10 (depending on what time our day gets going)

5. Designate Family Quiet Time

When my kids were younger, we would have a set time each day where the kids were in their room reading for about 45-60 min. They set their own timers and got to read whatever they wanted but couldn't come out or talk for that time. This was such a relief for me as I needed some peace, quiet, and uninterrupted time to focus on my business. There were other quiet moments throughout the day, but this was guaranteed!

6. Create a Loose Schedule

If you're taking my advice and letting them sleep in, you might not ALWAYS be starting at the same time. And this is totally ok. Our schedule was very loose. It was more of a rhythm based on when we woke up. An hour for breakfast and chores, an hour for reading, an hour for school work, lunch, finish school, etc.

7. Give your kids control of their school work

This might sound crazy and definitely applies to kids who are a little older. If they actually have school work to do, tell them when they finish all of their work for the day, they can do what they want (within reason 😉) . They’ll be inspired to stay focused and finish fast. Remember, their actual school work should only take a few hours to complete.

8. Let them explore what they love

If they don’t have school work, this is an opportunity to find out what they love to do and want to learn more of. Most of they time they don’t get that option in traditional school. 

9. Let Them Be Chefs

Have your kids make their own breakfast and lunch. I haven’t made a weekday lunch in YEARS 🙌🏼

10. Enjoy This Time

As stressful as this can be, try your best to enjoy it. Create small moments in the day for fun, creativity, and joy. Before you know it they’ll be grown and gone and you might actually miss them.

Oh, and my husband has the best skinny margarita recipe if you need it for at home happy hour while the kids cook your dinner. You can get the recipe here.