Homeschooling - the value of reviewing what you have achieved

When i was at school there was always tremendous peer pressure to achieve more and to do it better than our school mates. We used to rush through the tasks set and flick through the work books as fast as we could.

There was no encouragement to sit back and to reflect on what we had learnt, how it tied into other lessons or indeed how it related to our world away from the classroom.

This tended to encourage a rather one dimensional approach to life. It was all about tick sheets,getting on to the next book before your class mates and so on.

Homeschooling helps to encourage the kind of learning atmosphere which will encourage reflection.

Children should be able to sit back and talk about how what they have just learnt relates to other work.They will have time to see if there are examples of the lesson subject in their home life and overall their understanding of life will be so much better.

So don't make the lessons pressured. Relax and enjoy it.

Homeschooling - looking after yourself

This is a short blog just to reiterate a point we often say to our mums and dads.
Make time for yourself.This all comes down to routine and having your children understand what is required.

It can be simple things like

a. Every day at 2 pm....take a 20 minute break on your own to recharge your batteries.Explain to the children that this is their opportunity to have their own free time too. Or make it into their reading time.

b. Schedule the day around the lessons but make sure that there are breaks at the start, during and after lessons for your own time.

c.Some weeks the teaching seems so easy and other times it is just darn hard. You need to recognise that there are ups and downs. That is life and even the best homeschoolers experience this.
These hard times will pass and the sun will shine again.

So be aware of how you feel, track the swings during the months ahead and allow yourself enough precious time to recover and unwind.