Tips for Outside the Box Learning Series: Finding your Natural Rhythm

One of many, reasons we homeschool, is to do things at the speed of our children. Sometimes that means moving at a faster pace, sometimes at a slower pace, and that can vary by child, and by subject.

What my husband pointed out to me in our second year, is it also means doing schoolwork when, as in time of day, that it makes sense for our children’s natural rhythms. When in a school room setting, our kids are governed by the rules of the school, it is no different at home, except that the school being mom, and set those hours for each student.

My older two girls are night owls and love to sleep till noon. Why not let them. They get more done and are in a better mood when they get to do schoolwork in the afternoon. My youngest has always been a morning person, I’m not, so we compromise this and start at 10. When she was really small K-2 she was done by lunch. now in sixth she is done by 3 but takes a big break in the middle.

So, my Tip is this: Set your day by your kid’s best hours, not some arbitrary time set by your local school system.

You’re in charge of your crazy schedule!

Wow, that can be a scary prospect! It is also thrilling! As a homeschool mom I no longer set my alarm clock based on when someone else says I have to get up and be somewhere. Mostly. We set our days by what feels right and gets the best out of each of us. We add outside events, and weight the pros and cons of the times those things happen in, so while we can’t always pick the ideal time for an extra-curricular, we get to choose if we participate in it, or skip it. I’m lucky enough to live outside a very large city, with tons of options in a wide range of prices and time slots. Still, we pick our extras carefully.

Don’t fall into the trap of the more the better. Be wise and protective of your schedule. Make sure you have some time at home to actually get your work done and realize that while kids can do school outside of dance class, you really shouldn’t count on that.

But they love their extra’s

I’m sure they do, but they need to learn too. Life is about picking the best options and not stressing about what you can’t do. Co-op and dance both on Wed, look for a new dance class, ask and see if they instructor might be open to a homeschool class on another day, then try to recruit to fill that slot. Or start another co-op on another day, you might be surprised home many other families couldn’t do Wed but would love Friday.

Dance, soccer, science club, baseball, chess club… You’re making me exhausted reading the list. More isn’t always better, and you may be surprised that your children are stressed out thinking about it all too.

Try picking one or two and see if you don’t see a more relaxed and confident child. You can always switch it up later.

Extra-Curricular as a subject

You’re in charge, if that is what you want to do, then go for it. You don’t need my permission. Some ideas of this are Math club, Math Pentathlon meetups, Science club, Robotics Club, Lego Legue,

Take time when adding to your schedule to see it all laid out in the day, the week and the month. If you have something every day, or multiple things daily, you maybe heading for burnout.

Master Calendar

If you have more than one child, consider setting up a master calendar, both digitally and physically. I have two monthly white boards on my wall as master calendars, that way everyone in the house can see the activities and know what is expected.

You can find printable calendar pages along with all my other free printables over on my free Printable Resource page, you can get access to them by signing up for my free newsletter below.