4. Bedtime Bonus. One ritual that was consistent in our home when the boys were younger was our evening bedtime stories. We often used compelling history books or books with science topics during this special time.
5. Combine Courses: Literature with history, history with geography, or geography with science.
6. Think Outside the Box.
A. Creative map and timeline work can count for history, geography and art. Pay attention to community service hours, Scout projects, and other “non-school” endeavors that are actually educational.
B. Keep school fresh by occasionally surprising the kids. Would they get a kick out of having school in a weird place for a day? Pile pillows in the bathtub (empty, of course) and have the kids work in the tub. Or go undercover by draping a blanket over a table and doing school underneath with pillows, blankets, and flashlights. My favorite: turn the master bedroom into the classroom. Take everything you might need onto the bed (including the popcorn!) and pretend to be on a boat surrounded by sharks. Provide a pathway of socks that become tiny islands to step on for getting to the bathroom.
7. “Mini” Mega-Cooking. The days I cook a few extra meals to put in the freezer are a blessing. I often double up on any given meal so that I can have one for a busy day or a sick friend. I almost never cook a single chicken! I prefer to brown 5 or 10 pounds of ground beef at a time (perhaps with onions) and I’ll freeze what I don’t immediately need. The extra can be pulled out for a head start on chili, tacos, spaghetti, etc. Crock-pots are a mom’s best friend. Good pizza coupons are treasured. And the husband who offers to bring home the occasional Chinese or deli meal is worth his weight in gold!
8. Share. Teaching plans and resources can be shared with a friend. Although I love co-ops and have been involved in them yearly since 1991, they aren’t feasible for everyone. But if you have a friend who is teaching the same course as you and would be willing to share the work load in planning lessons or gathering resources, what a blessing! Bonus - checking in with each other to see how it’s going, adds accountability.
9. The Baby Connection. Babies & toddlers - gotta love ‘em! Learn when to include them, when to work around them, and when to wait until they are asleep. Some moms have a high tolerance and some babies are low maintenance. As a mom with low tolerance and high maintenance babies, I had to learn flexibility. Special toys only brought out during teaching time helped. They enjoyed the read-alouds even though the material was over their heads. History costumes, building forts or re-creations, and other hands-on projects can often be completed with little ones in tow. For work best done uninterrupted, use naptime or videos. (Yes, I happily used quality videos as babysitters!)
10. Summer School. Use summers for history/science projects and field trips. We even had a couple of short summer school sessions utilizing appealing material that the kids were eager to dive into. Count the hours toward the following year’s school. This provides leeway and less pressure during your more formal school time.
In Part II of this article, we will discuss Ten Strategies for Successful Home Schooling.
Maggie Hogan is a motivational speaker and co-author of "The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide," "Gifted Children at Home," and other resource books. She and her husband Bob have been home schooling their boys since 1991. Involved in local, state, and national home-schooling issues, they both serve on boards of home education organizations in Delaware. They are also owners of Bright Ideas Press (www.BrightIdeasPress.com), a home-school company dedicated to bringing the best practical, fun, and affordable materials to the home-school market.
Maggie's e-mail address is Hogan@BrightIdeasPress.com.
