Homeschooling is a personal journey. Just like learning, there are no simple steps to follow in order to be successful. However, from my experience, here are the seven habits successful homeschoolers seem to follow and four keys for homeschool success.
7 Habits of Successful Homeschoolers
1. They don’t try to imitate the public school.
When we were homeschooling, it was so hard to break free from the routine of public school. Whether it was the typical school hours or a structured day, we began to truly grow best when we let learning happen naturally.
2. They don’t compare themselves to other homeschool moms.
Some kids learn best with a structured day, which is fine. Others learn best with their day varied, which works as well. Sometimes, we lose focus of what really matters (learning!) and find ourselves caught up in the comparison game. While homeschooling, and in life, it’s importance to focus on yourself, and not compare yourself negatively to other homeschool families/moms.
3. They accept help when they need it.
This is one of the areas I struggled with the most. Part of being successful involves knowing what your weaknesses are, and being able to ask for help when you need it! We could have saved ourselves a lot of frustration if we would have just accepted the offer of help from someone we knew, whether it’s with dinner one night or an algebra lesson.
4. They aren’t bound by any one curriculum.
When we first began homeschooling, we stuck with A Beka curriculum. While it is a great rigorous curriculum, we wish we would’ve known that there are so many more curriculum options out there!
5. They individualize learning and curriculum.
What works extremely well on one child might not work on another child, and that’s ok! Part of the homeschool experience is trial and error – with different kids come different learning styles.
Each child learns differently, and homeschooling gives us the opportunity to embrace those differences instead of letting them hurt us.
6. They know when to take a break.
Working on fractions for two hours definitely isn’t fun for everyone! Sometimes, it’s ok to take a break – for an hour, for a day, or for a week, to recharge and refresh.
Whenever I was stuck on diagramming sentences or a complex trig problem, I would move on to another subject and go back to it later. Sometimes, the clarity helped me find the answer almost instantly upon my return. Other times I worked on it for an hour or two more before I finished it. In either scenario, I felt better and more calm upon my return! It’s ok to let things go for a little bit!
7. They keep moving forward.
Homeschool and life in general is messy. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes, have some regrets, and have a lot of fun. Through the good days and the bad, it’s important to keep moving forward and not dwell on the bad days too much.
As a homeschool graduate, these are my best tips for what makes a successful homeschool family! You will also love the four keys for homeschooling success.
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