Ways to Simplify Your Homeschool Days

If you’ve been homeschooling for a while, you probably know the feeling: burnout. It doesn’t mean it’s time to send your kids back to the public school. Rather, you can take it as a sign that it’s time to switch things up. These homeschool tips for parents will streamline your days and make home education enjoyable again.

1. Provide fun rewards.

If you have a kid who resists schoolwork, offer fun incentives to encourage engagement. For many children, having a goal to work toward is all it takes to boost enthusiasm. The reward could be something as simple as a sticker, a digital badge, or a note with a funny joke. Find what clicks for your learners and go with it. The more willing your kids are to participate in the school day, the easier your life will be.

2. Encourage independent work.

One of the top homeschool tips that seasoned parents often suggest is to foster independence. The beauty of homeschooling is the opportunity to be together as a family, but that doesn’t mean you have to hold your kids’ hands every step of the way. Independence will serve you well now, and it will serve your children well for a lifetime. Fill a basket with school assignments that your students can tackle while you do projects around the house, or turn them loose with a comprehensive online program that they can navigate on their own.

3. Listen to audiobooks.

If you’re looking for homeschool tips for working moms, it’s probably because you’re busy, busy, busy. Give yourself a break from read alouds by providing your students audiobooks instead. You can feel confident about including audiobooks in your homeschooling plans. Research indicates that listening to audiobooks encourages vocabulary development and frees kids’ imaginations to envision elaborate story worlds.

4. Use self-checking resources.

Grading papers is the bane of many busy homeschoolers’ days. Treat yourself to a respite by assigning questions and quizzes that kids can grade themselves. You can even turn to online resources with built-in assessments. Neither you nor your kids will have to check the work, and the platform will send your students’ results right to your account.

5. Make school a multimedia experience.

Pencil-and-paper learning gets boring for kids, and that’s often when the whining starts. Put a fresh twist on your day by letting them learn in other ways. Provide a kid-safe video platform so that they can search for clips related to your current school unit. Set them free to explore 360-degree images, interactive timelines, or inspiring TED Talks that go along with your studies. They’ll love the change of pace, and you’ll appreciate their change of attitude.

LightSail can help with each of these homeschool teaching tips. From gamification to audiobooks, we offer a wealth of resources to make your homeschool days fun, easy, and rich with learning.