50 Pieces of Homeschool Advice For First Time Homeschool Moms

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So you decided to start homeschooling. Whether you’ve got older kids you’re pulling out of public school or you have littles and you’re starting out in kindergarten, you’re probably experiencing a bit of trepidation. The first year of homeschool is going to be one giant rollercoaster ride, but I promise, you’ll end up on the other side. If I could go back to my first year of homeschool, these are the tidbits of homeschool advice I would tell myself.

About My First Year

I have a privilege: homeschool is not new to me. Because I was homeschooled as a kid , I can’t relate to those who have completely changed the direction of their child’s future that looks different than their own. Making the decision to homeschool was an easy decision for me, unlike it most likely was for you.

I learned a lot during my first year. If you want to hear about our kindergarten experience, you can read all about it here. We had a fantastic time.

Still, that first year was rough. If I could sum up all of the advice into one singular statement, I would go back and tell myself, “be patient”. You’ll figure it out as you go. Don’t give up. There’s going to be some days that you can just recognize that your kiddo isn’t having it. What amazed me was how the next day, he understood everything in minutes rather than the hour it took us yesterday.

There’s other days when you, yourself are just not having it. But, that’s the beauty of homeschooling. You can stop mid lesson and literally pick back up the day later to continue on. It’s a whole lot more difficult when you’re taking the kiddo to school every day (or you’re the teacher in a school setting!)

Remember Your Why

Homeschooling provides your family with so much freedom. It gives you flexibility over schedules. It gives adjustability with learning. You can create an environment where your child actually understands a concept before being propelled down the next step without comprehending the first one. It allows your child time to develop her character, passions, and creativity because she’s not sitting in a classroom for 8 hours every day. For this, and so many other reasons, homeschool has been the best decision for our family.

I’m sure you can agree and relate to some of those points above. You’ve got your “why”. But you need a “how”. And when you start to figure out how, you’re going to be taking in some advice along the way. After doing some research of my own, and hearing loads of advice from other seasoned homeschool moms, I comprised this list.

40 Pieces of Homeschool Advice

As with any sort of advice, not everything well meaning “experts” have to say is applicable to your unique situation. You can’t take every item on this list as “gold”. Most likely, you may disagree with several points. The goal of this list is to be used as a guide. We want it to give us ideas, provide a framework and help us shape the ideal homeschool for each of us. Keep that in mind!

Without further ado, here are the best pieces of advice for first time homeschooling moms:

Homeschool Advice For Mom

• give yourself grace
• you don’t have to do it all
• your school doesn’t have to look like public school
• you can’t teach your kids everything you want to, and that’s okay
• you aren’t going to fit that perfect homeschool mom mold; that’s a good thing
• you’re not supposed to be like other homeschool moms; you’re supposed to be you
• learn with your child
• remember why you started

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Ephesians 4:7, KJV

Homeschool Advice For Your Routine

• be flexible
• this year will look different from last year
• this year will look different than next year
• give your child grace; he’s not going to get every answer right
• allow room for your child to be wrong without judgement; it doesn’t mean you’re a bad teacher or that he is a bad student
• don’t be afraid to change things up for each child; everyone learns a different way
• don’t compare your kids
• adjust your homeschool hours; you don’t have to start at the same time every day

“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Homeschool Advice For Your Mindset

• Have Fun
• focus on having fun with your kids; learning should be enjoyable
• kids don’t have to sit still for 8 hours a day to learn
• take random days off
• play more educational games
• read more books
• have library days
• have a competition
• get outside
• stay positive
• take advantage of technology; watch You-Tube videos and documentaries to visualize what you’re learning
• look for computer games or apps that reinforce a concept
• take more field trips
• adapt your school to fit each child’s interests

Homeschool Advice For Your Schedule

• Have a plan
• set aside uninterrupted time to plan and prep each day
• make a homeschool mission statement
• write out goals of what you want to accomplish during this school year
• have a list for each child’s goals and tasks
• focus on unit studies for history, science and extra curriculars
• use time management to get outside errands done so you can spend more time with your kids during school (think meal planning, meal prep, build your errands into one day, have kids do daily chores, etc.)
• set a flexible schedule so you can make adjustments
• find the right balance between structure and flexibility

Homeschool Advice For Your Finances

• buy reusable curriculum
• buy books used
• find free printables on Pinterest
• laminate items to reuse for each child
• rent books from the library
• find memberships for museums, zoos and children’s discovery places in your state
• look for homeschool discounts at museums, Barnes and Noble, the Book Barn, Books a Million, AC Moore, zoos, attraction parks, and more

Homeschool Advice For Your Community

• Get Support
• Find your homeschooling tribe
• don’t be afraid to join a different co-op
• join clubs, sports, or start play dates to meet new families

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”

Amy Poehler

Here’s to making this year your best homeschool year you can have. It will never be perfect and there’s always room for improvement. Still, it will be what you make of it. Learn from the lessons and grow!

Do you have any advice to share from your homeschool experience? Drop it in the comments below.