Often I wonder what other people’s days are like. Are you coping? I will give you a rough idea of what our routine used to look like when we unschooled our five children.
When all the children were at home we were awake round about 6:30 a.m. due to my husband’s work schedule. I made my bed; the children made their beds and tidied their room. The children had their individual jobs, feeding the chooks, the guinea pigs, the donkey and pick up dropped fruit in the orchard. We didn't have a dog or cat because we found that these pets were too time consuming and would cause us more work and expense.
Breakfast and most chores were over and done with by 8:00 a.m. Anyone late for breakfast missed out and would have to be satisfied with an apple or banana, which the children didn't seem to mind anyway. Dishes were done, and the children were on a roster for breakfast, lunch and dinner so there were no arguments. Well… that was in theory, in reality there still was the odd grumble 🤣
Our formal learning started between 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Why this half-hour gap? It gave me flexibility, give or take 30 minutes meant I didn't get stressed out because it is now 8:45 a.m and I still hadn't started, get what I mean? As long as we started some time between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. I was happy.
While the children fed the animals I put washing in the machine, thank goodness for fully automatic washing machines. I vacuumed the carpets and did a quick general tidy-up. I was usually ready to begin a project with the children before 9 o’clock.
We continued our work until lunch time. We generally didn't stop for morning tea, playtime or any other distractions because I believed that is what these things are, distractions and excuses for stopping what you are doing. I only ever did 3 hours formal teaching throughout our entire homeschooling time. Once the kids started Tafe, College, or University that obviously changed and they had no problem adapting.
Our children drank water and ate fruit in between their work. All our formal reading, writing and arithmetic was done in the mornings, Monday to Friday. Afternoons were spent doing craft, play, cook, go out or whatever each one wanted to do.
I rarely did homeschooling in the afternoons simply because I needed my own time as well. That's what sets homeschooling apart from public school... FREEDOM.
And that basically sums it up. This might sound boring for some of you but I needed a routine to get through the day with 5 children, all different ages, different learning levels, doing different subjects at the same time. Anyway... here are a few tips which might be helpful for you.
Start, continue and embrace unschooling as part of your life.
Abandon a project, idea or venture if it's affecting your health, sanity and family life.
Work out what is important and what is not.
Regularly analyse your situation and talk to your partner about it, or with someone who is doing home education and is prepared to genuinely help you.
Efficiency and routine allows you to spend more learning time with your children.
Try to make learning fun.
Keep up with changing trends as these affect good teaching.
Be your child's mature role model with a positive attitude displaying care, concern and respect.
Be consistent and fair.
Enforce the rules you set together.
Stimulate active learning by providing a bright, positive environment.
Mix auditory, visual and hands-on learning techniques.
Utilise the open-ended learning method.
Teach timely topics that are in the news.
Be practical, efficient, exciting, innovative and unlimited in your teaching.
Display eagerness for teaching. It will motivate your children.
Start the day earlier so you can finish earlier and have more free time.
Finally my friends: Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy 😉 👌
