5 Keys to the Well-Run Homeschool & Scholé

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Nothing is worse than constantly bailing out your homeschool. Kids aren’t progressing in math, so you jump to a new program. Nothing improves, you just lose ground.

You need the 5 keys to a well-run homeschool and scholé

Scholé and the well-run homeschool are about an attitude towards homeschooling. We’re building a boat we don’t need to bail.

Intentional

The first key is to be intentional about what and how you teach. Don’t just add 4 different math curricula to your children’s day because everyone is swearing up and down that this is the perfect way to teach math. The kids will weep while you tear your hair out. It’s a recipe for burnout.

Make decisions about what’s best for your homeschool today and this year. Have a plan in mind for where you’d like the children to be when they leave home, and steadily progress towards that goal. This means knowing what you’re using and why.

Your goal may be to have children who adore Shakespeare when they graduate. So you plan to gently cover one play a semester from 1st grade through 12th grade. You and the children read Shakespeare, watch Shakespeare, laugh over jokes in Shakespeare. Chances are your kids will adore Shakespeare.

Keep in mind that the point of scholé isn’t to drop all the hard subjects. Don’t chuck math, Latin, and the great books out the door like they’re sinking your ship.

Think about your goals for your homeschool. Be intentional about what you’re studying and why.

Focused

At the same time, scholé is focused. Ignore what everyone else is doing and concentrate on what’s best for your children right now.

In the 18oo’s horses often wore blinders. It was a safety measure to keep the horses from spooking in large crowds or from a branch falling nearby.

We need to wear the same blinders when we homeschool.

Avoid comparing your children and your homeschool to other families. I guarantee other families are doing better than you are. And they’re doing worse than you are.

The problem is that we see how other families are excelling. So we whip ourselves for failing our children.

Don’t.

Keep your eyes focused on your children and what they need in their education. Let go of the benchmarks. Not all children learn to crawl, read, or multiply at the same time. Some kids progress early. Other kids progress late.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Focus your homeschool on what your child needs to learn today, this week, this year.” quote=”Focus your homeschool on what your child needs to learn today, this week, this year.”]

Diligent

At the same time, we need to be diligent about working on our plan for the children. It’s all well and good to focus on what our children need and be intentional about what we teach.

But if we don’t sit down and do the work it’s all for naught.

We need to teach our children how to read and form their letters. We need to show them how to formulate sentences, how to organize their thoughts into paragraphs, and how to write those thoughts down.

It requires us to put our bums on chairs next to our kids and ensure they’re getting their work done. Even if they’re 16 and convinced they no longer need us.

A ship doesn’t sail itself. We navigate our homeschools so they don’t veer into uncharted waters.

Organized

Saturday I created a marvelous new schedule which includes a new morning time routine for the kids and I. It worked wonderfully until we reached nature study and the fine arts. Nothing was prepared.

Can you say fiasco? It was a total, utter, disaster.

For all my talk about organization, I was anything but.

When we’re disorganized & unprepared, we can’t homeschool our children. We can be diligent and sit down to educate them, but nothing happens. There’s no worksheet, no books, no lesson to be taught.

A well-run homeschool depends upon a certain level of organization.

You need enough organization to be able to easily homeschool your children.

Peace

When we talk about having peace in the homeschool, we’re not referring to the kids. After all, if your kids are like mine, they’re full of energy. They’re bouncing off the walls, telling silly jokes, and full of life.

No, a peaceful homeschool is simply knowing that it will all be okay. You’re not failing your kids.

If you are intentional about what you’re studying, focused on your children and their needs, diligent about sitting down to homeschool, and organized enough that it actually happens, let go of your worries about the future.

Not because the future is irrelevant, but because you know you’re doing your part. You are doing the best you can.

Homeschooling is like sailing a ship. If we remain focused, keep our bearings, and guide ourselves by the north star, eventually, we will reach the harbor.

Remember scholé isn’t about being relaxed about homeschooling. It’s an attitude. An attitude of being intentional and diligent about homeschooling so we can relax, enjoy the journey, and let the future take care of itself.

Read more in the 31 Days to a Well-Run Homeschool series!