The Accidental Homeschooler

@anniespratt

Right now, many parents haven’t just been thrown into home schooling; they’ve been thrown into working from home, cooking more at home, educating their children at home (or at least making sure their children do their school assigned work)…..and now for the topper….they have to do all the planning that comes along with all of those things.  Is that you right now?

I stepped back into the house earlier today, after a meeting in our office, only to remember that I was supposed to stick two chickens in the oven an hour before. Being a home educator for almost twenty-five years and having our “main source of income” business being run mainly from our home for the past twelve, I have some ideas for you.  

First of all, just remember that those of us who do this All. The. Time. don’t have it all together at all times. Nobody does. And it is easy to have bad days feel like they are the “all the time” days when it gets particularly overwhelming. Keep reading to find out what to do when that happens.

Here are some encouragements, mainly to those of you who have been suddenly thrown into five times as much to do as you did a month ago, but also for those who could just use some encouragement and advice in a time of crisis. I’m going to give quick thoughts on which to ponder and take action.

 First of all, go HERE to download Joe’s resource guide, 7 Best Practices for When You Find Yourself Working from Home

 After reading that guide, here are a few additions I would make in light of the addition of home education.

1.     Flexibility

You have additional things to add now when you do a plan for the day, so focus extra on the “flexible” aspect of it. You are the master of your schedule; it is not your master! You can flex and schedule any way you want. Please remember that!!

2.    Communicate

I don’t think there is any one of those “Best Practices” that I would encourage you to focus on more, aside from prayer, than the communication aspect. Feel free to join us for our free “Five Pillars of Our Marriage” webinar (April 17th, 2020)….communication is one of the pillars.

 3.    No Comparisons

I’m sure you have heard it before, but this is YOUR journey. Don’t get me wrong, it is great to take cues and advice from others who are doing the very things you are jumping into! But if you are a person that gets discouraged from seeing what others are doing instead of rejoicing and taking notes, it may be time to just find a couple of people to follow as mentors and take any of their advice and either toss it, or make it your own by crafting it into what works for your family.

Don’t forget to sign up for our webinar and let me know if you have ANY questions.