Prioritize learning with a full day of home school to make it an epic experience, not a task. Here are three strategies to help your child get learning all day.
Here's what you'll learn in this article:
- Prioritizing learning in home school takes practice, but the shift to full day learning is well worth it for you and your children.
- Three strategies you can use now to make homeschooling an epic experience, not a chore.
- Answers to common questions about learning at home.
- Key takeaways for prioritizing full-day learning in your home school experience
- How to learn more practical approaches and tactics to enjoy the home school experience and not feel overburdened.
Employ a full day of learning to get the most learning (and fun) from Homeschooling
Learning is fundamental to an excellent education experience. Home school affords so much flexibility and freedom of choice to provide your children with an unparalleled learning experience. Learning is a process, not an outcome, so embrace the process of learning with a full-day of home school.
With the value of learning in mind, put it into practice with a full day of learning. If home school feels like a chore for you and a task for your children, it’s time to revamp what it means to learn at home. Let valuing learning guide you to creating an epic home school experience all day.
3 Strategies to Get Learning and Enjoy Home School Each Day
Ideally, you and your children look forward to home school most of the time. If you and your children aren’t looking forward to home school or you aren’t sure your children are gaining the skills they need, then employ these 3 strategies:
1. Prioritize Time to Learn
It is all too common in the home school community to see spending as little time on school as possible touted as the goal. Why? What are you going to do at home with your children for the rest of the time? Playing outside or playing in general might be one of the most common responses. There is no question that unstructured play is extremely beneficial to children (see Last Child in the Woods for a great account of why), but so is learning new skills. There is space for both.
As noted in our article on deciding to start homeschooling, there are 168 hours in a week. A six-hour school day five days a week is only 30 hours, leaving 138 hours for a lot of other things like free play and social meet-ups. Children are growing and developing at a tremendous rate and eager to reap the benefits of a full day of learning.
If you still aren’t convinced about dedicating a full day to learning, consider this example: You see how engaged your children are when they are outside building a fort. It’s a great activity that builds a lot of skills. What if it became a part of the home school day’s learning—researching building techniques over time, experimenting with different materials, or learning about geology and how it impacts foundations? If your children like building, chances are they will also like learning how to create what they imagine. Learning takes time and effort, so give it the time it deserves.
2. Connect Your Subjects
Learning is not a chore, but all learning is not going to be enjoyed the same. We all have preferences for certain topics or learning activities, but it doesn’t mean that we can disregard what we don’t prefer. For example, if your child prefers math over writing, you can emphasize that, but when they are adults, they won’t be able to entirely avoid writing (e.g., college essay submissions or communicating with colleagues). It is also important for children to learn to cope with how to navigate topics and activities they don’t prefer.
Connecting your subjects is one technique to prioritize learning over task completion and add depth to your home school experience. It is also a useful approach for adapting learning activities for multiple children across grade levels.
Following the example above, if your child prefers math, then connect math with writing. What if they write word problems, an essay about their favorite math operation, or research math in other cultures? Connecting subjects is key to a full day of learning that promotes creativity, discovery, and critical thinking.
3. Be a Role Model
Treat learning how you want your children to treat learning--as a process worthy of your time. If your children see you rushing to complete home school tasks, it sends the message that home school isn’t worth the time. Likewise, if they see you only focused on completing more and more home school tasks, this can foster unnecessary anxiety and potential for burnout because learning is still being seen as a task that needs to be completed rather than an opportunity for exploration and creativity.
Approach learning with curiosity and share your learning experiences with your children. Share the good and the not-so-good experiences too. Sharing the ups and downs of your learning sends the message that we are always learning and that it isn’t always easy. It also shows your children the richness that learning can provide. A child who loves math will value seeing you use math to solve real life problems.
FAQs: Get Learning All Day for A Great Home School Experience
What if my child doesn’t have the stamina for a full day of learning?
If your children do have the stamina for a full day of playing or doing other things, then they have the stamina for a full day of learning. If they are bored and complaining about their full day, then the learning activities probably need to be revamped or aren’t a fit for that particular day.
The key is to have learning experiences with enough range that they adapt to your children’s current interests, energy levels, and setting. Make use of your home school planner to include ideas for learning that account for these needs.
What if I like not spending much time on home school each day?
Consider your values and what your children will need when they are no longer being home schooled. If you are skeptical about full-day learning, remember the flexibility in home school and consider trying one or two full days of learning a week. Most things in life don’t have to be all or none--and this includes how you learn in home school.
Key Takeaways
- It's important to value learning in home school. Prioritize full day learning in home school to create an epic experience.
- Learning is a process. Learning is about depth, focus, and skill-building, not completing a task as quickly as possible.
- Put in the time. Learning takes time, so give your child the gift of a full day of learning.
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Learning shouldn't be boring. Connect your subjects, model what you are learning, and flex your days to keep learning engaging and varied.
Where to Learn More
If you would like more practical approaches and tips for improving your children's home school experience, consider becoming a member of Crush Home School! With our membership plan, you get monthly guidance delivered to your inbox with downloadable resources and much more. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.