Reflecting and Pivoting to Manage Home School

How Do You Reflect and Pivot Throughout the Homeschool Year? Here is step by step approach. 

Here's what you'll learn in this article: 

• Children are growing and changing, so home school has to change with them.  
• Four steps for reflecting and pivoting during the home school year when change is needed.
• Answers to common questions about making change while you home school.
• Key takeaways for making change during the home school year.
• Where to learn more about managing the ups and downs of homeschooling.

Make a Habit of Reflecting and Pivoting to Manage Home School During the Year

Home school is an ongoing project for you to manage. It is not like a recipe that takes specific amounts of certain ingredients and gives you the same result each time. Homeschooling is more like looking at colors in different lighting--the fundamentals stay the same, but context is a constant influence with varying results.

Including reflection as a regular part of your home school routine you can be more ready than not to make changes throughout the home school year. Regular reflecting and pivoting lets you as the caregiver educator lean into the process of homeschooling. Embrace adapting and flexing to manage home school.

4 Steps for Reflecting and Pivoting to Create a Flexible Home School Experience

Home school is all about recognizing and working with change. As your children grow and learn, they need new experiences. Here are four steps for managing home school changes that occur throughout the year:

1. The Habit of Reflecting

The practice of reflecting means taking a moment to observe your thoughts about a topic. Regular reflecting about home school will help you create a habit around holding creative space for home school and intentionally adapting when change is needed.

To create a habit of reflecting, link the practice with a regular home school activity that you already do like planning the week. If you use a home school planner, this is a great space to record your ideas when you reflect on home school. As you reflect let your mind wander across all areas of home school. Some prompts might be: what is working, what isn't, what do you hope, what would your children change, what is different from what you thought, what do you want more or less of.

2. Knowing When to Change

Reflecting is only the first step in managing the evolving needs of home school. Once you have given yourself some space to reflect on home school, then you can revisit your thoughts to consider if any warrant making change right now, next month, or next year. Here you will want to use your judgment to avoid changing too much too often, which can be destabilizing for your children.

When deciding to make a change or not focus on two things: 1) how pressing the need is right now and 2) how much of your current home school practice is affected. If your child has been struggling with the math curriculum for 5 months, then that is likely a pressing need. While changing curriculums will affect how you do math, it own’t affect much else about home school, except to, hopefully, make it more manageable! Alternatively, if you aspire to only homeschooling outside, then it isn’t a pressing need, but it will affect all aspects of home school. The latter type of change is probably best left for the start of a new school year or even done as a trial over summer.

3. Finding the Balance

4. Keeping it Manageable

Reflecting, making changes, and finding the balance is a regular part of homeschooling for any caregiver-educator. As you go through the process, also keep in mind what is reasonable for you and your family. If you know there is a big family change coming like moving, then factor that into whether or not now is the time for a big home school change.

FAQs: With Home School Comes Change; Reflect and Pivot to Manage it with Ease

What if I need to Make a Lot of Changes?

It is ok if you need a home school reset. If you are mid-year and realize a big change is needed to reclaim the home school experience that you want for your family, then go for it. The caution here is to try and avoid doing another reset next month too. If you need to implement a big change in homeschooling, then consider shifting to low key home school days that keep your children learning, but give you space. Let your children know that you feel a reset is in order. Get them excited about what is to come, and then get the change implemented. Prioritize the overall change and add in the details accordingly.

What if I’m not into the practice of reflecting?

What about the practice doesn’t resonate—the label, the open-ended nature, or the time to do it? If you have an idea of what doesn’t feel like a fit, then look to leave that part aside. If it is the label call it your assessment time. If you don’t like the open-ended part or feel you lack time, then set a timer for 5-minutes. Next, you might try it out for a week or two, then adjust. The aim isn’t to force yourself into a practice you don’t like, but to find space to consider your homeschooling experience.

Key Takeaways

• Home school changes. Home school does not stay the same, so make reflecting and pivoting a regular practice.
• Make change an expectation. See change as part of the process of homeschooling, so you can remain adaptable and flexible to your children’s needs.
• Change doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Prioritize your changes to find the right balance for you and your family.
• Use change as a source of creativity. Let yourself be open to new ideas and experiments as you make changes to your homeschooling.