✧Ease into it

To prevent burnout and to prevent your children from feeling overwhelmed, be sure to ease into each school year or ease into teaching after each break throughout the year. You may want to start small the first week (1-2 subjects), and gradually add more subjects into their schedules each week as they get back in the learning zone and adjust their focus on school!

✧Learn about teaching if you plan to teach yourself

Even if you are 100% confident in all academic subjects, you may still want to learn how to teach correctly to ensure you are passing your knowledge on in a way that your child(ren) will truly understand. If you have not yet had experience with teaching, you may want to do some research prior to starting or becoming informed by reading books, taking teaching courses, and more. This is not mandatory, so don't stress if you don't have the time to do so! You will learn more as you get going, and there are countless homeschool journey success stories that haven't done this, so again, it is just a plus!

However, it is important that you make certain that if you do not feel 100% confident teaching certain subjects, that you employ someone who does, or enroll your child(ren) in a Homeschool program, where they will get tutoring and academic help with any subject that you are not comfortable teaching. This is important!

✧Be organized

You will want to try to be well-organized when it comes to homeschooling, to ensure everything runs smoothly and make your homeschooling journey easier. Try to allocate time and tasks in an organized manner, have a well-organised and thought-out curriculum plan for each child, and have all your materials organized and neatly kept in places you will remember. The last thing you want is to lose anything valuable. And, of course, try your best to be well-organized when it comes to record-keeping. You should keep a homeschool work portfolio or a journal to help. 

When it comes to organization, my tip to you is to just try your best. Of course, there are plenty of amazing homeschooling parents who lack organizational skills, yet are still doing great! It is not a deal-breaker, rather just a tip to make your journey a little easier for yourself. And you will continue to develop more organizational skills as you get used to it all!

✧It does NOT take as long as public school

If you are used to public schooling, you will know it takes forever! I attended a public school and trust me, It can feel like you're spending 24/7 in that place! However, this is NOT the case when you homeschool. There are many reasons/factors to why it takes so long at public schools. The more students, the longer everything will take; time of arrival, attendance, understanding instructions, answering questions & discussing, getting all questions answered, and much more.

Good thing it will just be you and your close-knit family when homeschooling. A lot of parents actually feel very concerned about the short amount of time it takes them to homeschool each day, thinking they're doing something wrong, because it doesn't feel right. This is very common and I hear about this concern all the time. I want to assure you not to stress about this because it is NORMAL. Most homeschooling families finish their day of schooling by lunchtime!

Typical range of time per day to spend homeschooling: 

➣Elementary students: 30 mins- a few hours per day

➣Middle & High school students: usually no more than 3-4 hours per day

However, if your children are super engaged in a particular activity, project, or experiment, it may take a lot longer some days as well! There is no right answer for how many hours per day you should spend homeschooling. 

✧Be flexible

Every day of your homeschooling journey will be different, not each day will have to follow a strict schedule. Variety and differentiation in each day of teaching is OKAY and encouraged. One of the main reasons people choose to homeschool in the first place is because of the flexibility it allows. Especially when your child(ren) are signed up for a number of extracurricular activities/programs/clubs/classes, each day is bound to be different! Maybe you will have a dentist appointment one day, or it's raining one day so plans are cancelled. Maybe your family will be attending a special event one day! That's the beauty of homeschooling. It allows you to work around your schedule as well as your child(ren)'s. So, keep this in mind, and be flexible.

Flexibility while homeschooling is also enabled with when it comes to the amount of time your children are spending on certain subjects, it will most definitely differ. Some students will find math super easy, while math will be an academic weakness of others. Trust me, it is a blessing that homeschooling allows you to adjust your child(ren)s schedules in order to allow them to get that extra practice and time for certain areas in need of improvement.

✧Do not compare yourself to other homeschooling families and do not compare your children

Every homeschooling journey is unique and special to each family. What works for some may not work for others. Embrace the uniqueness of your own homeschooling journey. Also, make sure to motivate and create an encouraging and uplifting environment for all of your children, no matter where they stand academically. Motivated students will have that drive to overcome any obstacles, accomplish their goals, and achieve big things. 

✧Take breaks throughout the year

Be sure to plan breaks throughout the school year to prevent burnout and keep up the same energy! Breaks will allow you and your children to "recharge" and give you all something to look forward to every once in a while.

I also recommend using breaks as another way to give your children an incentive to do well while homeschooling to increase their motivation. This can be as simple as more breaks per year if they are engaged, listening, well-behaved, and performing well academically. Or, if your schedule/situation allows for it, plan an exciting and fun vacation at some point during one of your breaks, IF they try their best!

✧RELAX! It is OKAY & very common to feel stressed, worried, or overwhelmed at first

If you're feeling very overwhelmed right now and feel like you're not doing something right, missing a step, or scared that you will fail your child, just know this is all normal, and certainly does not make any of it true. Most parents feel this way when they first start and it is usually never the case that any of their fears become reality!

My tip to you is to just try your best to relax and feel more excited than stressed about starting your amazing journey. I know its easier said than done, but it is important to try. Keep in mind that any negative outcomes are much more unlikely to happen than you think. This is exciting!! I'm sure there are many reasons that you have decided to homeschool, so congratulate yourself on how far you have come so far and get yourself and your children excited to start!

So, just remember that you are not alone, and you are doing amazing so far. If you have any questions or worries you would like to bring up for clarity or reassurance, please dont hesitate to send me an email at v.aranda@itstime4homeschool.com. I will get back to you shortly for support. :)

Homeschooling is going to be more expensive than traditional public schooling. It is inevitable. However, it is well-worth it, and there are so many ways to ease financial stress by planning efficiently and choosing the most inexpensive options. Here are some money-saving tips while homeschooling:

• Carefully consider the curriculum you choose. The good news is that you will definitely find homeschool programs out there that offer online curriculums either for free or at a low cost. For example, Easy Peasy all-in-one homeschool is completely free! Learn more here. 
• Consider the cost of supplies and learning space expenses. 
• Determine your overall yearly budget and keep that in mind as you are searching for all the resources you will need for homeschooling. Ensure you don't go over your budget. 
• Make sure you organize your expenses while planning. Dedicate a section of your notebook or journal just for this. Categorize it. By curriculum/program fees/tuitions, supplemental resources, supplies & materials, and more. 

Some of the most common concerns, things that do sometimes end up getting in the way of parents wanting to homeschool, is when both parents (or single parents) are working/busy and just cannot find enough time in their schedule to homeschool, or when they do not feel 100% confident in teaching a certain subject, or even teaching at all!

Unless you want to overload yourself with stress, or risk your children's educational experience/success, there is only one way around these situations. 

By giving your child(ren) the support necessary through enrolling them in a Homeschool Support program, where there are highly experienced academic/homeschool coaches in place to educate and assist them, so you won't have to. 

Time4Homeschool has an amazing Homeschool Support & S.T.E.A.M program in place that bridges the gap between working/busy parents wanting to homeschool OR those not entirely confident in their teaching skills.

If this is something that is concerning you and your family, I highly encourage you to look into this program. Not only will your child(ren) be tutored with core subjects on their online curriculum, they will also get the socialization necessary for their development, and, of course, S.T.E.A.M related enrichment through fun and engaging hands-on projects! It is available virtually, which is set up to mimic exactly what is happening in-center. 

LEARN MORE

Set both long-term and short-term academic goals for your children and motivate them to accomplish them! I recommend creating lists of daily, monthly, and yearly goals for each student. 

Make sure you are setting S.M.A.R.T goals. These are goals that are:

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Attainable

R: Relevant

T: Time-based

Setting SMART goals will help guide your goal setting by making sure the goals you create are clear and reachable. When setting goals for your homeschooler(s), make sure they fit all these criteria in order for them to feel truly motivated, track their progress, ensure the goals matter to them, and have deadlines to focus on. 

This is one of the most important homeschooling tips I can give you. It will prevent burnout, increase their motivation, boost their attitude towards learning, and altogether lead to academic success. 

Be SURE to make learning fun and an experience for your children. I cannot stress this enough. Yes, learning can be challenging, and sometimes may not be too exciting for children, but there is always a way to add to it to make it fun. You can do this by first, choosing a more fun and engaging curriculum provider such as Miacademy or Power Homeschool.

Now, how can YOU make sure your child(ren) are having fun each day WHILE learning?

By incorporating tons of fun and engaging projects, activites, and experiments that relate to what they're learning. Especially S.T.E.A.M-based projects, where science, technology, engineering, art, and math are embedded into hands-on projects. S.T.E.A.M encourages collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and much more. This allows students to see for themselves how their academics connect to real life situations. It stimulates their curiosity and brings a whole new perspective into their learning, where sometimes they don't even realize they are learning! 

Why are we so sure that S.T.E.A.M is so amazing and essential for all children? Because our team of highly experienced homeschool coaches see for ourselves every day just how much our students LOVE it at our Homeschool Support & S.T.E.A.M program. 

Learn more about why S.T.E.A.M sets children up for success.

More ways to make learning fun:

➣ For example, after teaching a Spanish lesson, make some popular Spanish food all together with your family once the hard part is over! Maybe empanadas for dinner! While making it, be sure to teach them all the names of the food and ingredients in Spanish as well as informing them on the culture surrounding it. This will get them excited about their Spanish lessons and way more engaged. 

➣Learning about Picasso? History lesson on the civil war? Go on a field trip to a museum after!

➣Watch a movie about a particular lesson you had. 

➣Incorporate games and challenges into their learning.

➣DIY arts & crafts

➣Encourage creativity!!

➣Here are some more ways to make learning fun

Do NOT forget to incorporate life skills throughout their homeschooling years. Life skills are essential and, unfortunately, most essential life skills are not taught mandatory in public schools.

Life skills provides students with essential tools for development and improves their thinking and problem solving skills. It helps them build confidence, socialize, know their ideal career path, get their dream job, cope with stress and emotions, and it teaches them to take responsibility for their actions. It improves their mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing, sets young people up for success, and overall makes everyone the best version of themselves.

Learn all about why life skills are so essential by reading this blog. Here are some examples of life skills:

✧ Finance/money management 💵

✧ Decision making/problem solving 🤔

✧ Creativity/critical thinking

✧ Resilience 💪

✧ Coping with stress and emotions

✧ Effective communication

✧ Health and safety 🏥

✧ Self awareness and empathy

✧ and SO many more

Another wonder of homeschooling, is that incorporating life skills is made entirely possible. There are so many ways you can do this. 

➣Choose a curriculum that focuses on teaching life skills

Miacademy recognizes the importance of life skills and incorporates a wide variety of life skills all throughout their entire curriculum, so if you're still searching for a curriculum, definitely look into Miacademy!

➣Add electives into their curriculum that teach life skills, such as a Finance elective

➣Sign your child up for other classes/courses that teach Life Skills

I truly encourage you to sign your homeschooler(s) up for life skills classes/courses.

TIme4Homeschool has Life School in place for middle and high schoolers, and enrollment will be open SOON. It is an 8-week long course that starts on August 28 until October 16, 2021. Every Saturday morning, your children will join in on live virtual classes teaching essential life skills that students need to know to navigate through life successfully. These classes are highly interactive and engaging, and are taught by our team of highly experienced academic/homeschool coaches. 

Contact me if you're interested in signing up

Concerned about socialization for your homeschooler(s)? No need to be. Not even the slightest bit. In fact, homeschooled socialization is WAY better than public school socialization. There are countless ways to get your homeschooler(s) socialized, including signing them up for sports, camps, clubs, classes, programs, and much more. Or, if you are on a budget, it can be as simple as finding some other homeschool families in your local areas to meet up for play dates, or plan fun events/field trips with. So many opportunities out there. 

My tip to you is to be SURE to read this list of socialization ideas for your homeschooler(s) that I put together. It also explains in-depth (with statistics) exactly why you should not worry at all about this. 

Get the support you will NEED throughout your homeschooling journey! There are SO many people who are willing to offer you their support as well as support groups that are in place to help you with individualized guidance. Here are some great ways to find support:

➣Join Facebook groups 

There are TONS of Facebook groups for homeschoolers like you who want support, and with some amazing experienced homeschoolers who want to offer their best support. I recommend searching for some Facebook homeschool groups in your local area as well, maybe you will find some families who want to meet up or go on field trips together! I highly recommend getting to know a lot of the other homeschooling families in your area, so that you can collaborate, share ideas, resources, and plan exciting trips/hangouts/events for your children as well. 

➣Support through homeschool support programs

Another one of the best ways to get support, as well as countless other benefits, is by enrolling your homeschooler(s) in a Homeschool Support Program. Read about all the benefits of joining one here. 

➣Email me for support!

Of course, I want to help you as well. Feel free to email me (v.aranda@itstime4homeschool.com) at ANY point throughout your journey, and I will get back to you shortly. 

We are an excited bunch of educators dedicated to Homeschooling & S.T.E.A.M through the variety of services we offer at Time4Homeschool! 

Time4Homeschool is the go-to Homeschool & S.T.E.A.M support center with a range of both virtual and in-center programs and services in place to help homeschoolers. 

Browse our homeschooling programs, S.T.E.A.M After School Club, and tutoring/test preparation services we have to offer!

With over 10 years of experience in Homeschooling & S.T.E.A.M, Time4Homeschool is proud to offer a high quality educational & S.T.E.A.M experience to students, tailored to match their unique needs, interest, and abilities. 

Our Academic Coaches work with parents to ensure each child has the guidance, tools, space, & support needed to become well rounded & resourceful individuals. 

Discover how Time4Homeschool helps students gain the knowledge, skills, & confidence they need to thrive in a changing world. 

Meet our CEO & Founder: Daniel McMillan Mccain

Meet our Content Marketing & Engagement Specialist: Veronica Aranda 

I am the team member in charge of all the content we give out for free! So I'm the one creating these blog posts, YouTube videos, emails we send out, managing our social media platforms, Facebook group, Forum, and more! You can find all this valuable content by browsing our Resources pages!

I am also your go-to support person. I am so passionate about creating amazing content and offering my full support to ensure your homeschooling journey is as amazing as possible.

Please dont hesistate to reach out to me if you have a question, want to learn more about our services, need personalized support & guidance, or even if you just want to talk! I am always here to chat. 

Email me --> v.aranda@itstime4homeschool.com

Add me as a friend on Facebook! 

"I participated at an event at Time4 HomeSchool and I was amazed at how well behaved the students were. The instructor was very involved as well as the parents. I believe that this school has a safe environment for students to be themselves and to be creative! I recommended this school to anyone!" -Jessica Mcintee

"We absolutely love Time 4 Homeschool! Danielle is so wonderful and engaging. My children love the topics, activities, facility, and spending time with the other kids. They wake up in the morning asking if we will be going class that day. Keep up the good work and we are looking forward to next semester!" -Stephanie Lee

"When we first started this school my daughter was a mess. The county school failed her. She has ADHD and the school made that her weakness. she was in the 5th grade and reading at 2nd grade level. With the help of Mrs. Danielle my baby is at grade level ready." -Elnorra Redd

"Excellent learning environment for children at all educational levels. Mrs. Danielle is very patient and understanding, and makes learning fun! Would highly recommend!" -Tiffany Mayes

"Time4Homeshool is an amazing homeschool and tutoring center. My children loves it! When my daughter started she was academically behind. Not only is she caught up but she's learned way more than she would have in traditional school. Mrs. Danielle is amazing, patient, with great energy! Clean, Safe, and Fun environment!" -Mike Mccain

If you have any questions about Time4Homeschool, our blog posts, the services we offer, or just need some personalized support & guidance, we are here for you! For support, email v.aranda@itstime4homeschool.com 

Or visit our Contact page to get in touch regarding our center in Hiram, Georgia!

If you have general questions about homeschooling or academic help, I recommend you ask them in our Forum! Either our support team or other parents will answer your questions shortly.