What I’ve learned about “Harmony” over 20 years, and why it is important for home schooling successfully
Harmony in the Home School Household
When parents and their children are interacting together in harmony, laughter can be heard and fun can be had in the household.
This is particularly important when we are homeschooling our kids and spending 24/7 with each other. ( Otherwise one of the hazards of homeschooling is that we will go CRAZY !!)
It’s totally unrealistic to achieve this every hour of everyday but it is achievable to have moments of this throughout our day.
We can do this by making the time for each other. Be focused only on each other and be a participant in activities and not just be a spectator.
We must prepare to live in the NOW moment and take every opportunity to have quality time together
We have the quantity but sometimes homeschooling can diminish the quality if we are not making a conscious effort to enjoy our time together.
Life is busy and sometimes life is hard. Within our families we all deserve to feel that we are worthy, respected, cherished and loved by each other.
If we keep that in mind and remember that our children and family group are the most important part of our lives.
Not our jobs, not our phones, not the car we drive or the house we live in
When we are interacting with each other our focus should be firmly on each other and what we are doing together at that moment. No distraction.
Either full attention or no attention.
To do homeschooling successfully we need to purposely create moments of happiness that will defeat the mundane and create motivation when there is resistance.
However not everyday will be sunshine, but the grey of the day can be overshadowed by making small happy moments with a little bit of creativity and positivity.
Making that effort as parent will hopefully have its rewards and can be seen on the happy faces of our kids. And if at the end of the day there are still frowns on their faces, a great big glass of wine will at least put a smile on yours.
KEEPING IT REAL (including Harmony) is the 10th Chapter of my e-book:
How to Homeschool – The Good the Bad and the Ugly Realities of Doing it Successfully
Creating Harmony and Happiness While Homeshooling
I have been doing this for a long time and some of the most important and helpful things I have learnt about creating harmony and happiness while homeshooling are:
- Kids need a comfortable environment to work in – comfy chair, space, privacy, (gives them less to complain about)
- Make the presentation of the lesson’s fun and interesting (particularly for the younger ages)
- Start the day with a consistent morning routine. Same wake up time. Start work time.
- Kids brains function better early mornings. Start with maths, science first – Save creativity till later in the day
- Allow your kids to snack while working & monitor water intake (prevents angry outbursts)
- Once concentration dwindles take a break, do something physical to liven their brain and exhaust bodies. Then they are more likely to sit down and focus afterwards.
- Don’t hover over them – let them self-direct unless help is requested. (dependant on age)
- Kids either love to read or love being read to – either one is beneficial
- When you feel your patience is wearing thin, take a break, add wine !
- Have a clock handy so kids can learn the time and be aware of the time and how long things take to complete. Make a point to notice this.
- Expose your kids to some serious challenges and hardship. Problems are made to be solved. Allow them to show leadership and build resilience.
- Trust must be given for it to be earned. Have faith in your kids and let them show you that they can be trusted…until they cant.
- Kids are smarter than we think. Let them teach you are few lessons.
- There will come a point when parents won’t be much help with subject content particularly in the senior years. Accountability and responsibility lie in the student not the parent. This is where self-motivation and self-direction helps them find alternate solutions. We as parents, can’t solve all their problems for them.
Important to remember that life education for children can last a lifetime. The experiences that they are exposed to and feel a connection to as little humans will shape whom they become as they grow into adults.
As a homeschool parent you will have the honour that few other parents will experience.
You will have hours and hours that will add up to months and years of extra time to share and shape the life and happiness of your children.
And as we know time flies when your having fun and it is an absolute privilege to share most of your time with your kids when it matters most. Unfortunately, our kids are only kids for such a very short time. Before you know it they are out in the big wide world utilising all the skills and experiences that we have taught them over the years. And believe me, you will be a very proud homeschool parent. Just like we are.
Harmony in the household will be a reflection of the whole homeschooling experience. If you are going to do this and do it successfully you will need the knowledge and the tools. I hope I have provided you some of this. And as the old saying goes ” knowledge is power”.
KEEPING IT REAL (including Harmony) is Chapter 10 in my book: How to Homeschool – The Good the Bad and the Ugly Realities of Doing it Successfully. I go into great detail about establishing harmony when home-schooling and how to cope with seeing them 24/7.
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