homeschool mindset Archives

Finding Joy During the Holidays

What does Homeschooling during the holidays look like? Many new homeschooling parents are wondering the same thing. Do you take a two-week break like the school-boards do? Or you do take the full month of December? Should you homeschool right up until Christmas and then take a day or two off? What’s the best way to approach the holidays?

This year is especially weird. Normal holidays during a global pandemic – that’s just not going to happen. How can you keep things fun and light for your kids despite the fact that there’s no Christmas plays, visits to grandma and grandpas house, and holiday parties with friends?

Our best advice: Make little things fun. Put huge hype into things like ‘Pizza night’, driving around looking at Christmas lights, baking Christmas cookies together (unless baking with your kids stresses you out – no judgement here). Spend time reading Christmas books together, watching Christmas movies and talking about the plot of each story. On the latest podcast Lindsey and I talk about just that. Because, just like you, we are homeschooling moms living through a global pandemic and trying to find some semblance of balance through all the chaos around us.

Whether you celebrate Diwali, Hannukah, Lunar New year, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice or Christmas, I’m sure you want it to be a special time for your children and you. So, let me remind you, that just because life is vastly different now, and things are unreservedly different than they were before, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy the holidays and cater to your children’s sense of magical peace.

Light a few candles, make some hot chocolate, snuggle up close and enjoy this special time with your children. Yes, things are not the same. But in everything and every situation, there is something positive. Like the fact that this holiday season, the lack of business translates into more time spent in a peaceful state with your family. The hustle and the bustle are on the back burner, and peace and quality time are front and centre.

So, enjoy it. Enjoy these little moments, enjoy the sound of your child reading. Enjoy the glow of the candles or Christmas lights. Enjoy the stories, enjoy the time. Because time is something that is taken from us all too quickly. My hope is that despite the difficulties of 2020, and the changes that have been brought as a result of it. You and your children will look back at this year with fond memories of all the time that you got to spend together. Lindsey and I truly believe that this holiday season is one that you both will always remember.

Listen to this week’s podcast to hear Lindsey and my best advice when it comes to homeschooling and the holiday season. We talk about things like when you should take a break, what you can do to keep your kids up to date with their learning skills, fun things you can do together and more.

We genuinely hope that you will enjoy this week’s podcast and find a sense of wonder in the mundane. And happiness in the crazy.

Find The Schoolio Podcast Episode 9 ‘Homeschooling and the Holidays’ on your favourite podcast streaming app.

Or click the link below to listen directly on Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vTUFzvaejHB9bYc0uCA1n

The Canadian Homeschooler

You aren’t the only one who feels like they just aren’t mastering this homeschooling gig. In fact, there’s hundreds of parents who are second guessing themselves and feeling super low. It’s really hard to manage life, work and homeschool on top of all of that. Thankfully for you, there are amazing people who know that you might be struggling and want to help you through it. One such person is Lisa Marie Fletcher, founder of The Canadian Homeschooler. Lisa Marie Fletcher is a homeschooling mom of 5 kids ranging from preschool to high school. When her homeschooling journey began, she searched for Canadian homeschooling resources and started to share them online. That was the beginning of The Canadian Homeschooler – whose mission today is to connect Canadian homeschoolers with each other and with resources to help them on their journey. She knows how you feel, and she doesn’t want you to get stuck in those feelings of inadequacy, overwhelm and frustration. She instead wants you to feel all the good feelings that you truly should be feeling.

During our recent podcast interview, Lisa Marie talks about ‘Backwards planning’ which is a really cool concept! You write down what you did, after you did it. Rather than writing a list of things you need to accomplish for each day and then feeling guilty when you don’t get to all of them, you instead will just jump to your morning, accomplish the things that need to be done and write them down. Talk about a stress reliever. Lisa Marie also shares her 6 steps for starting homeschooling. Because she understands just how overwhelming it can be to start homeschooling. She aims to keep you from feeling overwhelmed and to instead have a direct plan to help you get through the first few months of homeschooling.

During the episode Sathish Bala (CEO of Schoolio) asks, how a partner can be more involved with homeschooling, or be more involved at home to help the parent that is taking the brunt of homeschooling on. Both Lisa Marie and Jaymee help him with this question. Giving advice to help him and others find ways to help their partner during this new homeschooling chapter. It’s our mission at Schoolio to bring you the best, content which is relevant to your Canadian Homeschooling journey which is why The Schoolio Podcast episode 7 is dedicated to helping you have the best homeschooling journey, here in Canada.

To listen to The Schoolio Podcast Episode 7 click on the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7I41lZAzh0Ik6Bf5xYaoI0

Or find it on your favourite podcast streaming app.

To learn more about Lisa Marie Fletcher and The Canadian Homeschooler, check out her website: https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com you’ll find an amazing blog, tons of resources and more about The Canadian Homeschooling Conference.

The Homeschooling Mindset.

When it comes to living a happy life, experts agree that mindset is key. Changing your mindset to one of positivity is essential in your life journey, but what about your homeschool journey? Sathish Bala –CEO of Schoolio- asked Lindsey Casselman –Schoolio Team Member and founder of Linden Tree learning- how to get into the mindset of wanting to homeschool. She answered with ‘The biggest thing is to set your mind to being flexible.’

Why is flexibility key in homeschool? As Lindsey said “you have to be willing to let go of your plan.” Realizing that sometimes certain things are just not working for you and your child is key. All too often we compare homeschool to traditional school. We try to make them one in the same, when in all actuality homeschool is different. Obviously, you want to keep the education the same (which you can accomplish by using Schoolio’s Ontario Curriculum) but they’re different and It’s important to embrace the differences. Flexibility being on the top of the list.

Flexibility in homeschool is important for many different reasons, one being that it’s important to give our children a say. As Lindsey said she will sit down with her kids and say “Something isn’t working, what do you guys want to do differently?” Allowing your child’s voice to be heard is huge. And with homeschooling they get the opportunity to do that. In traditional public school, the child must learn the same way as the others. The child must accomplish what the others are. They must maintain that locked in schedule. The child’s voice becoming one of the hundreds of others in the school setting, easily being drowned out. The beauty of homeschooling is that your child has a say. Your child is heard. You can swap out the schedule, you can take an ‘explore nature day’, you can help them learn other important life lessons, like how to do laundry or cook. Things that are overlooked with traditional schooling yet are an essential part of living life.

Something I’ve learned with homeschooling is that EVERYTHING is a lesson. It’s not like I’m a teacher for 3 hours out of the day and the rest of the time my kids just have free reign of our household. No way! I’m a teacher all the time. I teach them to cook, to clean, to paint, to exercise, to enjoy life. A simple question from my child can become a lesson all on its own. There is no perfect way to homeschool, and that’s ok. Embrace the imperfections, teach your kids about flexibility in their schedule. Teach them that it’s OK to take breaks and do something other than the designated plan. Being a teacher is something that -believe it or not- you’ve been since your child was born. Teaching them to walk, talk, eat, interact, go to the bathroom. All these things you’ve done. So, teaching them core educational subjects is something that you CAN do. But you have to allow yourself space for flexibility and peace of mind.

What else matters when it comes to the best mindset for homeschool? Patience. Patience goes hand in hand with flexibility. Be patient with yourself and with your children. Emphasis on yourself. When you are impatient with yourself and allow the negative thoughts to take over your thinking frame, then you are destined to be short tempered with your children and just about every other aspect of your life. Be patient. Be flexible.

Amp yourself up. When you think to yourself ‘What am I doing?! Why am I doing this?! I’m not a teacher, what makes me think I can teach my kids?’ Let go of that negative self-talk. And replace it with thoughts that lift yourself up. ‘I am a good teacher.’ ‘I taught my child to read today!’ ‘I’m an exceptional parent, putting my child and their education first.’ Not everyone can homeschool their child, but look! You’re doing it! That is something that you should be insanely proud of. There’s absolutely no reason for you to treat yourself like garbage. You are a champion!

No day is going to be perfect, in fact most days may end up messy (especially when you’re beginning). And that’s ok. Teach your child to enjoy the imperfections. Teach your child to balance things out just like you are. Show your child how to love themselves by demonstrating it through kindness towards yourself. Remember, words hold power. Words of kindness, words that build you up, those are the best words to have in your vocabulary when it comes to your homeschooling mind-set. Don’t limit yourself by thinking negatively about yourself. You and your child can accomplish anything, today, tomorrow and every day. Homeschooling is freedom, so gain the freedom mindset. You’ve got this.

Jaymee Davis is a stay-at-home/work-at-home/ homeschooling mama. She is here to be your personal cheerleader, reminding you that you are able to accomplish anything, and homeschooling is definitely one of those things.