5 Fantastic Tips to Enjoy a Relaxed Back-to-Homeschool Time

Want to make your back-to-homeschool time special but you’re feeling overwhelmed? No worries! Use these 5 fantastic tips to enjoy a relaxed back-to-homeschool time!

If you feel like you’re a jumbled mess of nerves when it comes to getting back into the groove, you’re not alone! Most likely, you’ve spent a lot of time researching and making tough decisions like what curriculum to use, how to organize it all, and which homeschool planner to use.

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After getting those things sorted, you picked a week to get started. And then you panicked.

What’s the best way to start a new homeschool year?

How can you make the first back-to-homeschool day special? 

How will you keep your school year flowing without losing your kids’ interest (or your mind)?! 

Keep Your Cool for an Amazing Back-to-Homeschool Time

After a few major first-day flops with my 5 boys, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks. Here are my ideas to help you keep your cool and enjoy back-to-homeschool time.

1. Take It Slow

Sure, you probably feel energized and ready to go. Starting something new is exciting! But you should fight the urge to zip through your routine.

Yes, I know it’s hard! You have all this new curriculum sitting in front of you. You can’t wait to dive in! I understand!

But I encourage you to pump the brakes. Ease into your homeschool year. Give yourself and your children some transition time.

Start the day with a yummy breakfast and chat about what’s to come. Talk about your own ideas, but be sure to listen to what your kids have to say too.

Remember: It’s a marathon, not a sprint! Today is day 1 of your homeschool adventures this year.

2. Stay Focused

Before your first day of homeschool arrives, think about what you’d like to do on your first day. Choose one or two goals to make it easier to focus on getting them done. Consider how those goals will help you ease into your homeschool year.

An example of a first-day goal might be to establish a solid homeschool routine. 

Some possible steps for reaching that goal could be:

• Review the routine with your children.
• Create a chart or posted with your kids to serve as a visual reminder throughout the year.
• Practice the routine with your children and make sure they understand it.

Another great first-day goal could be to make sure your children know how and where to store curriculum and supplies. 

Do you want your children to be responsible for getting out and putting away their own books, notebooks, pencils, art supplies, etc.? If so, you should:

• Make sure your children know where to find everything.
• Make sure each child has a place to keep his or her materials and supplies.
• Talk with your children about when they will need to get these things out and when to put them away. (How will they know when they need to do these things? Will you tell them? Will they need to do it at a certain time?)

Knowing and reviewing goals and routines with your kids will make the whole homeschool year run more smoothly!

3. Keep It Simple

You may feel the need to do more, but back-to-homeschool time is like most experiences with kids: simpler is better!

Remember when your kids were little and you got them a cool toy, but they had more fun playing with the box than the toy? Keep that in mind as you plan and prep for your first day of homeschool.

Simple activities that are short and sweet take the pressure off and have much less chance of being a flop.

4. Keep It Fun

You also might feel like you have to be super serious right away. If you don’t, your homeschool will get out of control, right? Well, you know your kids and yourself best. If a tight rein is necessary from the start, then go with your gut.

I will encourage you, however, to loosen that grip a bit on the first day. Play a game. Share some silly jokes. Make a tasty treat.

Fun activities are perfect ways to ease your transition into a new homeschool year.

5. Look at This Day as an Opportunity

Maybe you’re not so excited about starting back to homeschool. That’s totally normal! You may dread dragging out the books and getting back into a routine.

Instead of getting upset about your first day of homeschool, consider it a chance to grow. Doing things that you don’t necessarily want to do can help you become a stronger person. And you might find that getting back into your homeschool routine is exactly what you need!

If you or your kids aren’t feeling the whole back-to-homeschool thing, talk about it. Open up the conversation to share your thoughts and feelings. And then work together to come up with solutions.

For example, if the idea of suddenly going from summer break to a full schedule is overwhelming, consider easing into it. Start with two or three subjects. And another subject each following day or week.

If sitting at a desk or table for hours at a time seems like too much, do some “book work” and then enjoy a brain break between those blocks of work. Build on that progress!

Back-to-homeschool time is also an amazing opportunity to work on growth mindset skills. You and your kids will be practicing self-awareness, resilience, and more.

You CAN keep your cool when it’s time for back to homeschool. Jot these five tips down on an index card or post-it note. As the big day arrives, review these ideas and think about how you can make them work for you.

Best wishes for a brilliant back to homeschool time!

It’s hard to believe it’s time to get back to school! Or maybe you homeschool year-round and take breaks whenever it works for your family. Whether you’re already back at it, preparing to get going, or homeschooling year-round, a little extra money for homeschool curriculum and resources is always an exciting prospect!

Since many homeschooling families are on tight budgets, I joined a group of homeschool blogger friends to offer a HUGE gift card giveaway to Christianbook.com.  We will be blessing THREE homeschool families with $200 to spend at Christianbook.com for you to use on curriculum, books, games, puzzles, or whatever educational supplies you might need! Our hope is that we can bless a few homeschool families (although we wish we could bless many more) so they can decrease that burden and buy the curriculum and supplies they need.

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Amy Milcic helps you make life & learning fun. As a homeschool mom of 5 boys, she knows the value of keeping it simple and relaxed. Amy loves to share resources, tips, & free printables over at Rock Your Homeschool. You can read more from Amy at Rock Your Homeschool.