March 18, 2021

Homeschooling Ideas for 5 Things we are Changing in our Homeschool

It’s hard to believe we have been homeschooling for 6 years! In those years we’ve learned some things about the process, how we learn best, how I teach the best, and that somethings just need to change from year to year as we streamline the process. Here are 5 things we are changing in our homeschool this year that you may want to change too!

Homeschooling Ideas

I love a clean start! It is a chance to start out with fresh routines, new ideas, better organization, new curriculum, and hopefully and great year homeschooling! As we dive into another year as a homeschool family, here are 5 homeschool ideas for things we are changing this year based on things that I think we can do better. These homeschooling ideas should bring us more balance, peace, and order – things I crave in my household – how about you?

#1 – We gave our school room another face lift.

I find that it helps us to get off to a great start when we tidy, streamline, organize, and add some changes to improve on our space. (our first homeschool room andupdated homeschool room)

we added a comfy bean bag char for reading
kids computer desk (for typing, spanish, typing reports, etc.)
Kallax cubes on side with door insert and custom cushion on the top for added storage and seating
we also added door inserts to the top of our expedite unit to keep our homeschool subjects organized. We have math in one, language arts in the next, kindergarten in the 3rd, science next, and social studies at the end

#2 – More Variety in Reading

We are going a better job in helping the kids:

Pick a broader Variety of Books – each week the kids will check out from the library and read
- one book from my list of “good books” (book lists here)
- one missionary book
- one biography
- one book about a US State
- one book about a US President
- one book on educational topic of choice (animal, invention, history, country, etc.)
- other books of their choice (lots of Star Wars and Puppy Place in our house these days)
Reading Comprehension Bookmarks (new free printable) ensure they are understanding what they’ve read, are truly reading everything, and to help them learn to take better notes in preparation for reports

#3 – Dedicated FUN LEARNING time

I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but we have a lot of fun learning toys we’ve acquired over the years, but we tend to not allow time to make use of them.This year we are planning to…

Games are now organized by subject
Games are easy to access and in plain sight so we’ll use them more
Each day the kids will play a learning game to enhance their learning
Many are the free printable educational games I’ve made over the years and shared with you
- Monday – Language Arts (spelling, sentences, parts of speech, etc.)
- Tuesday – Math
- Wednesday – Social Studies/History/Geography
- Thursday – Educational Ipad Aps

homeschooling is about building memories and relationships with our kids

Four Day School Week

Last year we started something new, we only do school 4 days a week.

It was AWESOME!!!

we still finished school in 8 months
it motivated the kids to get their school work done – if they hadn’t finished their school for the week, they had school on Friday
it allowed us to spend time having fun on Fridays which is one of the main reasons we started homeschooling in the first place. Now we have a weekly time built in to play together, go on field trips, etc.

As you get geared up to start the next school year, what are you tweaking in your homeschool? I’d love to know in the comments!

homeschool organization in simple backpacks for easy on the go and little extra supplies needed

#5 – Goodbye Workboxes

I have long been an advocate of school workboxes as they helped keep everything neat, tidy, and organized. I still think they are a great system….. but half way through last year we moved to back pack homeschool.

What that means is each kid has a backpack with all their school boxes in their own backpack. I have a backpack with all the subjects we do together (social studies, science, art, music).

Here is what I LOVE about it:

It takes up less space in our school room
This system takes up less space on our school table (because their are no boxes to find space for on the table)
Kids clean up their own work and keep it all neatly together
It is portable – this may be my favorite part! If it is a beautiful spring or fall day we can each grab our backpack and head to the backyard, arboretum, etc. to “do school” somewhere else. I always loved the idea of that, but could never figure out how that would work until now.

Homeschooling Resources

Should I Homeschool my child – 5 potentional homeschool pitfalls
25 Reasons why I LOVE Homeschooling
How to choose the right free printable homeschool curriculum
How does homeschooling work – how we homeschool in only 15 hours a week
Homeschool Socialization – is it really a problem?
How to Homeschool for FREE with free homeschool printables
Why Homeschool – a peak at why we homeschool
Take a peak at our Homeschool Room
Homeschool Organization – meet our workbox system
Homeschool Curriculum – what we choose to use each year
Get your homeschool started right with these homeschool ideas
Homeschool attendance sheet and other forms to help you keep organized!
Free Printable School Memory Book

Free Homeschool Worksheets

We are here to help! We have over 1 milliion free worksheets, games, and activities for students of all ages. Click on the links below!

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Beth Gorden

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! She has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids ABCs, science, English grammar, history, math, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables – www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com