One of the more stressful responsibilities of a homeschool parent, especially for those with more than one child, is creating a schedule that works for the children while still allowing mom and dad to accomplish their own tasks. This homeschool mom offers a solution to scheduling her days—the older Challenge students can handle themselves.
Insight:
- Higher-level Challenge (ages 12+) students are capable of doing their own work.
Higher-level Challenge students are capable of doing their own work.
Of course, if they have questions or don’t understand their work, they can always ask mom for help. It’s also mom’s job to provide accountability for her children studying independently. For the majority of the day, however, older Challenge students study on their own. This teaches them responsibility and self-learning, and mom can focus on helping her younger children who aren’t yet at the level of learning independently.
How can I apply this to my own schedule?
Focus on your children who require the most help! Typically, this will be younger students in the Foundations (ages 4+) and Essentials (ages 9+) programs. Letting your older students learn on their own will not only teach them responsibility, it will free up a good bit of your own schedule.
Still, it’s a great idea to bring all your children together periodically to strengthen familial relationships. For example, this mom’s family begins the day together with a lesson from the Bible or on a subject that her Challenge students are working through, like apologetics. Afterward, the children disperse to do their own work, and mom assists when they need it.
Find more answers to your questions at our blog or in our video series Ask a Homeschool Parent.
