CYH: A Schedule Isn’t the Key to Homeschooling
There’s a security that comes in schedules and routines. A feeling that everything is going well or that you’re doing a good job. Homeschooling can feel so intangible at times, but a schedule – that can make us feel like we’re meeting the milestones and doing the right thing.
But schedules and routines don’t make us good homeschooling parents. In fact, sometimes they can pull us away from the things that really matter.
Your kids might thrive on structure, but if we become a slave to the schedule, it can keep them from their natural learning. If we can’t let go of our homeschool ideals (or, dare I say, our homeschool fantasies), we don’t leave room for our kids to find new ways of learning, have time for creative exploration, and think beyond our little boxes on a page.
Give yourself permission to let the schedule go – maybe not all the time, but at least once in awhile. Give yourself permission to let your kids dictate the rhythm of the day. Give yourself permission to create space for spontenaeity.
And on the days when you don’t plan for the schedule to be thrown aside, and you find your day going off the rails, remember this: a schedule doesn’t make or break your homeschool. Your homeschool isn’t “better” because you have a schedule or worse because you don’t.
You can settle into a rhythm that fits your family, schedule or no schedule. So don’t get caught up in the things you should do and just do what works for your family.