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Homeschooling » Time Hacks for Homeschoolers

Time Hacks for Homeschoolers

July 9 By Kim Sorgius 8 Comments

9 Jul
time hacks for homeschoolers

Do you ever feel like time is a 4-letter word? I think it’s safe to say that most homeschool moms have a hate-hate relationship with time; there’s simply never enough of it! Our plates are full with household cleaning duties, lessons to teach, kids to feed, and so much more. I find that most moms are frustrated by this elusive commodity of time that they simply cannot master. That’s why we homeschoolers need some time hacks!

time hacks for homeschoolers

Often times someone will ask me, “How do you do it all?!” I chuckle and retort with, “You’re asking the wrong question.” You see, NO ONE GETS IT ALL DONE. That’s an impossible task. BUT- that doesn’t mean we should just throw in the towel and plop on the couch with a box of bonbons. People have figured out how to master time (instead of letting time master them), I promise.

Oh, and you can be one of those people.

It all starts by asking the right question. Instead of starting your day with “How can I get all of this done?” begin each day with a new question: “What important tasks has God given me today and what things should I say no to?”

We can’t possibly fit everything in, but we can do the things God has given us to do. Here’s the clincher: we will only know what God has for us each day IF we spend time with Him.

Oh friend, I know you already know that. I don’t mention it here to accentuate your guilt. I mention it because we all need the reminder that the only way we will know what God wants us to do in life is to talk to Him. And because I can’t possibly teach you any time hacks that will work if you aren’t walking in God’s will for your day.

Ok, so you’ve got a long list of things and you are certain God has called you to complete each one of those things. (I mean, after all, the kids must eat 3 times today, everyone needs to be educated, and you’ve got to keep the house at least clean enough to keep child protective services from being alarmed. Haha.)

So, what else can you do to make the best use of the 24 hours a day you have?

I’ve created a video masterclass for you on this very subject. I’m sharing 8 of my best time hacks for homeschoolers. These tips are practical, sustainable, and I promise they work.

It’s true you can’t add any hours to your day, but you can work smarter!

Table of Contents

  • Time hacks for homeschoolers masterclass notes:
    • Hack #1 —> Keep learning simple
    • Hack #2—> Teach kids together
    • Hack #3 —> Teach subjects together
    • Hack #4 —> Plan ONLY once a year
    • Hack #5 —> Change the way you schedule
    • Hack #6 —> Let someone else do the teaching
    • Hack #7 —> Train them for independent learning
    • Hack #8 —> Teach wherever you have to be
  • A final word of encouragement

Time hacks for homeschoolers masterclass notes:

Hack #1 —> Keep learning simple

I hate to go against the grain here, but taking Latin in pre-k doesn’t make children scholars. In fact, pressuring our kids with too much too soon usually has the opposite effect: mom burnout, kid frustration, and all kinds of family friction as the pressure rises.

keep homeschool simple

I humbly suggest only committing to the necessary subjects. Stay simple until late elementary school: reading and math. Everything else should be a supplement if there is time/energy AND your child is interested. Which reminds me, science, history, (and most things) are better learned naturally anyway.

Hack #2—> Teach kids together

This hack is simple: If you can teach your kids together, do it. Of course you can’t do this for every subject, but you can certainly get creative with history and science. In our family, all kids under 8th grade learn the same history/science at the same time.

teach homeschool kids together

Obviously, they will learn different things, but mom only teaches once. This is ideal through living books and field trips, but there are plenty of homeschool companies creating curriculum that lends itself well to teaching multi-ages. We’ve compiled a thorough list of the best homeschool curriculum to make choosing simple for you!

Hack #3 —> Teach subjects together

To piggyback on hack #2, don’t just combine kids, combine subjects whenever possible as well. Who says you need a textbook for 9 subjects each year? That’s just nonsense. One book or curriculum can easily cover multiple subjects. This is especially true for language arts.

combine subjects for homeschool

For high school, we use Notgrass History, giving my students 3 credits: English, History, and Bible. For my 2nd-8th graders, we use the Reading Journal to combine science, history, and pretty much anything you want to learn about, with our study of language arts. Oh and I can’t forget Still Singing. It’s a hymn study covering the story behind each hymn, but it’s also language arts, geography, history, music theory, copywork, and Bible all wrapped into one.

Hack #4 —> Plan ONLY once a year

This hack will literally save your life. STOP erasing boxes and moving assignments you intended to do and never did. Instead, make a good solid plan at the beginning of the year and then do the next logical thing each day. In the video, I show you my step-by-step process for making this happen.

homeschool lesson planner

One tool we use and love is the Student Record and Planner. It’s a lifesaver when it comes to planning and has completely replaced my lesson plan book. Read more about why I don’t use a lesson plan book here. And if you’d like to plan your entire school year in just 5 days check out our FREE homeschool planning boot camp!

Hack #5 —> Change the way you schedule

One strategy for using your time better is to think differently about the problem. For example, most homeschoolers are still creating a minute-by-minute schedule for their day. The problem with this strategy is it simply doesn’t work. When even the slightest thing gets off course (and trust me- it happens nearly every day), we feel defeated and give up.

It took a lot of unexpected doctor visits and other interruptions for me to understand that PLANNING for the unexpected gives us the most success. We do this through a simple system called time chunks. Basically, we have chunks of the day that have the same routine no matter what time we get to them. Everyone knows what to do, and it can be moved around if needed. (Ahem, instead of thrown out in frustration.)

In the video, I discuss each one of these and how to create them. Here is a quick look at what each of our chunks looks like.

time hacks for homeschoolers

Hack #6 —> Let someone else do the teaching

Of course, one of the easiest ways to save time is to let someone else do the teaching for you. Just because you homeschool doesn’t mean you have to throw this idea out the window. There are many ways to let other people teach your kids while maintaining the atmosphere and academic control over their education. For example, my oldest girls have been teaching the younger kids for years. We also use a co-op for some subjects.

others helping with homeschool

We use online resources as much as possible. My kids LOVE Teaching Textbooks for math. (It does all the teaching and grading for you.) We also LOVE online classes like Experience Astronomy or Apologia lab classes.

Want everything online? Try whole grade level courses such as BJU Press online or Monarch. Both do all the teaching for you. I’ve also compiled a list of all my favorite homeschool curriculum to help as you choose what’s best for your family.

Hack #7 —> Train them for independent learning

I could write an entire post on this topic. (Oh wait, I did! Click here to read more about 5 ways you can teach your kids to learn independently starting today!)

independent learning in homeschool

The bottom line: if you try to be and do everything, you’ll be no good to anyone. Your job is to facilitate, train, and delegate. That’s what managers do. (And you are the manager in your home!) Besides, isn’t the point of educating our kids to make them self-sustaining adults? Of course it is. Start VERY early. It will save you time and one day your adult children will thank you for equipping them.

Hack #8 —> Teach wherever you have to be

Last but not least, sometimes we just have to multi-task. When my son had weekly chemo treatments for a year and a half, we had to get creative about how we did school. My best tip for this is to have a backpack for each child ready with supplies for learning on the go.

homeschool wherever you go time hack

When you have a doctor’s appointment, put in the needed books and you’re off. This works especially well for families dealing with critical illnesses, caring for elderly parents, and those in transition like moving or renovating a house.

A final word of encouragement

It’s easy to beat ourselves up for not using time wisely or simply not getting to everything we think we should be getting to. Let me assure you, no one is getting to everything. It’s impossible. I pray these 8 hacks have given you at least a few little things you can tweak to make your homeschool more manageable, but please remember to give yourself grace as you walk this journey!

kim sorgius
Kim Sorgius

Through practical tools & Bible-based resources, Kim Sorgius is dedicated to helping your family GROW in faith so you can be Not Consumed by life’s struggles. Author of popular kid’s devotional Bible studies and practical homeschooling tools, Kim has a master’s degree in education and curriculum design coupled with over 2 decades of experience working with kids and teens. Above all, her most treasured job is mother and homeschool teacher of four amazing kiddos.

Comments

  1. Deborah says

    July 9 at 9:43 pm

    Thank you so much for these I needed them as I look forward to a new school year.

    Reply
  2. Melissa says

    July 9 at 11:09 pm

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post!!! I have been trying to rethink our daily schedule for months and have researched so many places. Everything I’ve found says it’s ok if you don’t get everything done in a day, and I get that, but I do need to get better; however, no one is giving any practical tips on how to get better at it—until your post! So thank you again for this! I will be bookmarking this and coming back as I prepare for a new year!

    Reply
  3. Heidi Johnson says

    July 10 at 9:15 am

    These are great hacks. If I was writing a list, this is what I would include only you said it better. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Eka says

    July 10 at 12:14 pm

    Thank you, Kim! These are wonderful tips, I’ll work through them one by one and see what we can improve. One question: is there ANY way to keep high school simple for a college bound kid?

    Reply
  5. Jo says

    July 10 at 12:34 pm

    These were great reminders for our upcoming year and some where a “here! here!” response in my head as I strongly affirm these hacks I’ve learned along the way. :.)

    Reply
  6. Lee Ann Rubsam says

    July 12 at 7:51 am

    “I hate to go against the grain here, but taking Latin in pre-k doesn’t make children scholars. … I humbly suggest only committing to the necessary subjects. Stay simple until late elementary school.”

    So true! I smiled, because we have seen so many temporary trendy, must-have ways of doing things through the years. One minute it sounded like our children would be forever stunted if we didn’t do things using the newest program, and then two or three years down the road it was nowhere to be found.

    Thanks for a great article, full of sound advice!
    Lee Ann Rubsam, author of Character Building for Families

    Reply
  7. Kimberly says

    August 2 at 1:00 am

    Loved these ideas on time savers! We moved to using time chunks several years ago and it simplified our life so much. I also implement it in my business as well. It allows for more flexibility and reduces the mom guilt of mot being on a rigid timeline.

    Reply
  8. Rebecca says

    August 5 at 8:33 pm

    I love to use copywork from living books in our homeschool. If used correctly it can cover multiple language arts components. Handwriting, writing mechanics, literature, spelling, language.
    Also If your in a real time crunch, a good read aloud that goes along with your history or science is quality stuff. Count it as good and move on.
    Maybe take that read aloud and use it for copywork. Voila, there’s more than half your subjects right there.

    Reply

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