How to Homeschool a Kid Who Hates to Write ~
Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy

For whatever reason, some kids hate to write.

I don’t mean they dislike it, or they’d rather not today, thank you. No, I’m talking about those kids for whom writing “The cat sat on the mat,” requires the physical effort and mental stamina of climbing Pike’s Peak (but probably with a lot more fussing, whining, crying and arguing).

These kids aren’t faking: writing is genuinely difficult for them. (Especially when they’re young, and especially for boys.)

Your challenge as a teacher, a parent, and an academic coach is to keep their disdain for handwriting from turning into a hatred of school, which happens all too often because the thing they hate most (handwriting) permeates every subject.

Thankfully, most writing haters get over it–without intervention–by 4th or 5th grade.

But until then, these tips will help you — and your child — cope.

9 Tips: How to Homeschool a Kid who Hates to Write

1. As far as you can, eliminate the writing in every subject but writing. 

The goal is simply to master the material.

2. Do the work out loud.

Instead of written worksheets, try oral drills for math facts, phonics, translations, fill-in-the-blanks, paragraph summaries, etc. Or, do the worksheet but do it out loud.

3. Use stickers.

If your child is completing a worksheet, try writing the answers on small stickers in advance. Your student can then place the correct sticker in the appropriate spot for his answer. (This has the advantage of feeling like a game.)

4. Make it a matching game.

With a little advance work on your part, your child can match up Spanish nouns with their meanings, coins with their names, states with their capitals, dates with historical facts, and anything else you can think of.

5. Play “secretary” for your student.

They dictate, you record. This lets your creative child get their stories, summaries, or science observations out of their head and onto paper.

6. Get creative with spelling word practice.

To practice “writing” spelling words, let your child “spell” the words with his finger in a shallow container of rice, sand, beans, or water. No paper or pencil required.

7. Consider starting typing early.

We started our pencil-hating kids on a typing program at age seven (at their request!), but kids as young as five can begin typing lessons.

8. When your kid must write, equip them with coping strategies to help them handle it better, or let them find their own.

My writing-haters self-soothed by swinging, spinning and sprinting down the driveway, preferably before and after handwriting time.

9. Make the writing easier:

• Switch to markers or smoothly gliding pens.
• Ditch the paper for a dry erase board.

These tips and tricks require a little extra work on your part to implement.

But if your writing hater still loves school (well, except for handwriting class) I hope you’ll agree with me: it’s worth it.

Do you have (or have you had) a student who hates to write? We need your tips, tricks and coping strategies!

Self-care for the highly sensitive parent ~
Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

I‘ve known for a decade or three that I’m an introvert, but it’s only recently — after reading Susan Cain’s excellent book Quiet — that I discovered I’m also a “highly sensitive person.”

Whether or not you’ve heard the term before, that description should ring true for about 1 in 5 of you.

A highly sensitive person is someone who’s more sensitive to physical and/or emotional stimuli than the general population. They have sensitive nervous systems, are more attuned to subtleties in their surroundings, and are more easily overwhelmed by highly stimulating environments.

Interacting with people drains introverts; sensory input — sights, smells, sounds, emotional stimulation — drains highly sensitive people. (HSPs are more likely to be introverts, but about 30% of HSPs are extroverts.)

I’m an HSP to the core. In practice, that means I avoid violent movies, am easily overwhelmed by loud noises and bright lights, need time and space to regroup on busy days, and feel like my head will explode when two people try to talk to me at the same time.

We have four kids, ages 4 to 11. Our default home environment is highly stimulating. (Or as I usually call it: just plain crazy.) Understanding highly sensitive people has dramatically changed the way we homeschool.

When HSPs get overwhelmed, their typical response is to shut down because their overworked nervous systems can’t take the strain any longer. As an HSP, if I don’t approach our homeschool days intentionally, my brain will be done by 10:00 a.m.

That is really inconvenient when the kids and I still have piles of work to get through! I need to make my energy last.

When it comes to personality, knowledge is power. I’m sharing my HSP cheat sheet in the hopes it will help my fellow sensitive types — and their kids — stay peaceful, happy, and sane during homeschool days.

Self-Care for the Highly Sensitive Parent

Start the day right.

I’ve never talked to a parent who likes to be woken by their children in the morning, but it’s especially important for HSPs to have a calm start to their days. Put yourself to bed on time so you can wake before the kids, have a cup of coffee by yourself, and do whatever you do to ready yourself for the day in peace.

(If you’re in a season where that’s not possible right now, I’m sorry. I’ve been there. It’ll get better; until then, move on to the next tip.)

Embrace routine.

Smooth routines means fewer decisions, which tax your mental energy. Consistent routines also mean less talking, which zaps the HSP’s energy when engaged in nonstop during a 8-hour school day.

Make checklists so you don’t have to remind the kids to make their beds, brush their teeth, or start their math. Streamline snack time. Put a daily schedule in place, and stick to it.

Outsource the talking.

I love reading aloud to my kids, but talking all day drains every drop of my energy.

Let audiobooks do some of the work for you. (Here’s a fantastic list.)

Enforce quiet times.

HSPs need some noise-free zones in their day. At our house, we have book basket time: 30 minutes of silent reading time to let everyone rest and recharge, and learn something. (Mom has a book basket, too.)

We also have a daily rest time at our house. Everyone — including me — spends two hours alone (well, mostly alone) every afternoon. The kids can read, play quietly, listen to music or audiobooks, and watch the occasional movie — as long as they do it by themselves.

Control the clutter.

Messy spaces are draining for many HSPs because there’s too much visual input.

Although I would never describe myself as a neatnik, I’ve noticed that keeping my house tidy (or tidy enough) keeps my metaphorical fuel tank full. Clear kitchen counters do a lot for inner calm.

Limit the amount of information you’re taking in during the school day.

As a general rule, I don’t check email, Twitter, or Facebook during our school days. It’s not just that I don’t want my kids seeing me on my phone.

HSPs are more likely to find a homeschool day exhausting (especially with multiple students) because of the sheer amount of info coming in from all directions. The last thing my brain needs is additional stimulation via email or social media.

Be deliberate about how you rest and re-charge.

Build some down time into your day, and be deliberate about how you use it. When you need to re-charge, make sure to do something that actually fills your tank.

Although I love catching up on the phone with a friend, that’s not the best way for me to recharge after a loud and busy homeschool morning.

As a highly sensitive parent, I’m much better off with a cup of coffee and a good book.

Do you suspect you’re a highly sensitive parent, too? Please share your tips, tricks, and coping strategies in comments.

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

For your holiday enjoyment, I present to you the best Christmas scenes in children’s literature. (I shared the best Christmas scenes in English literature last week.)

It was painful to choose just a snippet to share because the extended scenes—and the books from which they were drawn—are all so good!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

(Find the movie version here.)

“It was a sledge, and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe (bright as hollyberries) with a hood that had fur inside it and a great white beard that fell like a foamy waterfall over his chest. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn’t find him quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.

“I’ve come at last,” said he. “She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s magic is weakening.”

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace

“They gave themselves then with abandon to the sweet delight of choosing. It was almost pain to choose. Each fragile bauble was gayer, more enchanting than the last. What each one chose she would take home; she would see it on the Christmas tree; she would see it year after year; if she were lucky and it did not break.

They walked around and around the table, touching softly with mittened hands. Betsy at last chose a large red ball. Tacy chose an angel. Tib chose a rosy Santa Claus. Winona chose a silver trumpet.

…They walked to Ray’s Shoe Store, smiling, holding Christmas in their hands.”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

(Find the movie version here.)

“Merry Christmas, Marmee! 

Merry Christmas, little daughters! I want to say one word before we sit down. Not far away from here lies a poor woman with a little newborn baby. Six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing, for they have no fire. There is nothing to eat over there, and the oldest boy came to tell me they were suffering hunger and cold. My girls, will you give them your breakfasts as a Christmas present?

They were all unusually hungry, having waited nearly an hour, and for a minute no one spoke, only a minute, for Jo exclaimed impetuously, I’m so glad you came before we began!”

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

(Find the movie version here.)

“Matthew had sheepishly unfolded the dress from its paper swathings and held it out with a deprecatory glance at Marilla, who feigned to be contemptuously filling the teapot, but nevertheless watched the scene out of the corner of her eye with a rather interested air.

Anne took the dress and looked at it in reverent silence. Oh, how pretty it was—a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves—they were the crowning glory! 

“That’s a Christmas present for you, Anne,” said Matthew shyly. “Why—why—Anne, don’t you like it? Well now—well now.”

For Anne’s eyes had suddenly filled with tears.”

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

(Find the movie version here.)

“Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy to speak. But Ma asked if they were sure their stockings were empty. 

Then they put their hands down inside them, to make sure. 

And in the very toe of each stocking was a shining, bright new penny!

They had never even thought of such a thing as a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny. 

There had never been such a Christmas.” 

Merry Christmas! What scenes would you add to this list?

Originally posted on December 23, 2014.

This month, we’re beginning our sixth year of homeschooling.

We’re more or less ready to begin: we have our plan in place, our curriculum ordered, our daily rhythm mostly mapped out. We’re all ready to hit the ground running, kids and parents.

That’s because the big decisions are already made.

I’m serene about our school plans now, but a few months ago I was a mess, thinking so hard about all our mix and match options for the coming year you could practically see my angsty thoughts swirling above my head.

We’re fortunate to have a good number of viable options for our children’s education. I love exploring the possibilities for what their school experience could look like, thinking through different curricula, extracurriculars, structures, and schedules.

I enjoy dreaming about the possibilities: should we travel, or block schedule, or maybe look into that new classical school down the road? Should we do more German or switch to French or change math programs? Maybe we’ll try independent study for our older kids. Maybe we’ll let them choose their own curricula this year.

I love the possibilities homeschooling offers. But choosing between them stresses me out.

Because eventually, after considering all those possibilities, a choice has to be made. We have to commit to a course of action for the next year; we have to choose just one option that is best for our family as a whole, and for each of our four kids, individually.

And I’m terrified we’ll pick the wrong one.

When it’s big-picture planning time for our homeschool, suddenly something simple like choosing a curriculum becomes a springboard to an existential crisis. “Which foreign language?” becomes “What am I even doing with my life?” or worse, “I am messing up my kids’ education for all eternity!!”

(I didn’t say it was wise to freak out like this, or something I’m proud of. I’m just saying it happens.)

It’s August. My yearly existential homeschooling crisis is safely behind me, and I have the perspective to see it’s a little crazy, if completely predictable. For me.

I haven’t learned how to avoid it altogether, but I have learned how to deal.

My coping strategies aren’t fancy or brilliant. It comes down to two things:

1. Remind myself why we’re doing this in the first place.

We chose to homeschool for good reasons.

When I remember what they are, it reassures me we’re on the right path, and helps clarify those specific decisions regarding things like curriculum and schedules.

2. My job is to make the best decisions I can, with the information I have right now.

I don’t need to be a fortune teller, predict exactly how my kids/our schedule/our jobs/and everything else will change in the coming year.

I just need to decide for right now. And to remember that we’re taking this school journey one year at a time.

Am I the only one who does an annual big-picture freak out? I’d love to hear about your own existential crises in the comments.

This post is part of our Hardest Part of my Homeschool Year series.

Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

Kids love to do real, meaningful work. The kind with actual value, risks, and consequences. Too often, they don’t get to — because as parents, we don’t let them.

Obviously not every kid is begging to make dinner, nor is every parent saying no. But both are happening, frequently, and it’s really too bad, because both kids and parents have so much to gain by letting the kids take control of a few “serious” tasks.

Giving up that control comes easier for some parents than others.

For example, I’m an INFP (that’s a Myers-Briggs personality type, for those of you who aren’t total personality geeks like me). That causes me plenty of problems (I tend to be permissive, I’m terrible at creating routines for my kids, etc.) but it also means it’s easy for me to let my kids take the reins.

If you have a hard time giving up control, recognize there’s a good reason why it doesn’t come naturally—then take a deep breath and do it anyway.

Kids have so much to gain from taking on real, meaningful tasks. They want to be able to admire their efforts, they want to feel the pride of accomplishment, and they want to experience the feeling of a job well done.

As a bonus: kids love learning when they’re working on their own self-directed projects.

All those skills that are abstract in the classroom—handwriting, fractions, biology—spring to life when a child needs that information to address a party invitation, calculate the cost of goods for a strawberry tart, or decide how often to water the garden. It’s the best kind of education.

Here are four ideas for practical, useful, and fun projects that kids can handle. Intervene as necessary—but not until your kids ask you to, or until it’s clear they need a grown-up’s help. 

Make dinner

Many kids love to get cooking, and it’s great for everyone to get in the habit of helping with meal prep. But if they want to make family dinner (or breakfast, or lunch) all by themselves, why not let them? There’s very little to lose, and so much to gain.

(Hot tip: you might want to have a filling bedtime snack ready, just in case your child’s first attempt bombs.)

Plan a party

Last year, I let my two daughters (ages 9 and 6 at the time) plan my youngest daughter’s 7th birthday party. They made the invitations, and the guest list. They set the menu and put up the decorations. They created the agenda and planned the activities. They had a blast.

I did get a handful of amused comments about the hand-drawn invitations, but all in all, the girls loved it, their friends loved it, and I loved not being in charge of the birthday party planning. Win/win/win.

Since then, we’ve let the kids plan afternoon teas, cookouts, and pizza parties. They get a little savvier each time.

Start a business

Starting a business (or sometimes, “business”) is a fabulous way to let your kids put all that stuff they learned in the classroom (or perhaps in our cases, at the dining room table) into practice.

Our daughter had the idea to start a little bakery business over the winter, and she has learned so much: marketing and web design, brainstorming and product tweaking, how to use a spreadsheet to calculate price per baked good, how to double and half recipes (fractions!), planning and time management.

It’s been an amazing experience, even though she’s only selling to her grandparents.

There are kids who have Etsy shops and kids who write blogs, kids who babysit and kids who walk all their neighbors’ dogs. If your child has an idea, consider letting them try to bring it to life. There’s so much to learn by doing so.

Tend a garden

I’ve never been an enthusiastic gardener, mostly because I’ve never had results worth getting excited about. So when my kids asked if they could please pretty please plant a garden when we moved to a new-to-us house last year, I said yes—on one condition: they would take care of it.

I was pleasantly surprised when they actually did care for it, and even more surprised when the plants actually flourished.

It turns out we just needed better soil, which our new backyard had. The kids picked the plants at the beginning of the season; now they water, weed, and harvest, and we all get to enjoy the produce.

Do you give your kids free rein to tackle their own projects? I’d love to hear the details in comments.

Written by contributor Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy

At my house, we’ve decided to take a “summer break” this year—or at least that’s what we’re telling our kids. When they’re off their regular school schedule (you know, the one where they start their school days with math at 9:00 a.m.), it feels like summer vacation.

Here’s what they don’t know: my husband and I are very intentional about providing great content so they are learning all the time—even while they’re on “break.”

We stock our home with what they need to keep learning all summer long. School may technically be out of session, but that’s no reason to put their education on hold.

Here are our favorite tips and tricks for building a content-rich environment.

Stock your shelves.

Kids who have access to good books improve their reading skills over the summer months; kids with no access regress.

Fill your personal shelves with great books on a wide range of topics, being sure to include both easy and challenging reads.

Hit the library.

We adore our public library and visit it year-round. The summer is a great time to get familiar with your local branch.

Not sure what to check out once you’re there? Try this idea from Susan Wise Bauer.

When she was growing up, her mom required her to check out at least one book in these four categories during their weekly library visits:

• a story
• a book of poetry
• a biography
• a book about how to do something.

The kids weren’t required to read all their library books, but  Susan said that as the week wore on and she finished the books she was most excited about, she might actually read the poetry book just because it was there. 

Listening lessons.

My family loves audiobooks for lazy summer afternoons—or any time the kids want to hear a story but mom needs a break.

Our family keeps coming back to The Little House series (read by Cherry Jones) and Beverly Cleary’s Ramona collection, and we think we’re finally ready for Harry Potter and The Hobbit.

We’ve long been fans of Jim Weiss’s storytelling recordings on topics ranging from the Lewis and Clark exploration to Greek mythology to Shakespeare. I just found out a huge collection of his work is available on Spotify, for free.

I loaded up my phone with great stories (and Story of the World, also narrated by Weiss, and our Latin review), bought a $30 BlueTooth speaker, and told my kids our car trips are about to get more interesting.

I love to listen to audiobooks when I’m running, gardening, or doing the dishes—and I think it’s good for my kids to see their mom loves a good story, too.

Read out loud.

Audiobooks are great, but I prefer to read to my kids myself—especially when they’re in their pjs.

Find tons of great ideas here on Simple Homeschool, or turn to The Read-Aloud Handbook, my favorite book on the whys and hows of reading out loud to kids (even teens!)

Or for a change of pace at bedtime, try the appropriately named Bedtime Math, a free service that delivers delightfully wacky word problems straight to your inbox.

Play, play, play.

Kids learn through play, so make the most of it.

Summer’s a great time to explore science experiments, building projects, purposeful LEGO play, and other STEM-oriented toys, games, and books.

Be a great model.

Read to your kids—but let your kids catch you reading for your own sake.

Talk to them about what they’re learning. Take the family bookstore-browsing, just for fun. Show them you value learning.

They’ll notice. Kids are smart like that.

How do you plan to keep your kids learning this summer?

Originally posted on May 28, 2014

Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

Last week, our 10-year-old surprised us at dinner when she said, “I memorized something. Want to hear it?”

And then she recited The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in its entirety, without missing a word.

I was floored.

Now I know many of you study poetry in depth with your young students, and rely heavily on memorization for your homeschool curricula. At 6 stanzas, 260 words, it’s not completely daunting. But it’s not something we do in our homeschool. At least not right now.

So of course I wanted to know: how, and why, Sarah had memorized that poem.

The answer came out: our babysitter challenged her to.

My kids need diverse role models

My husband and I are deliberate about creating a content-rich environment at home. Our shelves are stocked with good books and we have piles of great audio by the CD player. We hit the library regularly. Reading is a family value: it’s part of our identity.

But as important as the family influence is for our kids, they need more role models.

Sure, we have extended family and friends, grandparents and neighbors, teachers and coaches—but the person my kids see the most each week is our regular babysitter, whom they adore.

(You know you’ve found somebody special when at your first meeting, she introduces herself by saying: There’s something you should know about me: I love reading and always bring a pile of books along when I babysit. Are you okay with that?)

I appreciate that my kids spend plenty of time playing and studying and learning—with someone who’s not their parent.

My kids need content that I don’t choose

Our babysitter always brings books along with her when she comes, and reads them to the kids. She brings over her library books and cookbooks for the kids to peruse. And the kids are always listening when she and I compare notes about what we—the adults—are reading this week, and loan our favorites back and forth.

If I wanted to pick a poem for Sarah to memorize, I wouldn’t have chosen a piece about an ill-fated, bloody military battle. But our babysitter loved that poem, and was excited about it, and got Sarah excited about it, too.

Our babysitter has good taste, but it’s not my taste, and that’s a good thing for my kids. Their experience shouldn’t be limited to just those things that their parents are interested in.

My kids need different expectations

I wouldn’t have challenged Sarah to memorize that poem: I would have been afraid it was too hard, too long, too overwhelming.

But that didn’t stop our babysitter, and Sarah was determined to wow her by learning it cold. She practiced it by herself, over and over, and enlisted her older brother to help her learn it. (I knew they were quizzing each other but I thought it was for their cottage school homework!)

I didn’t have the opportunity to nag: I didn’t even know about it. But I wouldn’t have needed to, anyway: Sarah was highly motivated to meet someone else’s expectations, and someone else’s standards: highly valuable things for a kid homeschooler.

Because we homeschool, my kids spend a lot of time at home. Or at least, with their parents. But I think the homeschooling experience is richer when it’s a team sport: I’m grateful that my kids have other people in their lives as well.

As important as our influence is as parents, my kids need more role models, more diverse content, and different expectations than we can provide on our own.

What has your experience been like in this area?

Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

I love to read, and so far (knock on wood) we seem to be raising kids who love to read as well. Despite my love of reading actual paper books for myself, to my kids, and with my kids, over the past few years I’ve come to rely heavily on audiobooks in our homeschool.

We have four kids at four different grade levels, and using audiobooks helps preserve my voice (especially during spring allergy season) and my sanity (all the year round) when this introvert needs a break from the noise noise noise noise.

Aside from the obvious convenience factor of audiobooks, they bring a richness and depth to our literary experience that we couldn’t get any other way.

These are our favorite (obvious and not-so-obvious) ways we use audiobooks in our homeschool:

1. Story of the World. We use Susan Wise Bauer’s history curriculum, but the way we used it changed when I discovered the audio recordings. Three of my kids are covering the same Story of the World material right now.

With the audio version, they can listen to it all at the same time; the weaker readers can still learn the material without me having to read out loud.

2. Read-alouds. I read aloud to my kids every day—especially my preschooler—but their interest in good books lasts longer than my voice. Audiobooks let the story continue even when my voice (or my nerves) are shot.

3. Reinforcement. My older kids are starting to read some tough books for their literature classes. We’ve begun using audiobooks to reinforce the content after they’ve read the physical book themselves.

They already know the basic arc of the story, and the audio version—as with any second read-through—solidifies new vocabulary words and gives them a deeper understanding of the material.

4. Bring a story to life. Great audiobook performances make a story leap off the page in a way that isn’t possible with the plain text. Our favorite audiobooks feature gripping narration, authentic accents, singing, even fiddle music.

5. Early readers. My second grader is transitioning from simple books to beefier chapter books. She wants to read independently but she isn’t quite ready. Audiobooks are smoothing her way, serving as her training wheels.

She reads with her eyes while she listens with her ears, and the audiobook fills any gaps in her pronunciation or understanding.

hot tip: put your phone in a bowl or mug with the speakers facing down to amplify the sound

Amazon’s Whispersync for voice makes this especially easy (if you have the right device, sigh).

With their immersion reading feature, you can read and listen simultaneously with real-time highlighting. (If you don’t have the right device, at least Whispersync lets you get great deals on audiobooks.)

6. Fidgety kids. If your student can’t sit still, audiobooks make it possible for them to learn while they’re literally bouncing around the room. Restless kids can knead silly putty or stack legos (or even fold the laundry) while they’re listening to the story.

7. Mom gets to listen, too. I first got interested in audiobooks for my own sake, not my kids’ sake: I love a good story as much as they do! Audiobooks let me enjoy the listening experience with my kids instead of always being the one to provide it.

Note: If you’re a newbie to audiobooks, here’s a beginner’s guide to where to find them, how to listen, and what titles to start with.

Do you use audiobooks in your homeschool? I’d love to hear your favorite tips, tricks, and titles in comments.

Written by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy.

None of our days look the same, but they all share a similar rhythm.

At 6:00 a.m., I’m usually the only one awake. (I’m thankful to finally be in a season where I’m up before my kids: it wasn’t always like that!) The first thing I do is head to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

I enjoy the quiet time and get an hour of writing in, then head out the door for a quick run.

The kids are just waking up when I get back. I hit the shower while Will gets breakfast started.

After we say goodbye to Will, we finish getting ready, and then dive in to our schoolwork.

We call our brand of home education classical unschooling. Our curriculum is classical, but we’re pretty free-wheeling in our implementation. We also leave lots of room for self-directed learning and independent projects.

We start our school days by 9:00 a.m. The kids like to tackle their toughest subjects first. Usually that means math, but it varies depending on what the kids are studying now. (When Jack was reading The Trojan War for English Lit, that always came first!)

We’re trying something new this year: my 4th grader and 6th grader are taking classes at a local cottage school. (It’s like college: they go to one group class a week and come home with a boatload of homework.) They’re taking English lit and classical studies, and that homework occupies a significant chunk of each school day.

While my oldest two work through their cottage school homework, I do reading and writing with my 7-year-old. We’re working our way through The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, which I’ve now used with three of my kids. Reading is clicking for her now, so she enjoys these lessons. I wouldn’t have said that a year ago.

My 4-year-old loves to do whatever his 7-year-old partner in crime is doing. When she’s doing math, he counts his legos. (Or, on a really good day, chocolate chips.) When she’s doing reading, he grabs a book. When she’s writing, he writes (or colors).

I spend some dedicated time with our youngest, too: he’s learning his letters and numbers; he’s starting to learn to write.

And when he loses interest, he plays legos, his favorite thing. Legos make our homeschool possible. That’s not much of an exaggeration. When my 4-year-old is happy, the house is peaceful enough for everyone to do their work. (Well, usually.)

After we finish our core activities, we move on to the more self-directed stuff. My 11-year-old and 9-year-old are learning Latin (we’re using Latina Christiana), and we’re listening to The Story of the World audiobook.

My older three kids are also studying German and typing.

Somewhere in there we break for lunch. If it’s a beautiful day, we’ll head outside for a bit before getting back to our schoolwork.

We have a daily quiet time at about 2:00. (That includes mom—I need my rest time, too!) You can do whatever you want—as long as it’s quiet and independent. (Screens have to be pre-approved and are limited to 30 minutes.) Sometimes the older kids need this time to finish schoolwork.

Other popular rest time activities are crafting, legos, writing stories, blogging (my oldest two both have blogs), and reading. I use this time to read, drink tea, and clear out my inbox.

After rest time, we head outside. On a freezing day, this might look like taking the dog on a short walk around the block. On a beautiful day, we might play in the yard or jump on the trampoline. On a rare 56-degrees-and-sunny January day like we had yesterday, we hit the nearby trails.

This winter I’ve made getting the kids outside a priority: when we don’t, they bounce off the walls all day and don’t sleep well at night.

Late afternoons look a lot like rest time: the same activities, although they usually play together now instead of independently.

A household rule is that you have to spend 30 minutes a day reading a good book—meaning a book Mom has approved as being challenging enough—before dinner. This is a look at everyone’s current “good books.” (When you’re four, Star Wars young readers books totally count.) If the kids didn’t get their reading time in earlier, they do it now.

We almost always eat dinner together as a family. (At least we do during this time of year—ball season is another story.) There’s not a long window between dinner and bedtime. The kids usually put pajamas on right after dinner, then we hang out for a bit as a family before the bedtime routine kicks into high gear.

No two days look the same around here, but the basic rhythm is constant. We may be free-wheeling, but my kids also do very well with structure. Putting together a day-to-day that works for us has been about keeping those two things in balance.

What subject do you and your kids usually tackle first each day? Does it ever change?

How the days have changed:

2014: Anne’s homeschool day in the life (with a 3-, 6-, 8- & 10-year-old)

Written by contributor Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy

Before we even began homeschooling, I had the good fortune to hear Susan Wise Bauer’s warning: “Everyone wants to quit in November and February.”

Time has proven her right: these are the months when I feel like we’re just slogging through it, far from the excitement of the semester’s beginning or the relief of its end.

And these are the months when the days are cold and the nights are long, without the sparkle of the holidays. It’s easy to get sick, busy, or just plain stir-crazy.

November and February might not be easy months, but I can survive them a little better if I take the following precautions.

1. Take good care of yourself and your kids.

During these months, I have to remember to take care of my body the best way I know how. (This is the easiest way to make these months better, and the one I’m most likely to skip. Not this year.)

We all know what it takes: eat healthy food, take your vitamins, get some exercise, prioritize sleep.

My kids don’t mind the cold — they love to bundle up and head outside to get some sunshine — but I have to make myself go along, knowing I’m happier when I do.

(If you crave daylight like I do, think about trying a therapy lamp. I waited way too long to give this a try, but I’ve had better winters since I started using one every morning.)

2. Take a break if you need to.

I need to remember that homeschooling is not an endurance contest, and the ability to take breaks as needed is a strategic tool in my toolkit. I shouldn’t be afraid to use it!

And whatever I do, I shouldn’t feel guilty about taking time off. Sometimes taking a step back is the best thing I can do, for my kids and for me.

3. Hit the road.

If we’re already taking a break, we’ll consider a road trip. There’s lots to learn in other locales — near and far — and November and February are inexpensive times to travel.

The first year we homeschooled, we went to the beach in November. We took a week off school, soaked up some sunshine, and spent hours playing outside. 

The year after that, we spent the week before Thanksgiving in Chicago. Hotels were cheap, many museums were free, and the city was already decorated for Christmas. Yes, it was cold, but it was worth it.

Of course, even “inexpensive” travel is pricey, and that isn’t in our budget this year. Don’t worry, there are other options.

4. Mix it up.

Sometimes taking a break from our regular curriculum is as valuable as a full stop.

I’m dreaming about spending a week reading kid lit classics or doing science projects. We love to spend the whole morning at the bookstore, or the pet shop. My kids want to visit the zoo and the library and the children’s museum.

These are the months to break out those art supplies we don’t often use (and study some famous painters, if we’re feeling ambitious). We might listen to some new music, read up on composers, and watch Swan Lake on DVD. We’ll bake, play at the park, hike a few trails.

What does your family like to do?  These are the months to do it — during school hours.

5. Know you’re not alone.

It was enormously encouraging for me to hear — in advance — that when I felt like quitting, it wasn’t because I was doing this homeschooling thing wrong, and it wasn’t because we’d made a terrible decision to pull our kids out of regular school.

Some months are just hard. If you know that going in, you can prepare accordingly.

How does your family get through November and February?

Originally published on November 13, 2013