9 Ways to Start Your Homeschool Day on the Right Foot
How we begin our homeschool day can make a big difference in our overall attitude. Here are some ways that have helped get our homeschool day off to a good start. We all want to start the day on a positive note, right?
We all start out with the best of intentions in our homeschool but sometimes as soon as we sit down the bad attitudes begin. Someone doesn’t want to do math, or sit, or do school at all, then the complaining starts. This sets the tone for the rest of the day, and sometimes it’s just not pretty.
I needed to find a way to combat that and what made the most sense was to start every school day off on a positive note — which in turn helps us have better attitudes about things like handwriting. I sat and brainstormed some openers for our day that work and I wanted to share them with you. These are routines you can try and switch out as often as you need to, not a strict schedule that you must follow.
9 Ways to Start Your Homeschool Day the Right Way
Pray —
Pray for your day, not just that your children learn something and behave. Pray that your day will be fun — God wants us to delight in our children the way He delights in us — so it’s perfectly okay to pray for a fun and happy day! Pray on your own before the kids wake up and again as a family when starting your homeschool day. Read more: 5 Practical Tips to Find Daily Time with God
A Good Breakfast––
This doesn’t have to mean a full plate of bacon, eggs, toast, grits, and pancakes (I find a big breakfast on school days leaves us too sluggish). Fresh fruit, oatmeal or even just toast will help keep tummies from growling and minds from wandering.
Get Organized —Have all your curriculum and activities ready in the morning when you start. This prevents kids from wandering off or getting distracted. Read more: 7 Simple Ways to Become an Organized Homeschool Mom
Dancing —Some mornings we like to turn on the upbeat worship tunes or fun dance music and shake the morning grumpies out. It gets the blood flowing, and releases endorphins that make you happy. Read more: 11 Brain Breaks For Your Homeschool
Start with a game––
Who wouldn’t rather begin their homeschool day with a game of Uno over learning fractions? Start off with a game that can be played quickly to ease the kids into sitting down and listening. Some other quick and fun options are go fish, and a round of Sorry or Trouble. A promise of a second round when the work is done can be a great motivator too. Read more: Fun Games For Kids {and the Whole Family}
Outdoors––Morning time is a great time to get in a nature walk or just a brisk walk around the block to get the blood pumping. Let your children start the day by swinging on the backyard swing to get the wiggles out before sitting down to start homeschool. Read more: 11 Ways to Connect Your Child to Nature
Affection––Starting your day with hugs, kisses, cuddles, and encouragement for the day is a surefire way to start it on the right foot. If your kids are too big for your lap you can still pile up on the couch close by and begin your day with a learning video or a read aloud to ease into it gently. Read more: Relationships are the Heart of our Homeschool
Start with Morning Together Time—Some call it Morning Time, others might call it Circle Time. This can be Bible time or family read aloud time. Some families prefer to do these in the afternoons or evenings, but I’ve found that when we start the day with all three girls working together on a project or with a fun story we all enjoy, it sets a tone for cooperation for the whole day. When their emotional cups are filled with a positive start to the day together, it makes a huge difference! Read more: How to Use a Morning Basket to Simplify Your Homeschool
Haven’t tried a special morning time yet? You’ll want to read more ideas on how to make it work in these posts:
How to Make Morning Time Memorable
100+ Things to Put in a Morning Basket
What are your tips for starting your homeschool day off right?
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These are great tips. As a homeschool mom, we definitely have our bad mornings that definitely set a tone for the rest of the day and it is so difficult to get back on track with a good attitude. Prayer for me is a big one, and when you include your children during that prayer time, I have found that they have better attitudes from the get-go. Thanks again and check out my blog. homeschool4love.wordpress.com
Thank you! Glad you stopped by. I’ll be headed over to your blog. 🙂
Great ideas! This sounds like a great way to start any day, not just homeschool ones. I usually don’t get us outside in the morning but that might be just what we need to get a jump start on our more complex projects. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad this helped give you something new to try. 🙂
Visiting from #HSBAT. Love these ideas!
I like all these tips! Especially since my kids are still at home and haven’t actually started school yet, they’re still learning at home with the printables I make for grandma.
Thanks! Glad you liked these tips. Thanks for stopping by!
Needed this this week! Great tips! I plan to try the game and the dancing right away!☺
Great, I hope it helps! It really makes a difference in attitudes around here most of the time. 😉 Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for this great blog! I’m starting homeschooling in the fall and need all the help God provides for me.
Sarah
I’m so glad it was helpful! Congratulations on your decision to start homeschooling! I know it can seem overwhelming at first, but with prayer you can do it. God bless your homeschooling adventure! 🙂
I loved these tips! I would say the same thing in a blog post if I wrote it.
Thanks for stopping by! Glad it resonated with you. 🙂
Hi. You confirmed so many things for me. Thanks! All the way from South Africa
That’s great! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know.
Thanks