Motivation, productivity, consistency. Homeschooling offers incomparable flexibility, However, there’s not always the external forces present to keep a routine. And sometimes life just gets in the way. Key elements in a homeschool life, but oh so elusive. As a highschooler, I struggled on this when. It’s not that I’m not organized or motivated. the motivation to achieve a 3.9 GPA in a rigorous liberal arts nursing program, I couldn’t always find a way to maintain my routine to its full potential. Subjects I liked got done, but the harder or nonessential ones often fell by the wayside. I felt there was so much wasted time.
I had a few glorious exceptions to this rule. My geometry program, which I studied daily until the book was finished was one. I dedicated a certain part of my day to getting it done, linking it with breakfast and coffee, and before I did any reading.
I look at what the circumstances around things getting done in the past. Then I try to recreate those and see if
There was a program I really wanted to try out with my. It was also summer, and I knew this reduced the chances that a routine could be set up and kept. So I decided to try out one, manageable trick to help maintain the routine.
I noticed things that happen in a designated place got done. in a large family house, even the dedicated school room had many distractions and activities going on. I decided I needed a designated spot outside the house. Our local library had a study group room that worked perfectly.
I also wanted to link a positive reward. After our schoolwork everyone picked a book and we went outside and read on a bench behind the library. The summer sun and soft wind created a picture perfect scene.
“Sandwich” Method
This special routine was linked only to our writing and reading comprehension work time. Soon the boys looked forward to the weekly session. The high-schoolers weren’t super happy about the work day arrangement, but they did get 3 times more work done contained in the library than at home. Like a sandwich, squished or linked together between two separate activities. Going to the library, designated schoolwork, wind down routine reading books (still an educational and productive activity).
A Spoonful of Sugar
I have noticed that children love, love, love routines. They love predictability. The summer library schooldays were extremely successful. My brother who doesn’t like reading even began to read books on his own after being introduced to it in this way. I believe this is because the routine was linked to our routine of leaving the house to a designated space for a designated purpose.