Seven Questions for a Better Homeschool

When your homeschool starts to feel frustrating, stop and ask yourself these questions

Before you throw the baby out with the bath water, ask yourself: What is working? Shutterstock

So your homeschool year hasn’t gone the way you had hoped. Rather than the Mary Poppins-derived days of magic and whimsy you pictured, your kids are cranky, you’re frustrated, and you’re asking yourself: Am I actually cut out for this?

They say that if you want better answers, you’ve got to ask better questions.

Rather than asking questions like that—those that are negative, disempowering, and deflating—consider asking yourself the following questions whenever your homeschool needs a boost.

What Is Working?

When you’re disappointed with your homeschool, it may seem tempting to scrap everything and start over. Likely, though, it’s not all bad. Before you throw the baby out with the bath water, ask yourself: What is working?

What are you currently doing that’s enjoyable, effective, or otherwise going well? Identify the big things and the small things that are a-okay, pat yourself on the back, and consider further amplifying those things for starters.

Compared to What?

The internet can be an amazing source of inspiration, but if you’re comparing your challenging days to the highlight reels you’re being fed on Instagram and the like, you’re losing perspective.

Who are you comparing yourself and your family to? What are you comparing your homeschooling to?

Remind yourself that the best person to compare yourself to is who you were yesterday. Just aim for progress. And when it comes to progress, aim for goals that suit your life, not the pretend ones you’ve seen on the internet.

What Would You Love to Look Back On?

Picture yourself beyond the end of the school year, sitting outside on a warm summer day, and thinking back upon the homeschool year you just wrapped. What would you most like to be able to say about it? What memories, moments, or accomplishments would you love to reflect on? How would you like to feel about the year gone by?

What Do They Love?

The joys and curiosities of our children provide wonderful pathways to learning. What interests and activities captivate your children? What do they love to explore and do more than anything else? How can you incorporate more of these things into your homeschool?

How Could This Be More Fun?

Along those lines, ask yourself the simple question—How can this be more fun? When kids are having fun, when they are engaged, and when there is joy and lightness, learning will happen. How can this be more fun for you and them?

How Can This Be Simpler?

In an effort to cover everything, homeschooling parents can sometimes make this whole learning adventure much more complicated than it needs to be. Over and over again, ask yourself: How can this be simpler? How can this be easier?

If you make this easier on you and your family, might your outlook on how it’s going improve?

What’s One Thing?

Finally, ask yourself this: What’s one thing that, if I could feel like I was knocking it out of the park, would make me feel like our homeschool was a success?

Hint: It’s probably not finishing the curriculum, doing what they’re doing in school, or checking lots of boxes.

Why are you homeschooling in the first place? What do you want to give your kids and your family as a whole? What one thing would you love to do extraordinarily well this year in your homeschool?