5 Homeschool Bad Habits to Break

Halfway through the school year, you might want to take a look back and evaluate how things went. Maybe things went great, Way to Go Momma! But maybe they didn’t. Maybe you need to make some changes, I know we do. Homeschool bad habits are often where our homeschool dreams go wrong.

5 Homeschool Bad Habits to Break

This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.

Let’s look at what didn’t work. Maybe you didn’t do structured lessons as much as you would have liked. Or maybe you didn’t do as many hands on science experiments as you would have liked. It’s okay. I think of January as a fresh start for our school each year.

It is time to change what isn’t working.

Homeschool Bad Habits to Break

No Set Homeschool Time

When do lessons start in your homeschool day? Does it change daily? Is it something you are putting off longer and longer.

Picking a time to start each day can be a game changer for consistency. Here, right after breakfast and the morning routine, my kids each jump into math. Getting it out of the way. One thing we’re going to try as winter break ends is tea time language arts after a morning break (outside chores).

No Homeschool Plan

We need a plan! Okay maybe you really don’t need to know every little thing you are doing, but it will really help your days run more smoothly if you have a general idea of what you want to get done each day.

Maybe Tuesday is science day. Thursday is history day. Something like this can take the pressure off of feeling like you need to do everything everyday.

Rushing

Do you feel like you are falling behind? Even though there really is no “behind”? A homeschool bad habit is to rush through lessons. One thing I would look at instead of trying to rush your kids through weeks of lessons is to look at what you can drop.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Look at your Schedule

If you are feeling burned out, maybe you are doing way too much. Too many subjects at one time, or in one day. Maybe you have to cut back on outside activities. Your kids don’t need to be signed up for every extra curricular activity.

Not Having Fun

One thing I learned in past years was that homeschooling doesn’t have to be this strict, sit down and get it done kind of thing. Yes, we have had bad years, bad days in good years, but it’s finding a balance. The best balance has been making sure were having fun here and there each week.

Have fun by including hands-on learning. Have fun by getting out of the house even if it’s just for a walk or heading to the playground.

Screen-Time Balance

This is a hard one. We have lessons online. Does that count as screen time? It doesn’t for me.

Screen time before lessons get finished throws a wrench in our whole day, and nothing else is going to get done, so I drew a hard line there. Screen time is after school lessons are finished. But you need to find where the balance is for you.

5 Homeschool Bad Habits to Break

Beating the Homeschooler’s February Funk

Homeschooling Stress: Avoiding Burnout

Valentine’s Day Heart Craft -Flap Book