Let’s face it, the thought of homeschooling may be overwhelming for some parents, add in a second child, a third child, a fourth, and then perhaps it feels beyond doable. While anything with more children takes more effort on our part as parents, the rewards are also doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on.
If you’re unsure if the University-Model® is right for your family because you have multiple children, here are some Teach Me Tuesday tips from HOPE Academy mom Christina W., one of the many parents who have chosen UMS for their 2+ children.
Christina is mom to 3 HOPE Academy students, a Fourth-grader, a Second-grader, and a Kindergartner.
Here are some of her tips for homeschooling multiple grade levels.
– Create a good routine. Most children work well with a set schedule so they know what to expect.
– Have a central homeschool space that works for everyone and split up when independent or quiet study is needed. (This way it’s easier to keep an eye on everyone.)
– Start with your oldest, most independent child, moving on to the child that needs less hands-on of the remaining children and so on to the child that needs the most help.
– Organize space for your child’s homeschool work, making sure each child has their own bins allows things to get turned in at the right time and everyone to know where their work is.
– Double up on easier assignments that can be done anytime during the week if you know you have an appointment or something “comes up”.
– During project time consider taking notes alongside your children in case something they wrote was not legible and you’ll be able to help them better during the rest of the project process
– Make sure to communicate on a regular basis with your children’s’ teachers
– Connect with other parents who are in the University-Model® to get support, share ideas, and be able to pray for one another.
Christina homestudy day looks something like this:
She starts by getting her oldest, fourth grader started. At this level some students are able to work independently for the most part (of course each child is different.) Before you let them begin make sure they understands all the assignments and feel free to ask you questions as needed.
Next, she moves on to her middle child, her second grader. She reads over her homestudy checklist and highlight things he can work on independently. She usually starts a subject that needs more hand-on work like math with him and then lets him finish up the work he can do on his own.
Lastly, she focuses her energies on her kindergartener. She doesn’t call him into the room until she knows her older two are set and on their way to independently working. While working with her youngest her oldest are able to come to her with questions or ask for help, giving her and her youngest a break (since Kindergartners usually need more breaks than the older kiddos.)
With lots of organizing and patience and even some flexibility, teaching your children through the University-Model® School model is doable with multiple children and on multiple grade levels.
Share your experiences and tips for teaching multiple children.
I only have two kiddos, but there has been a difference between homeschooling one last year and two this year. I really had to figure out which subjects I could with each do to be able to give both the time and help they needed. At first I tried letting my oldest do the more independent easier work so I could work more hands-on with my youngest and found that by the end of the day my oldest was too burned out for the harder work. We really have been playing our day by ear, though I always make it a point to start with the harder subjects and more hands-on subjects with my oldest and have found that’s very helpful for us.
We also make it a point to take several breaks, one of the GREAT things about homeschool is being able to pop outside if it’s a nice day, get some fresh air, and then come back to refocus, also making sure my girls have snack breaks is essential. Can’t wait to hear even more tips!!
Great read!!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog.