Finding the best homeschool approach for your family depends on both you and your kids. Kids learn differently, and there are circumstances at home you need to consider, such as your other responsibilities and other children.
Researching homeschool styles will help you determine how to move forward. You could stick to a strict curriculum or embrace unschooling or find something in between. As a homeschooling mom, I’ve pivoted between these and often use a combination, which is more like relaxed homeschooling, which works best for me and my kids.
How to Find the Right Style?
When searching for the right homeschooling style for your family, you must consider your circumstances. These include the ages of your kid(s), whether you work from home, and how your kids best learn. I work from home, so carving out time for that is important. I also have two kids who want to play together. The younger one isn’t officially in school yet but wants to play with his big sister, so I structure the day with times for them to do that in between other things. If they’re getting along well, I tend to give extra time.
The biggest thing to finding the right style is experimenting. You need to be flexible and try different things because you don’t really know what will work best until you do.
How is Relaxed Homeschooling Different From Unschooling?
The child leads unschooling, but relaxed homeschooling still keeps the parent in control of the education. They will still decide which subjects are non-negotiable and not leave it up to the child to determine which are essential.
This way, you can still prioritize certain things your kids need to learn. For me, it’s stuff like reading, writing, and math. Otherwise, I lean into what my kids are most interested in. If they bring up a question, we’ll learn more about it. Relaxed homeschooling takes into consideration the interests and opinions of the kids, but the parent still leads the education by focusing on the subjects they decide are essential.
Tips for Success
Be flexible
The biggest thing with homeschooling is being flexible. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they don’t. It’s up to you to evaluate which ones work best for you. Relaxed homeschooling is a good hybrid of a fixed curriculum and unschooling. You take into account your kids’ interests and what they think is essential, but you also have the final say. It may take some time to figure out the best balance.
Use a variety of methods.
Another fun thing you can incorporate into relaxed homeschooling is using various learning methods. For us, I mix curriculum programs with ABC Mouse and YouTube kid science videos. Your child’s education doesn’t need to involve sitting still for hours. I make sure mine get up and move around between things because they have too much energy to sit at the table that long like I did as a kid in public school.
Take questions your kids have
Kids are full of questions. Whenever mine ask me something, I like to dive further into the topic by looking it up or finding videos that will explain better than I can. Using their curiosity as a learning tool has been very helpful.
Collaborate in goal setting.
Instead of focusing on one measurement method, you can see it in other ways. You know when your kids are learning something new. You can also use relaxed homeschooling to teach skills in other areas, such as finance, nutrition, and other areas you don’t see in traditional schools as often.
Remember other stuff
Play is big for kids to learn, and mine are still small, so they work out problems and conflict resolution while also making up stories. That’s still all learning. Playing games and reading are great ways to engage them without needing to be super strict.
Give yourself a break.
Even though I write about it, I struggle with homeschooling sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I’m a terrible teacher or that my kids aren’t learning enough. By practicing relaxed homeschooling, I’m trying to give myself a bit of a break and remember I’m a mom first.
The best thing about relaxed homeschooling is its adaptability. You can work within schedules and what works best for you and your kids. Try different things because, really, sitting at a desk for hours on end was kind of awful.
