Homeschooling Tips for Staying Organized and Focused
A benefit of homeschooling is the increased control you have over the learning environment. However, it can be difficult for your homeschooler to stay on task when the phone is ringing, the dog is barking, and other kids are playing outside.
We’ve provided some tips to make your homeschooling environment as calm and comfortable as possible. These can be especially helpful if you have a neurodivergent student or if you’re homeschooling multiple children at a time. Sometimes, a slight adjustment can mean a world of difference when it’s time to learn!
1. Make sure your basic needs are met.
It’s hard to focus when you’re thirsty or need the restroom, but it’s easy to forget about when you’re in the middle of a lesson! Things like getting enough sleep, taking regular breaks, and keeping a water bottle nearby can help keep your student comfortable throughout the day.
2. Include your child in decisions.
Making your child a part of decision-making can make them feel heard. With homeschooling, letting your child help with selecting their courses and schedule can keep them motivated by feeling more in control of their day.
This could look like choosing which electives to take, whether to take biology or earth science, and which subject to start on. If possible, they could also choose when to begin schoolwork or where to work for the day. Simply having a say in the decisions that affect them can grow their feelings of responsibility self confidence.
3. Take lots of breaks!
Breaks are important! Who wouldn’t get tired after hours of nonstop studying?
It may be difficult to determine when to take breaks. The goal is to take them before your child starts feeling tired. A good tool for scheduling breaks is the Pomodoro Technique. This technique breaks up time into chunks, with 25 minutes of work followed by a five-minute break.
If 25 minutes is a struggle, try shorter periods of time, followed by a quick stretch break. This can be especially helpful when homeschooling students with ADHD. Incorporating movement is not only healthy, but it also allows the body to release some energy and relax. Having regular breaks also helps your child focus by giving them something to look forward to.
4. Keep things interesting.
If you and your student need something fresh, mix up your routine! Try taking your schoolwork outside, playing a game, or use different technology or hands-on activities. Adding a new activity can keep things interesting for everyone and help break up long, monotonous days.
Need something a little more permanent? Try changing your study area. If your child always studies in the kitchen, maybe taking things to the couch, spare bedroom, or even the patio could be refreshing. You could also try mixing up the schedule — there’s no rule that school has to start at 8:00 AM!
5. Change roles
Letting your child play the role of teacher can be fun for them to show what they know! By “teaching” you, they are explaining what they’ve learned and how they understand it. They also get to take a break from their books or computer.
If you have multiple students, try having them teach each other. Teaching what they’ve learned can help solidify what they know as they explain in their own words. For older students who may not want to role-play, asking them to explain why their answer is correct or incorrect can help them self-assess what they do and don’t understand.
6. Get moving
Incorporating exercise into your homeschool schedule can keep students more relaxed during study time. It’s also good for them! Similar to public schools having recess daily, try going to the playground or taking a daily walk.
You can also have them moving while learning, for example, bouncing on a yoga ball while they read or practicing multiplication tables by letting them shoot a basket for every correct answer.
7. Keep things relevant
Your student may become unengaged if they find their work repetitive or irrelevant. If they’re already bored three days into your month of planned Shakespeare content, it may be time to reevaluate.
Try lightening the workload. Instead of writing 10 poems, do five. Instead of annotating Hamlet entirely, listen to the audiobook and watch The Lion King afterwards. Shorten units that aren’t motivating to cover just the main ideas, and only do the most important assignments.
You can also connect the content to your student’s life. They might think Shakespeare is 400 years outdated, but they probably still use figures of speech coined by this famous playwright. They may even be able to pick up on how his works influenced some of their favorite modern TV shows and movies!
8. Everything in its place
It’s easy to get off task when you’re disorganized. The paper is here, the pens are there… but where are the scissors?! Having a good organizational system can prevent having to hunt for supplies later.
Some helpful tips for organizing supplies can be:
- Keeping things in one place, such as a designated cabinet or closet
- Using separate drawers, baskets, and folders for like items
- Color coding materials for different subjects
- Keeping digital copies or records when you can
Especially for homeschool portfolios, digital copies can be a great way to keep important files safe and reduce the amount of clutter in your classroom.
9. Control the environment
Keeping a controlled study environment can make a huge difference in both organization and focus. A dedicated, quiet study area can put your student into study mode. Some other tips for your learning environment could be:
- Playing soft music
- Using a cardboard “cubicle” or facing a wall to prevent visual distractions
- Lighting a specific candle or using an essential oil diffuser
- Wearing noise-canceling headphones
- Keeping your designated study area clutter-free
For students who use a computer for their work, using productivity apps and extensions can help control the digital environment: for example, extensions that prevent opening new tabs or apps that disable social media for a set time. For students with phones, silencing them and putting it out of sight can also eliminate distractions.
9. Use study tools
Giving your student a little extra support with some fun supplies can also be a motivator. Try keeping fun, functional items at their desk, such as:
- Reading strips
- Fun pens or pencils
- Fidget toys
- Visual timers for study chunks/breaks
- Posters, maps, or charts
Another “tool” could be a reward system. If you work from home, you can try body doubling, where you work next to them quietly. Sometimes setting an example for what you want your student to do can be a good reminder to stay on task (for both of you!).
10. Let them work at their own pace
A large benefit of homeschooling is the freedom for your child to work at their own pace. But how do you ensure that they are making progress?
Strategically planning your week with time chunking can be a good solution. With time chunking, you can schedule your day by tasks or subjects assigned to a specific period of time. For example, studying math between 11:00-12:00, followed by independent reading from 12:30-1:00.
This allows your student to focus on one item at a time and promotes learning mindfully rather than quickly. Whatever is not completed can be worked on the next day.
Another tip is to avoid comparing siblings to each other and yourself to other homeschool parents. Everyone’s pace and learning (and teaching) styles are different. Some may pick up certain topics quicker than others, and that’s okay! What’s important is that they are learning in the best way for them.
11. Change your homeschool style
Finally, you could try a complete overhaul of your homeschool style. Maybe you need more structure, more flexibility, or more freedom for your student to explore whatever catches their eye that day. Whatever the case may be, there are plenty of options to choose from! You can find a full list of homeschool styles on our website. For more homeschooling tips for parents, check out our other homeschool advice resources!
Keep it interesting with Miacademy
At Miacademy, our accredited online curriculum offers plenty of ways to keep things interesting at home! We offer all core subjects with electives for grades K-8 on Miacademy and grades 9-12 on MiaPrep. With our online homeschool, you can:
1. Let your child choose their own courses and electives.
Our online curriculum gives you access to ALL of our courses across grade levels and subjects. In addition to our core subjects, we also offer many different electives for all grade levels, such as Programming, Foreign Language, Art & Music, and more! Our curriculum is flexible enough to meet your students on-level or give them a challenge when they need it.
2. Let them work at their own pace with a flexible schedule.
All of our programs are entirely self-paced. Your student can take as much time as they need and take plenty of breaks. You can assign a course over however many weeks you wish and work on subjects in any order. If you miss a day, we’ve got you covered! Our calendar automatically bumps back completion dates for your course, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
3. Mix it up with different learning materials, games, and activities.
We offer several different learning materials, such as PDF activities ranging from guided notes to science experiments, video lessons, online quizzes, assessments, and practice games. In addition, we release new content monthly, so there’s always something new for your child to discover!
4. Reward your student with in-world currency and social break time!
Reward your student for getting good grades or being helpful around the house with Gold to spend on our site’s optional games, social features, and design studio! With your permission, your student can buy and sell designs in their online shop, challenge other students to the Dragon Race, join student groups, write for the weekly newspaper, upload fun videos, and more!
Our virtual community is 100% secure and actively moderated, so students can make friends their age in a safe environment. All settings to this optional feature can be changed on the Parent Page.
At Miacademy, we believe that all students deserve access to a quality education. If Miacademy or MiaPrep sounds right for you and your family, our friendly customer service team is available to answer any questions you may have. We hope to see you soon!
Published 10/19/2023.