In public schools, next week is either completely off or running on half days for Mon-Wed, then there is the long weekend. But what about if you homeschool?

The truth is that whatever works for your family is fine. However, you need to apply some common sense here, as well. For example, if your kids are just too hyper to work on math during the week before Christmas, you probably won’t get much done anyway, so why not take that time to work on holiday crafts and prepare for Christmas, instead?

Some families (mine did!) work right up to Christmas Eve, and then also the week between Christmas and New Year’s in order to get a jump start on the new year. It can mean that you get to finish sooner than school kids, which is always fun, or you can use this time to catch up. Just be sure not to totally ruin the holidays by asking your kids to work right up to Thanksgiving dinner!

Obviously, not everyone celebrates all holidays, but chances are you have some in there, so start thinking now about how much time you want to take off and how it will affect your classes in the new year.

1. Teach them. They can’t practice good study habits if they don’t know what they are! You’ll find plenty of information on this online, but there are also workbooks that you can go through with your kids.

2. Provide the materials. Give your kids highlighters, notepads and a well-lit area to sit and go over their texts.

3. Practice, practice, practice. This is very important. You can practice by having your kids watch a documentary and take notes, then quiz them afterwards. Notetaking is a very important part of studying and your kids should know how to do this whether they are unschooled or strictly textbook learning.

What are your tricks for making sure your kids know how to study?

I think we can all agree that just because a child doesn’t want to do something doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have to do it. However, when your little one is feeling lousy about studying and really, really doesn’t want to do school, do you think about letting them just have one day off?

When kids feel that things have gotten too stressful for them (and yes, this can occur even in homeschooling), they will often complain of being ill, having a headache or a stomachache. Sometimes the ailment is real, brought on by anxiety, other times it is made up just to get them a break.

While I am not yet at the point where this is an issue for me, I recall days as a child when I just didn’t want to get up and would pretend to be ill. My mother’s solution? She happily let me lie on the couch, feigning illness, but when my sisters were finished working and headed out to ride bikes in the sunshine or play in the fresh snow, and I wanted to get up and play, too, she had me do my schoolwork first . . . you have never seen a child work so fast!

What do you do when your child wants a mental health day?

“I wouldn`t be able to stimulate my child enough.”

In my opinion, kids stimulate themselves plenty if you give them the right tools. And by the right tools, I`m not talking about fancy toys and video games. Kids learn best from things that make them really think. Blocks, Legos, and gardening tools are ideal for children and they will happily set about discovering things all on their own.

“I don`t have the patience to sit down and work through a schoolbook.”

Well, maybe your child doesn`t either. If you aren`t patient enough to sit down and explain numbers and work through readers, then don`t. There is no one way to teach your children and chances are you can find some better ways to learn that appeal to both of you. Take a look at unschooling, unit studies or figure out how to turn arts and crafts into learning time.

“I didn`t go to/finish college!”

You don`t have to be a professional teacher in order to share the gift of learning with your children. When they are young, you`ll easily be able to cover the material necessary and as they get older and start asking things you don`t know or understand, use it as a learning activity. Say, “I don`t know the answer to that, but why don`t we look it up together?” Teach your children to LEARN rather than to MEMORIZE and you`re giving them a skill that will last forever.

“My kids need socialization.”

Sure, they do. But is a school the best place for it? Consider that you`re going to be sending your kids into a place where you don`t have a clue who they`ll be in contact with on a daily basis. Some might argue that this is a real life situation . . . I prefer to know who my kids are going to be influenced by, at least while they are still fairly young. Give them a good base to build on and they`ll choose the right friends later on.

What reasons have you heard for not homeschooling?

One of the best reasons, parent-wise, to school your children at home is the fact that you are going to be able to forge bonds that last a lifetime.

We are all too familiar with the concept of teens . . . angry, self-loathing adolescents who rebel in any way they can. We hear about their antics constantly from parents of teenagers, see it on television (if you watch it) and read about it in the news. Yet, many homeschooling families find that they traverse the waters of adolescence without all that extreme behavior. While it`s still completely normal to have some issues while your teen makes that transition from child to adult, the majority of homeschool families find that they are able to still maintain that bond with their teens, at least to some degree.

Why Homeschool Parent-Child Bonds Are Stronger

When you send your child off to school for 7-8 hours a day at a tender age, it`s not surprising that they find other people to confide in and learn from. Within a few short years, they are far more likely to turn to a teacher or, more frequently, a peer, for counsel and information rather than a parent. It`s very easy to lose touch with what your children are up to when they are attending school outside the home and you also run the risk of losing that special bond that parents and children have.

When you are with your children all day, you will find that they trust you more and are far more willing to talk to you about things they are facing in their life. It`s good for both you! After all, do you want your fifteen year old getting advice and tips from another fifteen year old? Wouldn`t it be better to be able to get that same advice from someone older who has already lived through it? It just makes sense, doesn`t it?

Being in contact with your children for the majority of the day can be a challenge. No one ever said homeschooling was easy! But the benefits are huge and being able to sit down and talk with your teen and have them open up to you is just one of the biggest ones.