Some of us love to plan but are a little more hit and miss when it comes to actually implementing the plan. This causes problems in every aspect of life, but homeschool procrastination can create huge academic gaps that are hard to overcome.
Think about it this way. If math and history are your favorite subjects to teach, it can be easy to let science and English slide, leaving them on the back burner “just for a day or two.” A day or two here and there, though, can turn into a habit of procrastination.
Avoiding Homeschool Procrastination
There are several causes of homeschool procrastination. We’ve already mentioned favoring certain subjects over others. But we might also struggle with the curriculum. This can encourage us to develop ideas for creating a fit that’s much better for our students, which is a fantastic goal! But if we never get around to making those adjustments or creating the curriculum, we end up just letting our students get more and more behind.
There’s no shame in disliking certain subjects or in struggling to keep up with planning or curriculum. We all struggle with these issues at one point or another! But a habit of procrastination in any area of homeschooling can result in getting so far behind that it’s almost impossible to catch up. That’s when our habit becomes a problematic gap for our students.
Instead of putting off what you don’t enjoy, why not try re-prioritizing? Here are a few suggestions to help you eliminate homeschool procrastination.
Eliminate Homeschool Procrastination by Outsourcing
If you find that you’re continually frustrated by a subject, you’ll be tempted to skimp on assignments, skip days, accomplish the minimal requirements, or drop the subject altogether. It might be time to recruit some help!
There are so many options available, ranging from online classes to local co-ops and academies. Homeschooling is about you being in control of how your child is educated, and there is no shame in incorporating assistance in that area!
I can’t say which of these options would be the best fit for you or your student, so you might need to do some exploration and research on your own. Talk to friends or ask a homeschool veteran out for coffee so you can brainstorm ideas.
When you’re looking for options, though, use this as a rule of thumb: if your child is under fourth grade, face-to-face learning is better than online, so try to find a class or another parent to swap subjects with. For older children, online classes work well.
Eliminate Homeschool Procrastination by Changing Curriculum
Perhaps your homeschool procrastination problem is not the subject. Maybe you typically love teaching history, but you’re just not clicking with the material or curriculum you’ve chosen. Make some changes!
One option is to find new curriculum. It doesn’t have to be an entire new boxed curriculum. Maybe you just need to find an instructor’s guide that walks you through how to use living books from the library. Or maybe you decide to pick up some unit studies to help you push through while you explore other options.
Even if you can’t completely change your curriculum, though, sometimes you just need to take a step back and reconsider the approach. Sometimes one of our biggest reasons for homeschool procrastination is that we forget that the curriculum is not our “boss.” It is a tool that can be adjusted, changed, or restructured as needed. Use it as you need it, and don’t ever let it dictate how you must teach.
Eliminate Homeschool Procrastination by Buying a Teacher’s Guide
Let’s face it, we homeschoolers like to save money. One of the easiest ways to do that is by creating our own lesson plans.
If that’s your approach and it’s working for you, great! But, if you find yourself regularly falling into the trap of homeschool procrastination because you just can’t settle on a good plan, it might be time to break down and get some help.
Buy a teacher’s guide or lesson plans and let them simplify your day. Homeschooling is always costly. It costs money, time, and brainpower, in varying ratios. If your ratio isn’t working for you, rebalance it with a resource like a teacher’s guide. A little balance can make a huge difference when it comes to avoiding homeschool procrastination.
Understanding our personalities can go a long way toward helping us figure out the best ways to successfully homeschool. Take our Planner Personality Quiz to learn more about how your personality meshes with homeschool success!
