Simple Homeschool Organization For Busy Parents
Working from home but also finding yourself also filling the shoes of a part time teacher? The role of being a parent these days is unfortunately, like everything else –– difficult. And when you read anything at all about ‘homeschool organization’ it almost always focuses on parents (or grandparents) who have the luxury of excess time to invest into creating a great homeschool experience for their children.
They’ve mapped out color coded folders with each child's name on it + have a swath of curriculum binders at hand. Now, if this is you, major bravo! This is an amazing learning environment + you should be extremely proud of yourself for creating it.
While likely, you’ll still find a ton of value in what we’ve put together for you below, we’ve compiled a simple (+ effective) homeschool organization list for the busy parent, the work from home parent… the “OMG where do I start, this is so overwhelming” parent. AND for the parents who are just trying to keep their head above water right now. Because there’s no shame in being that parent either.
As a football coach, John has always said that “the most important part of being a great leader is to show up for the players in your preparation, your energy + your effort.” By golly, this makes so much sense + I think it’s such a great description. E-s-p-e-c-i-a-l-l-y during these trying times.
Based on the circumstances of the world we live in today, if you’re a WFH parent tasked with the responsibility of also being a part-time (or full-time) teacher, realize that the most important thing you can do is show up for your kids –– prepared, with positive energy + put your best foot forward.
And for what it’s worth, I’m giving you a virtual hi-5 because the fact that you’re even reading this shows that you’re invested + just how committed you are! So friend, lets roll up our sleeves + dig into the meat and potatoes of it all, together. Let’s discover a couple really helpful tips for homeschool organization.
VISION (A.K.A. YOUR ROADMAP)
Despite the unique circumstances around homeschooling these days — full time or part-time homeschooling is no small feat. Yet the best way to tackle your kids education is to lay out a plan. One for you + one for them.
VISION — FOR THEM
Consider simple things like what their daily schedule will look like (psst... keep reading for this below), where in your house they will learn + what things they need for an effective learning environment. Involve your kids in this exercise + really allow them the opportunity to divulge things you might not have thought of for them.
When it comes to the success of your kids (and homeschool organization) their opinions are soooo important. Even if you can’t accommodate everything, you’ll begin to recognize where gaps exist, between what they need + what you’re capable of providing. Naturally as a parent, you’ll mine the gap + problem-solve the rest.
VISION — FOR YOU
So, yes with your new role you’re definitely deserving of a shiny red apple. You’re also going to feel the pressure of being under a time crunch. But above all else, you’re a parent, which basically means you’re a freaking superhero!! In fact, one of my absolute favorite resources for time-management is from the book, Procrastinate On Purpose by Rory Vaden. And if you haven’t already, take this as a little nudge in the right direction. While it has literally changed my life, I pinky swear promise, it’s worth a read.
Not to mention, you too will benefit a ton by learning how to compartmentalize what you t-h-i-n-k you have to do and using the focus funnel to determine what you should be doing. Right. Now.
So, let's break this down together, shall we?
At the top of the funnel is the task. You decide:
Whether you can eliminate this task all together
Whether you can automate it to be done for you
Or if you can delegate it to someone else to do
If you can’t eliminate it, automate it or delegate it then, you either do it now or you do it later. Really, it’s really as easy as that!
By creating a clear vision for yourself + your kids this whole homeschool organization thing will start to feel a lot less overwhelming. In our world, we tend to call these visions –– roadmaps –– because they can literally be used as a guiding beacon for ensuring you tackle everything you need in order to be successful.
HOMESCHOOL + WORK FROM HOME SCHEDULES
Now that you’ve created a vision of what this season of life looks like for you + your kids, realize that every WFH homeschooling experience is a bit different (and rightfully so) because your family has its own set of unique circumstances.
With everyone living on top of each other + spending a majority of their time in a confined space, take the time to consider, when is the best time, for your kids, to do their school work?
And when is the best time for you to work?
And when is the best time for you to cook meals?
What about doing the laundry? Cleaning? Other daily tasks that fall upon your shoulders?
While you haven’t necessarily always had to consider all these things before — they all got done. In most cases, they got done by physically transporting yourself to the office, your kids to school, to the grocery store or to the gym.
But now… now that you’re not driving to many of these places, there is still a need to set boundaries + expectations. In fact, there’s a ton of evidence that argues success + productivity come from creating routines to follow. So, help yourself as a teacher, a parent + a provider to create a schedule that’s in line with + works for YOUR family.
And again, take into consideration the opinions of your kids by asking them + agreeing to an expectation for when you can review a lesson plan together or discuss their school work.
But life is a two-way street + for those of you with little ones this will be a bit challenging to do (personally, Brooks is only 2, so we know your frustrations + we know from first hand experience that the struggle is real). But for those of you with kids who can truly understand this next point, it pays massive dividends.
Tell them when you’ll need quiet time to yourself, to work.
Yep, that’s it. Simply setting the expectation that mom/dad are out of pocket right now will deter you from having to deal with interruptions every five-seconds (or so that’s the intention). But it will also benefit you at work because your colleagues will know when they can expect to reach you which will help mitigate more emotional stress for you.
And if you’re really savvy, you’ll carve out a “do not disturb power hour” by blocking out time in your calendar as unavailable or by simply telling your colleagues that you’re only available during a specific time.
SCHEDULE TIME FOR YOURSELF
Being a busy parent is hard work + it can be overwhelming so don’t forget to schedule some me-time for yourself. Between teaching a math lesson (which has hardly crossed your mind over the past 20+ years and if you’re anything like me, you stunk at it then *wink*) + maintaining your own work schedule taking some time for you isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.
This can be first thing in the morning, like John, or it can be by sleeping in on the weekends, like me. Whatever you choose your ultimate guilty pleasure to be, it shall be. It should reward you for being the amazing go-getter that you are.
Here are a couple of ideas for scheduling time for yourself:
Quiet time
Reading for pleasure
A nap (my personal favorite)
Exercising
And, I can’t stress enough the importance of getting out of the house! Be intentional about going for a walk as a family but also alone. Most of us have kids who take part in extracurricular activities like sports, dance, swim or music. And their time at these daily activities allows us necessary space.
ORGANIZING IDEAS FOR HOMESCHOOLING
Remember, as each family has their own unique set of circumstances, so too does each kid. To create effective homeschool organization for your kids, don’t expect every child of yours to need or desire the same things. Here’s a couple ideas to get you headed in the right direction.
DEFINE A WORKSPACE
With all the thought you’ve already put into this, defining a workspace is going to be the first of your more “physical” challenges to overcome. For some of you, this will be easy because you have a designated space that comes to mind. While for others, you may need to get a bit crafty. However, once you settle on a place you think will work — ask them too.
In fact, when deciding on the location of your homeschool classroom, consider a few things:
SPACE FOR THEM TO WORK
Obviously, a desk works great but so could the dining room table or the kitchen counter. Consistency is what matters here. As long as they have a place they can count on, for them to do their school work, this in + of itself will go a long way in helping them get in the groove of school.
COMFORTABLE SEATING
Asking kids to sit in chairs that are designed for long-term use is going to help you in your effort towards creating a healthy homeschool environment. So, be aware of what you’re asking of your kids + allow them to take breaks without feeling guilty or mischievous for doing so.
NATURAL LIGHT
As much as possible, face your kids towards mother nature or position them near a window. There is nothing less inspiring than staring directly at a plain ol sheetrocked wall.
And when it comes to the rest of designing a homeschool room, we’ve got you covered with 9 other tremendously helpful tips.
RID THE UNNECESSARY
Start by getting rid of + removing the stuff, the things and the distractions. No, I’m not talking about their iPhone’s — although it could be a distraction. Instead, what I’m really talking about what’s in front of them that they don’t need, use or love because it’s inhibiting them from staying on track while they do their work.
This is up to you to involve them in every aspect of creating homeschool organization but certainly when it comes to identifying clutter. In doing so, they take ownership + pride because you’re affording them the opportunity to be heard + to be seen.
Have them think about where they’re working, like their desk. What they're looking at. What’s around them like the bookshelves, other tabletops or bins.
CREATE A SPACE FOR EVERYTHING THEY NEED (OR WANT)
So, you’re a busy parent + you don’t really feel like you have room for everything (keep reading as the tips below for younger children + for older kids will still apply).
Here’s some quick hitters to get your homeschool supplies organized:
Drawers — Divide them into categories for supplies — yes, this could be office supplies like pens, paper, etc but it should really be for things they actually need not what “we” think they need. Which takes us back to our vision + roadmap. See I told you there was a reason for doing that exercise :)
Maybe this is a space for their chargers or their login/passwords for school (yes, your kids now have logins — hello, 2020 *wink*)
Bookshelves — yep, we live in a digital world but books are still necessary. So, as much as you can allow room for them to have their own bookshelf. It keeps things front of mind + allows them some creativity in what they want to put on it.
Bins / Folders / Binders — we’re going to tackle the power of bins (below) but as a busy parent it’s important to consider bins, folders or binders as categories. Maybe these are school subject driven or maybe there’s one for each child.
However, you choose to organize their school supplies, make it work for them.
FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN — CREATE EDUCATIONAL BINS
Creating a bin system for toys is an absolute blast for kids but from an organizational standpoint it has shown lasting effectiveness over the last decade designing + organizing children's spaces because they enjoy maintaining it. Like us, kids thrive when they know where things are that they want.
So, consider creating educational bins that help categorize science, math, language arts, history etc. When it’s time to work on that subject — they’ll know to pull that bin out + everything they need from notepads, pens/pencils to their text book or subject binder are all right there.
We often refer to this as priming your environment — putting things where you need them when you’re ready to do that task is a highly effective way of ensuring success.
FOR OLDER KIDS — INCORPORATE TECHNOLOGY
Now, older kids like a child in junior high-school may absolutely love educational bins as well however, most teenagers long for independence. And you’re busy, so the last thing you need on your plate is monitoring their workload down to the minute.
You’ve planned, you’ve helped identify schedules, you’ve created a roadmap. Now give them the freedom to do their work but use technology so you can do unobtrusive temperature checks on where they’re at with school.
Here, we’ve put together a list of softwares that we love using, many of which John has specifically used as a high school football coach with athletes — so they’re Elegant Simplicity tested + approved.
Consider making your schedule digital — (school, work, breaks, exercise, etc.)
Google/Apple Calendar or one of the absolute basics
Cozi (especially great for coordinating family schedules)
Any.do
Task Management — this is especially great for chores + things you know need to be done but it can also work for keeping track of your kids school work. If it’s checked off, then you know they’ve completed it. And in many cases, you can set particular notifications to review a big assignment with them before turning it in.
Monday
Asana
Todoist (free)
Cloud Based Bins/Folders — remember educational bins? Yep, digitally create the same bins for your older kids based upon their class schedule. If they’re completing assignments like research they can upload the things they need there.
Google Drive
One Drive
Dropbox
You can really deep dive into the value of incorporating technology into homeschooling in this blog post.
MAINTAIN IT BY PUTTING THINGS BACK WHERE THEY GO
I’m sure this sounds absolutely basic but is essential to actually do. When you’re kids are done for the day the final task for them to do is put it all back where it goes. This stops things from becoming a mess but it also “primes that environment” for the next time they get started.
Wholly-cow! That was a lot. And it was heavy. But through it all, notice I didn’t say search instagram or pinterest for homeschool organization ideas. That’s because creating what works for your family is really about deciding what matters most to you + your family. It’s about deciding, then remaining flexible to change what works best for you + your kids. The solutions we choose and the ones that are effective for our family, give us comfort + control.
And they make for each other, a home that is the best place to live + learn.
If you need a tiny nudge in the right direction or just some support in bringing your dream home to life, both John + I would be over-the-moon delighted to help you!
For real, friend! Guiding you + helping you fall head over heels for your home is our passion + our purpose. So, go on, book a one-on-one pow-wow with us here + get ready for some magic!
Which homeschool organization tip was your favorite? Drop it in the comments section, below.