The “Something Is Better Than Nothing” Homeschool Plan

When you close up school for the day or as you lie in bed at night, what helps you feel like you’ve had a good school day?

When it’s a busy week, what schoolwork do you prioritize?
When you’re in a difficult season & only have so much bandwidth, how do you spend it?
When you translate your reasons for homeschooling into practical ideas, what would that include?

Many (many!) years ago, I sat down and made a list of the things I wanted us to accomplish no matter what. It needed to reflect our reasons for homeschooling. And it needed to be practical and doable, even if we only had an hour.

Our list hasn’t needed tweaking, even though I made it when my oldest was just in middle school. I didn’t mean for that to happen; it’s just that the list reflected our homeschool values far more than I realized!

1. Read something.

The first item is simple: read something.

Any book, even if it was below their reading level. A magazine. A read-aloud. Audiobook. Heck, I’d even count our history or science if I needed to.

Because it wasn’t about reading the right thing or for a specific amount of time. It was about keeping the habit of picking up a book.

Flipping through a magazine at urgent care while you’re in the back with one kiddo or turning on an audiobook in the car just so they’ll stop talking (gah!) absolutely counted. That’s real life!

2. Do some math.

The original version of this was ‘add something.’ I had tiny kiddos & if adding 2 pretzels & 4 chicken nuggets = 6 pieces of food, I could add a checkmark to this one.

As they grew up, sometimes it looked like doing part of a lesson from our regular curriculum. Sometimes I’d grab a review page or a logic puzzle. Or having a kiddo “stand” on the 0 mark of an invisible number line & practice moving to positive and negative numbers I’d call out.

One of my favorite math resources over the years has been the DragonBox series of math apps. Unlike many so-called educational apps, these are designed to teach real math concepts without feeling like flashcards or a bit of education stuffed into a game.

Only doing half of a math assignment is better than doing none. Reviewing last year’s math on Khan Academy solidifies concepts they may have forgotten. Physically moving up & down a number line makes a great visualization recall tool when they are doing that task on paper.

3. Enjoy something.

What does that even mean? And why?!

I’ll get to the first question, but let’s talk about my why.

I firmly believe that the act of learning should be something we enjoy. I intentionally bring that idea into our homeschool in all sorts of ways.

This isn’t to say that I think we should only do the things we enjoy. Or that I fill our days with jokes, gags, and glitter.

But have you ever seen just how ridiculously fat bears can get as the last days of summer slip away?
Or had an interesting conversation about the real history behind a historical fiction book your 5th grader just finished?
Wondered what is across from Rome’s Colosseum…and then looked at it “from” the street?
Spent an hour discussing some video that fed your teen’s curiosity?

Maybe what we enjoyed was some dish your teen made for chemistry. Or a math lesson they flew through and left them with a satisfied smile. Even a lunch outside in the sun.

Learning isn’t something to dread. And if I can send adults into the world who are curious about it, I’ve done my job.

4. Learn about someone.

This could be a historical figure, a scientist, an artist, an author, or someone connected to whatever we’re already studying. A paragraph in their science book, a video from their curiosity calendars, or a Who Was? book.

Heck, if they read Who Was Harry Houdini? and enjoyed the book — that’d tick off three things on this list!

This item is on the list, in part, because it naturally brings some history into our days. But it’s also on here for a bigger reason. It encourages us to get curious about the world & about other people.

5. Spend time outside.

Lunch outside.
A trip to the park.
Playing outside until the street lights flicker on.

Sending them outside to play, so you can finally have a blessed moment of silence.
Pulling weeds alongside you to keep them from fighting.

Fresh air + sunshine + movement is good for everyone.
(Not to mention it can be an attitude reset for everyone, including my own!)

tl;dr

Even now, when I just have teenagers, if we read something, ‘add’ something, get curious about people, enjoy something in our day, and spend time outside, I know we’ve had a day of living intentionally.

• Homeschooling isn’t just about the academics.
• And your ‘something is better than nothing list shouldn’t be either.
• Your list should be realistic.