7 Signs It’s Time to Outsource Homeschooling
Whether it’s looking into school options, hiring a tutor, or just finding an outside class for a specific subject, sometimes smart secular homeschooling means not doing it yourself.
Whether it’s looking into school options, hiring a tutor, or just finding an outside class for a specific subject, sometimes smart secular homeschooling means NOT doing it yourself.
Some homeschoolers happily DIY from kindergarten through graduation, but most of us will face a time when outsourcing — whether it’s one class or the whole shebang — is the best way to preserve our sanity and ensure our child’s education. It’s not because you’re a bad parent or a bad teacher — it’s just because sometimes we all need a little help. Here are some signs that it might be time to explore outside class options for your homeschool:
1. You dread getting started in the morning.
If you’re miserable when it’s time to break out the math books or work on an essay, something needs to change. Everyone hits bumpy patches, but if your bumpy patch feels like it’s dragging on and on, a different teacher might be what you both need.
2. You’re starting to dislike your kid.
No parent-child relationship is going to be non-stop rainbows and sunshine, but you may need to shift gears if butting heads over worksheets is having a persistent, negative effect on your relationship. If you’ve starting asking yourself things like “why is my child so stubborn?” or “why does he always complain?,” it’s a sign you need a break.
3. You aren’t doing a good job.
If you’re operating on autopilot, doing the bare minimum, or just plain never doing your best work, it might make sense to put your energy into what you do well and let someone else take over where you’re falling short.
4. You’re bored.
You can’t fake enthusiasm, but you can hire it. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that a particular subject doesn’t get you excited.
5. Your student is super-critical.
If you’re getting lots of negative feedback on subject matter, assignments, or your teaching style, there’s nothing wrong with testing whether another teacher might be a better fit.
6. It’s crazy-expensive.
If curriculum or supplies for a particular subject cost more than an outside class would, weigh the benefits of doing it yourself before writing that check.
7. Your instincts tell you it’s time.
You’ve spent years learning to hear what your gut is telling you about what’s right for your child. Don’t stop trusting it now.
Our Favorite Homeschool School Supplies
These are the back-to-homeschool school supplies we’re living for this not-back-school season.
Did we become homeschoolers just so we have an excuse to buy all the school supplies? Shhh.
Never underestimate the allure of shiny new school supplies. I don’t care if you’re an unschooler, a high school homeschooler, or just a mom standing in front of a back-to-school notebook display, there is something about school supplies that just speaks to the heart of the human experience. Too much? OK, maybe so, but school supplies are pretty magical, and these are the ones making our homeschool especially happy this back-to-school season.
Document Holders with Snap Covers
If you use my super-painless homeschool organization system, you already know that envelope organizers are a secular homeschool mom’s best friend. These have the added bonus of being pretty!
File Folders
I use file folders to organize weekly readings, keep track of writing drafts, trade work back-and-forth with my kids, and keep my fancy cardstock from getting crumpled at the corners. When the kids were little, I color-coded everything, including file folders, but now that they’re older, I opt for the prettiest folders I can find.
Binder Clips
Binder clips play an important role in my homeschool organization system, but they’re honestly just so handy. You can use them to clip together research or writing drafts, to keep folders from spilling their contents all over the place, to keep up with what you’ve done in your curriculum so far — if you always have a container of them on your shelf, you will be surprised by how often you reach for them.
Ellepi Klizia 97 Stapler
Truthfully, my Swingline is our homeschool old reliable stapler (I’ve had this one since our second year of homeschooling — I bought it when she was in 3rd grade, and it’s still going strong as she heads into her junior year of college), but I could not resist this one, which other people call “sleek” and “aesthetic,” but which I think looks like a paper-chomping dinosaur.
Braun BNE001BK
OK, confession time: I cannot use my kids’ graphing calculators without consulting an online tutorial these days. And while I know I can math anything up on my phone app, I really like having a calculator on my desk. So I bought this elegant little version (it’s in MoMA’s architecture and design collection), and it makes me very happy.
Basic Clipboards
This is my only homeschool design hack: Instead of hanging up posters, quotes, etc. on the walls of our homeschool space, I hang up a bunch of cheap clipboards with command strips. This makes it super-easy to show off awesome work; add new quotes, charts, and pictures; and make our homeschool space feel fresh and exciting without having to do a lot of work.
Full Adhesive Sticky Notes
These sticky notes are my new favorite thing — instead of one sticky strip across the top, the whole page is sticky, so they never curl up and fall off. If you, like me, tend to map out big projects on the wall with sticky notes or to use sticky notes to have silent conversations with your students, these are a game-changer in the best way.
To-Do List Sticky Notes
Now that my youngest is in high school, our productive times don’t overlap as neatly as they used to — I am up and going early in the morning, but they aren’t usually ready to dig into anything until after lunch. These sticky to-do lists help us navigate our different schedules — I’ll leave one on my kid’s notebook in the morning, and I’ll often wake up to one they’ve left on my computer. Obviously we could just use scratch paper, but these sticky pads are so cute.
Sticky Tabs
Are you even homeschooling if you don’t have sticky tabs poking out the sides of half your library?
Zebra Midliners
I love highlighters, but I find their fluorescent brightness a little off-putting — so discovering these midliners a few years ago was amazing. I use them for annotations, for note-taking, for lecture prep — really, I use them all the time, including times where I don’t even need them, because I like how they look so much.
Time Timer MOD 60-Minute Visual Timer
A basic timer is such an underappreciated homeschool tool. After all, one of the great things about homeschooling is that we never have to be on the clock unless we want to. But timers can really be a great tool for homeschooling middle and high school — when kids are overwhelmed by a task, set a timer, and see what you can get done in 10 minutes or 15 minutes. The time limit takes some of the open-ended stress out. Set a timer for subjects where practice is important but annoying — 20 minutes of focused, concentrated math can feel manageable in a way that a less structured math class doesn’t. Timers can also make clean-up more collaborative — set your timer, and everyone pitches in to clean up the chemistry experiment or board game for however long.
Sharper Image Light Up Electronic Word Clock
Speaking of time management, Suzanne was skeptical when I bought this clock with words instead of numerals, but every single person who walks inside the Academy falls in love with it. It’s true, if you’re going for to-the-second precision, there are better options, but I’m going to keep insisting that you cannot beat this for a cool homeschool clock.
Anchor Pro under-desk headphone hanger
This is one of those gadgets that you didn’t know you needed and now can’t live without for us. My kid is very big into Outschool (our favorite teacher is Michael Schwartz if you have improv nerds, too!), so these next couple of school supplies are really gadgets that make our online workspace more comfortable. This little hook attaches underneath your table to hold your headphones when you’re not using them — so they’re never in the way, and you never have to spend the 10 minutes before class hunting for them.
Soundance Laptop Stand
Similar to the headphone holder above, this laptop stand makes online classes so much more comfortable. Who knew? I’m always reluctant to buy something that takes up desk space, but this has been totally worth it.
Bentgo Classic - All-in-One Stackable Bento Lunch Box Container
We seem to spend a lot of time NOT at home these days, and that means I have to think about lunch more than I would like. I’m a fan of this laidback little lunchbox — it’s big enough to satisfy a teenager’s appetite but still compact enough to travel easily. (And I really like that it comes with built-in utensils.)
Fjallraven Kanken Laptop Backpack
I’m including this because it’s the one thing my very un-acquisitive homeschooled teenager requested for not-back-to-school this year, and it turns out to be kind of an awesome bag for carrying around your laptop and a bunch of books.
Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil
I used to be Team Ticonderoga all the way, but they’ve slipped in recent years, I think. My favorite pencil these days is the Palomino Blackwing 602, but they’re a little spendy when you’re buying in bulk. So these are now my homeschool pencil of choice: the Palomino Golden Bear #2 Pencil. The erasers work well, the pencil lead is clear and dark, and they feel good in your hand.
Secular Homeschoolers Unite T-Shirt
Don’t test-drive a new park day without one! (But really, haven’t you always wished there was an easy way to identify your fellow secular homeschoolers in the wild?)
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils (72-Pack)
You probably don’t NEED a whole new box of colored pencils, but I always buy one this time of year anyway. (I bring the old ones to our art supply box at our homeschool group so they don’t get wasted and I can enjoy my new pencils guilt-free.) Don’t forget the Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener!
Uni Jetstream Slim Multi-Color Pen
I love annotating — here’s how we do it — but sometimes hauling around a stack of colored pens is just inconvenient. Still, colored annotations can be really useful. This pen saves the day — it will remind you of those amazing four-color pens we used to own in middle school (you can still buy those!), but this version is slimmer and easier to write with. If you’re introducing annotating this year and want to make a little annotation supply kit for your teenager, definitely add this pen to it!
Le Pen 12-Color Set (Micro Fine Point)
These were my absolute favorite pens in middle and high school, and I still need a new pack every year. I use them for the increasingly complicated family calendar, but mostly I use them for writing letters to my best friend, who appreciates their multi-color magic. (I used to use them for my bullet journal, but I went digital this year! See below for details.)
Lamy Safari Fountain Pen
I really thought my kids would be fountain pen people, and it turns out neither of them are — but I am, so I definitely recommend at least giving your kids a chance to see if they, too, are nerdy fountain pen lovers. This is a lovely but not-too-expensive one to try out.
Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen
You know how sometimes, with the right pen, everything you write just looks amazing? This is the right pen. (You can pick up some of this correction tape in case your gorgeous handwriting is so mesmerizing that you skip some letters. It’s a known risk.)
Yoobi Fuzzy Llama Pencil Pouch
You don’t need a pencil case, but don’t you kind of want this one? I do.
Midori MD Notebook
My teens both love these dot-gridded notebooks, which give enough writing guidance so that you can feel confident writing long paragraphs but not so much structure that you feel like there’s no room for doodles and charts. My kids are also averse to the writing texture of that super-smooth, shiny paper, and these notebooks have a nice “scratch” without feeling thin or cheap. We are apparently very picky about paper products over here!
Dotted notebook pack
I buy these in bulk and keep them everywhere — in my bag, in the car, at our homeschool group, in the kitchen, in the family room — really, everywhere. We use them all the time, for everything from keeping score in Munchkin to writing poetry to figuring out how to move the furniture around in the music room. We can never have too many.
iPad Mini
I recently (in January) made the switch from the paper bullet journal I have used for 12 years to an iPad bullet journal — and it took some adjustment, but I am loving it. I’ll do a big review when I’ve made it through a year, but if you’re on the fence, I recommend giving it a try. (I got this case because I still wanted it to feel like a notebook, and I opted for the mini size so I can just toss it in my bag like a notebook.) If you want to write in it (which is what I do — there was no way I was going to actually use a planner if I had to switch to typing everything), definitely get the paper screen protector.
Verilux HappyLight Touch Plus therapy lamp
It might be cheating to include this one since I haven’t used it yet, but it is the secular homeschool school supply I am most excited about this year. Winter always gives our homeschool a lingering case of the blues, and some of my friends have raved about this light therapy lamp.
4 Easy Ways to Homeschool Lunch
Homeschoolers want to eat all the time, especially when lunch rolls around. Sometimes, you just really need the lunch grind to be easy. Here are four strategies to simplify homeschool lunchtime.
One of the biggest practical challenges of homeschool life is feeding everybody all the time. And lunch — right smack in the middle of your day — can be the biggest challenge of all. These four strategies won’t make lunchtime hassle-free, but they will free up your brain enough to worry about what you're going to do for dinner instead.
Solution 1: Lunchboxes
Pros: lunch is ready to go whenever you are
Cons: requires night-time prep; not always the most budget-friendly option
Take a cue from the school set, and simplify lunchtime by packing it up the night before. Stick with the classics — we like hummus, quinoa, cucumber, and grated carrots on a spinach tortilla or peanut butter, honey, and banana on oatmeal bread for easy sandwiches, with little containers of yogurt, fruit, veggie chips, and a cookie for dessert. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can steal some cute bento box ideas, but kids who don’t pack a lunch every day are likely to be just as excited about a plain sandwich and apple combo. (I get all my best sandwich ideas from the Saltie cookbook.) Make a lunchbox or brown bag for each kid, stash it in the fridge, and lunch is ready to go even before you start your morning coffee.
Solution 2: Freezer Meals
Pros: easy on the budget
Cons: gets boring; does require some advance planning
Once-a-month freezer stocking ensures that you’ll always have a hot lunch at the ready. Our freezer faves include macaroni-and-cheese bowls; black bean and butternut squash burritos; soups and chili; and chicken potpies. There are lots of freezer meal cookbooks out there, but I’ve splattered and dog-eared Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook enough to recommend it. Freeze meals in individual portions (so you don’t have to listen to a 10-minute argument about whether you should heat up spinach lasagna or kale, sweet potato, and lentil hand pies), pop them in the fridge at bedtime, and they should be ready to heat up for the lunchtime rush.
Solution 3: Snack Plates
Pros: great for picky eaters, no cooking needed
Cons: assembly required; can be expensive
The beauty of this cheese plates-inspired lunch is that you can assemble it with all the random bits and pieces in your fridge and cupboards. Presentation is what makes a snack plate like this feel like lunch, so take the time to arrange small wedges of cheese, little stacks of chopped vegetables or fruits, cured or smoked meats, leftover tuna salad, and other hearty nibbles. Add crackers or vegetable chips — homemade or store-bought — and spoonfuls of mustard, jam, chutney, and purees to the plate. Set it out, and the kids can assemble their own lunches from the ingredients. It’s nice to give each kid her own plate, but you can also set up a fancy spread on a serving plate or cutting board for everyone to share.
Solution 4: Emergency Pizza
Pros: versatile; easy to customize for picky eaters
Cons: requires last-minute stove time
Until a genius friend introduced me to tortilla pizzas, I always thought pizza was too much hassle for lunchtime. But using a tortilla for a base makes a quick pizza as easy as a grilled cheese sandwich. The usual tomato-mozzarella-mushroom combo is great, but you can get adventurous with pesto topped with leftover grilled chicken, veggies, and fontina cheese; butternut squash puree topped with goat cheese and bacon; or even hummus with crispy chickpeas, avocados, and roasted garlic. Lay your tortilla flat in a cast-iron skillet, layer on toppings and cheese, and let it bake in a 375-degree oven for about 13 to 14 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and crispy.
4 Easy, Effective Ways to Plan Your Homeschool Year
Whether you’re a new homeschooler not sure how to get started or an experienced homeschooler looking for a little planning inspiration, these simple strategies will help you get organized for the learning year ahead.
Whether you’re a new homeschooler not sure how to get started or an experienced homeschooler looking for a little planning inspiration, these simple strategies will help you get your secular homeschool organized for the learning year ahead.
Have a student-teacher conference.
Include your kids in the planning process. When kids are active participants in homeschool planning, they take on some responsibility for their own educations and take more pride in their accomplishments.
Start an end-of-the-year homeschool tradition hanging out together at coffee shop or diner to conduct a post mortem of the school year. Which curriculum did your child like or not like — and why? Which publishers’ texts would he like to use again? What area of study is he most interested in exploring further? If you have multiple kids, try to make time for a separate sit-down with each one.
This simple homeschool tradition can give you direction and focus when planning the next year. It can be helpful to bring a list of classes and activities to consult during your conversation — it’s easy to forget things that happened in your homeschool back in October after your second mint-chocolate-chip frappe.
Host a homeschool planning party.
Invite a few homeschooling friends over for a casual secular homeschool curriculum party. Keep it simple — open a bottle of wine and order in dinner — and ask your guests to bring their favorite curricula from previous years and new material they’re excited about using.
These informal get-togethers can be a great way to get inspired and to discover curricula you never knew existed. These planning parties are also a great way to clear some space on your bookcases — keep a giveaway stack of books and materials, and pass on outgrown or not-quite-right materials.
This is also a great opportunity to chat about everything from organizing your day to keeping track of lessons to finding the best calculus teacher. The real experts in homeschooling are the parents who do it every day, so you’re much more likely to find a brilliant system from a fellow homeschooler than you are from a generic organization website. If you’re still building your local homeschool community, a planning party can be a great way to get to know other homeschoolers, but you can also get planning support from Facebook groups and online forums. If your homeschool pals are scattered far and wide, consider hosting a Facebook curriculum party instead of an in-person get-together.
Make a love it-need it-hate it list.
Whether it’s your first year homeschooling or your fifteenth, you’re your own best inspiration. Get oriented by making three simple lists. (I have a whole step-by-step guide for doing this you can grab for free.)
Start with a list of all the things that are going great in your everyday homeschool, whether it’s making Monday baking day, doing narrations with Story of the World, or starting the morning with yoga. You already know that these things work well for your homeschool, so when you’re stuck between two choices, opt for the one that’s closest to something that’s already a perfect fit.
Next, make a list of all the things you need to cover in the coming year — maybe it’s time to get serious about multiplication, or your daughter’s dream college requires a lab science for sophomore year. You’ll want to find materials to help you fill these needs.
Finally, do yourself a favor and make a list of all the things you just plain haven’t enjoyed, whether it’s your drill-and-drone math curriculum or your way-too-busy Monday schedule. Get rid of the things that aren’t working for you, and fill that space with books and activities you do like.
Set up a DIY homeschool retreat.
Sometimes, you just need a little homeschool inspiration before you dive into another year of secular homeschooling.
Book a hotel room for the weekend, and pack your suitcase with some of those books you’ve been dying to read (On our list: Lighting Their Fires: How Parents and Teachers Can Raise Extraordinary Kids in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World by Rafe Esquith, Teaching What Really Happened: How To Avoid The Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History by James W. Loewen, Point-Less: An English Teacher's Guide to More Meaningful Grading by Sarah M. Zerwin) and lectures you want to hear (consider Susan Wise Bauer’s Homeschooling the Real (Distractible, Impatient, Argumentative, Unenthusiastic, Non-Book-Loving, Inattentive, Poky, Vague) Child, The Homeschool Scholar’s A Homeschool Parent’s Guide to Grades, Credits and Transcripts, or Pam Sorooshian’s Unschooling and Math.)
When homeschool parents get competitive, it’s often a sign that they’re feeling insecure about their own homeschools. So be nice when you can, but don’t get drawn into a my-kid-can-beat-yours-at-science competition since that’s not what homeschooling is about.