Loving Homeschooling with Pjs, Hot Cocoa, and Great Reads!
Do you feel stressed and long for simpler days? Well, what about pjs, hot cocoa, and great reads? Do you want to step into that picture of life? You can!
Do you love your homeschool life? Every day is a gift God gives to enjoy and live to its fullest! It is fruitless to tell ourselves we’ll enjoy life later, nor does it do any good to think we’d love someone else’s life. Our life is meant to be enjoyed now! With Heart of Dakota, open and go plans make homeschooling easier. Still, sometimes life itself gets stressful.
Pjs to Start the Day
Up early, racing to throw on clothes, snarfing down breakfast, throwing textbooks into a backpack, running out to the school bus – does that sound like a great way to start the day? No. We certainly don’t need to start the day that way homeschooling!
How about 15 minutes in bed first thing in pjs reading a short favorite devotional yourself? That’s how I start my day. Encouraging, joyful, doable, short, devotionals start the day off right! God and me – we got this. But Pjs don’t need to end there.
Children wake up different times – the early bird first, the night owl last, the in-the-middle – well, they wake up in the middle! Start with your early bird. Have that child come to your room, and together in your pjs do HOD’s Bible Study/Devotional box for the day.
That early morning go-getter can then scamper off to do Independent school or to get ready for the day. Then, clad in pjs, move on to the “in-the-middle” child’s and last the “night owl” child’s Bible Study/Devotional boxes.
This slow start sets a cheerful tone for the day! Playing Christian praise music while we get ready, make breakfast, and do chores next keeps the happy mood flowing!
Mid-Morning and Mid-Afternoon Snacks
No snacks allowed, water fountains everyone slurps on, no drinks allowed, dashing to the bathrooms lined up for a group time to share them with your class of 20+ kids – does that sound like a great way to spend the day? No. We certainly don’t need to spend our day that way homeschooling!
How about taking a refreshing break mid-morning? We’ve worked diligently on our homeschooling, and it’s time for hot cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkles and a granola bar for the kids, and steaming coffee for me. Twenty minutes is all it takes, but we all look forward to that little planned break and love it!
After lunch together, we finish any homeschooling, and early to mid-afternoon we’re ready for another break (and probably celebrating being totally done with our school day). Air-popped popcorn with different toppings, and the occasional handful of M & M’s thrown in, and life is once again grand!
Great Reads Throughout the Homeschool Day
Dry boring textbooks, hard chairs to sit on, cramped desks to work on, one room with fluorescent lighting to be in nearly all day – does that sound like a comfy way to love learning? No. We certainly don’t need to suffer through the day that way homeschooling!
How about cuddling up on the couch in the living room with the fireplace on for Storytime read-alouds? How about enjoying the sunlit kitchen for science experiments, the captain’s chair at the dining room table for seatwork, or the recliner with a cozy blanket for living books that are simply GREAT READS?
Throw in some lighted candles on tables we’re working on – pumpkin chai scent for the fall, gingerbread cookie scent for Christmas, birthday sprinkles cake scent for kiddos’ birthdays – now THAT’s the way to enjoy homeschooling!
These are just a few ideas to help you consider how you can best enjoy your everyday life with Heart of Dakota! The first step is just remembering to be grateful for the lives God has given us. Homeschooling truly is a blessing meant to be enjoyed. Take time to enjoy your life today rather than waiting for tomorrow. Happy homeschool mamas make happy homeschool children – so try some Pjs, Hot Cocoa, and Great Reads! Little things can transform our lives.
In Christ,
Julie
