My kitchen table looked like a tornado hit it. Stacks of different workbooks covered every inch. My oldest needed help with fractions. My middle child was stuck on a history worksheet. And my youngest was asking me to read her phonics book. Again! So, how do you homeschool together?
I feel tired all the time. Each of my kids have their own books for every subject. So . . . I’m teaching 21 different lessons every single day. No wonder I was stressed out! Overwhelmed!
I changed my approach and started to homeschool together. We didn’t need separate books for every subject. My kids could learn the same topics at the same time. This simple change made our homeschool so much easier and more fun. Plus it stopped the stress and overwhelm.
When you homeschool together, you save time and energy. More importantly, your family builds closer bonds while learning side by side.
Start Your Day with Read-Aloud Time
One of the best things I did was start each day by reading out loud to my kids. My first homeschool year, I tried reading after lunch. But I kept getting sleepy! I would ask one of my daughters to finish the book. In a subtle way, I was modeling that reading was boring. Just the opposite of what I intended to do.
The next year, I changed our schedule. We started each morning with reading time. This simple change made our homeschool much better. Even little kids can join in this fun activity.
Don’t worry if your kids aren’t perfectly still during reading time. My kids never did! Sometimes they folded clothes. Sometimes they played with legos. Sometimes they drew pictures. The important thing is they were listening while their hands stayed busy.
To make it easy on you, keep a special basket filled with quiet activities for read-aloud time. Fill it with coloring books, small puzzles, play dough, or simple crafts. When it’s time to read together, each child grabs something from the basket.
Change out the basket items every few weeks so kids stay interested. This keeps little hands busy while their ears listen to great stories. No more interruptions asking “What can I do?” during your reading time.
For read aloud book suggestions and detailed guidance on implementing read-alouds, get our Free Read Aloud Book List & Ebook – it’s been a game-changer for many families.
Create Meaningful Family Learning Time
Our reading time became part of something bigger called “Family Time” or “Morning Time.” We spent one hour together every day. Half the time was for reading books. The other half was for fun learning activities.
During Family Time, we did lots of different things:
- Read poems to make words sound beautiful
- Look at famous paintings in art books
- Listen to pretty music
- Talk about Bible stories once a week
- Sing old church songs
- Learn about people who lived long ago
This way of learning follows what the Bible teaches. God tells parents to teach their children all through the day. Not just during separate school times.
Combine Subject Areas for Maximum Impact
Instead of teaching each child different subjects, try putting your kids together. We always studied History & Literature together. We picked one time period for everyone to learn about.
When we studied American History, both each of my kids read a book at their reading level, while I read aloud a book set in that time period. We worked on projects together. We went on field trips to the same places.
Each child wrote at their own level, but they learned the same stories and facts. As young kids, they narrated their stories. When they got older, their writings were more in-depth.
For elementary & middle school Science, we made it really simple. We didn’t buy any workbooks. Instead, we picked fun topics to explore together. We got books from the library. We did hands-on experiments. No tests, no worksheets. Just fun learning about God’s amazing world.
One of the best parts about learning together is watching your older kids become teachers. When your middle schooler helps your kindergartner with phonics, both kids learn better. The older practices what they know. The younger child receives patient, one-on-one help.
Try pairing up your kids for 15 minutes each day. Your third grader can listen to your first grader read. Your teen can help your middle schooler with math facts. This gives you time to work with one child while the others stay busy learning together.
By combining these subjects, as well as Bible, music, art, geography and others, I simplified my planning. My focus was on one topic for each subject area. All I had to do was use age-appropriate resources on that topic.
Simple “Combine” Trick to Homeschool Together
If combining subjects together every month stresses you out, try this trick.
Here’s a simple trick that might save your sanity: rotate which subjects you combine each month. In September, combine History and Reading for all kids. In October, focus on Science together. In November, try Art and Music appreciation.
This lets you focus your energy on planning just one combined subject really well. You’re not trying to do everything at once. Plus, your kids get excited about what subject comes next. It’s like having a new theme every month!
How to Homeschool Together with Unit Studies
Unit studies are the best ways in teaching multiple ages at the same time. Here’s how it works: Pick one big topic for everyone to study. Then let each child learn about it at their own level.
Let’s say you want to study the Middle Ages. Your older kids might read harder books like Dante’s stories. Your younger kids could read simpler books like “A Door in the Wall.” You could read a Robin Hood book out loud to everyone.
Then choose fun activities, so you can homeschool together:
- Write short stories about life back then
- Make a pretend newspaper from that time
- Do science experiments with old inventions
- Make soap or candles like people did long ago
- Listen to music from that time period
- Play games that kids played back then
Research shows that kids who use unit studies remember 45% more than kids who learn subjects separately. That’s because they get to do things with their hands and see how everything connects.
Easy Ways to Show What Your Kids Learn
You don’t need fancy grade books to keep track of what your kids learn. In fact, I didn’t keep a grade book until high school, when I started to create transcripts for my kids. There are simple ways to record their progress.
Lapbooking works great for younger kids. They make colorful folders with pictures and writing about what they learned. It’s like making a fun scrapbook about their studies.
Notebooking is perfect for all ages. They just write about what they learned each day in a special notebook. It’s that easy! Check out these notebooking page templates to get started.
High school kids can keep reading journals. They write about the books they read and what they think about the. This goes beyond retelling the story, but uses higher level thinking, such as compare & contrast, sharing opinions or persuasive writing.
Amazing Magic to Homeschool Together
When you homeschool together, amazing things happen. You save time and energy. But more importantly, you build special memories with your family. Your kids learn to help each other. They see how different subjects connect together.
In closing, I believe it’s important to inspire your kids to love learning as they homeschool together. I remember when Hunter was supposed to write a report about a person. I thought he could tie this in with our Ancient Rome studies and write about a Roman leader. His eyes got glassy when I mentioned it. Then, I remembered we had a book about Derek Jeter, the baseball player.
Hunter wrote his report about Derek Jeter instead. He did a much better job! We turned it into a whole baseball study. He learned science by studying how to pitch and hit. He did grammar lessons with baseball examples. He read lots of baseball books.
Hunter is now 32 years old, building a successful business. Learning with unit studies didn’t hurt his education. It made him love learning even more!
You don’t have to teach your kids everything. You just need to help them love learning and love God’s truth. When you choose to homeschool together, you start making wonderful family memories that last forever.
Be sure to grab our free read aloud book list below.
