I recently announced some big news for our family, which you can read here if you haven’t already. That announcement includes us moving in with my parents for a few months.
Moving is never fun but when you’ve chosen homeschool as the means of education for your kids, moving and schooling can get very messy. I mean, how do you choose whether to homeschool or to pack for a week? Or how do you homeschool when all your stuff is in storage and your currently living by arrangement doesn’t give you much space to hoard all your homeschool supplies and resources?
Well, this being our third time moving in the middle of a homeschool year, we’ve kinda built up some experience that I think will help you if you’re in the same or similar season as us. So let’s talk about how you can still homeschool while being in the middle of a big move.
Tips on how to homeschool while moving
Make the conscious decision to not do it all
First things first: make the choice ahead of time to not do all the schoolwork that you would normally do. I have moved 3 times so far while in the middle of homeschooling and all three times, I’ve chosen to lessen our work load. The truth of the matter is that in a season of transition of some sort, you might not have the space and storage to lug all of your homeschool curriculum around and you might even be lacking the motivation to get a bunch of school done. When you make that decision ahead of time, a lot of times it’s easier to feel less guilt about your whole homeschool routine being ripped to shred for some time… which leads me to my next point.
Give yourself grace
Give yourself grace, mama! I bet you’ve probably heard this time and time in the homeschool community. But it’s true. Give yourself grace. Homeschool might look a little different right now and that’s okay. Soon enough, you’ll be able to get back to all the things you enjoy integrating into your school day. Trust me when I tell you, your kids won’t resent you for changing things up for some time. Take the break from the normal day to day and embrace it.
Take school outdoors
If you’re like me, and your transition situation involves moving your family of 6 +2 pets in with family, then chances are things are going to get a bit cramped. There’s really no avoiding that unless your family lives in a humongous mansion or something. If the weathers right, take school outdoors! I can’t even begin to explain how much my kiddos enjoy doing school outside. Pack a picnic basket with some snacks, grab a blanket and go to your yard or a park. Enjoy the change of scenery while getting some vitamin D.
Decide what curriculum is most important and stick to it
I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy working through curriculum with my kids, especially open and go curriculum. But as a homeschool mom who loves the feel of books, it can be hard to part with all curriculum even if for just a season. One of my biggest suggestions during a season of moving/settling down, is to decide which curriculum is the most important and stick to it. Of course, if you’ve spent the money on it, it must all be important. But this is where we have to really outweigh what we can do without for some time.
Read lots and cuddle even more
When all else fails, read and cuddle! We are all avid readers in our family. Books are a huge part of who we are and I understand that maybe, that’s not you. But if by some chance it is, then read all you can to your kids. There is so much learning to be done through reading but it’s also something you can do just to get in the extra cuddles with your babies. Moving is a huge transition and kids might take it differently than you. So spending that quality time with them, reading and giving them extra care and attention, will always be a win no matter how you look at it.
Moving can hit your homeschool pretty hard if you’re not intentional about it. But honestly, keeping it simple is one of the best things you can do to help you stay consistent. Remember to give yourself some grace when you can’t get everything done and go get some sun when things seem a bit rough. And when all else fails, cuddle up with a good book and read aloud to your babies. Trust me? You won’t regret slowing down during this season.
Have you moved in the middle of a school year before? What tips can you share with me to keep our homeschool going during this big transition?
Let’s chat!