The One Homeschool Habit You Should Be Doing Every Month

If you're homeschooling, I want you to start doing one thing every single month: a monthly reflection. Call it a check-in, call it a performance review, call it whatever works for you. Here's the truth: running your homeschool a little like you run a business makes everything easier.

Every month I sit down and ask myself three questions. What worked this month? What didn't? And what am I changing to make next month better? Sometimes I do this out loud with my audience because it helps me think clearly, and I think it'll help you too. Here's what came out of my most recent reflection.

The schedule change was a win

This year we switched from homeschooling Monday through Thursday to Sunday through Wednesday, and it's been amazing. Having Thursday and Friday off means I actually get to enjoy the weekend with my husband instead of feeling guilty that we haven't finished lessons.

Bonus: my husband asked to take over homeschooling on Sundays since he's usually working during the week and never gets that time with the kids. Now I get a whole day to myself, whether that's a beauty reset day or time to work and film content.

The novel pick was a swing and a miss

Every month we read a novel together as part of our theme. This month I decided to branch out from our usual light, funny picks. It did not go well. The book dragged for most of its chapters before anything happened, and by the time it picked up, the kids had already checked out.

Lesson learned. Next month we're going back to something I know they'll love. Sometimes the experiment fails. You adjust and move on.

Chores are part of school too

I know, we're talking about homeschool, why chores? Because chores are a life skill, and I've met too many grown adults who don't know how to clean a house or do their own laundry. Chores are as much a subject in our house as math is.

This month I noticed the kitchen kept getting left a mess, even though everyone in our family eats there throughout the day. So I created a rotation: all four of us take turns each night making sure the kitchen gets cleaned and reset. Waking up to a messy kitchen is not how I want to start my day, and now I don't have to.

Retiring our themes

This one stings a little. We've done themed learning since the kids were four years old, but now that they're older, they're just not that into it anymore. They'd rather finish their core subjects and go hang out with friends or listen to music.

I saw it coming. That's part of why I asked them at the start of the year if they still wanted to do themes. It's hard to let go of something that's been such a big part of our homeschool identity, but I'm shifting my energy toward giving them more time with friends instead, because that's where they are developmentally right now.

Doing this reflection every month keeps me in control of our homeschool instead of the other way around. It forces me to actually sit down and deal with what isn't working instead of letting frustration pile up. And it sends me into the next month with a plan, which feels a lot better than just winging it.

If you're homeschooling, try this. Sit down at the end of every month, or every six weeks, whatever rhythm fits your family, and ask yourself what's working, what's not, and what you're doing differently. I promise you girl, It makes a real difference.💋