Homeschool World Forum

I need a way to keep motivated or a trigger to ensure that at 'beep' oclock that it is time to start homeschooling.

I often get easily distracted and before I know it it's lunchtime and since the morning is gone I try again for tomorrow as my kids work better in the morning.

My husband works away and I really need a trigger to ensure we do schooling strictly everyday. We don't have a homeschooling plan or anything like that but I have a curriculum that I use for the 3R's and try to do a little bit everyday - if I don't get side tracked.

Any suggests that you have would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe you could add some fun activities to your agenda so that both you and your children cannot wait to get started each day. Field trips, nature walks, board games, educational dvds, art projects, etc. are just a few ideas. If you are all looking forward to doing school, then you won't be easily side-tracked. I think it is nice tie those fun activities in with what you are currently studying, if possible.

In order to stay motivated, you might need to think about why you started homeschooling to begin with. You might also want to write out some simple lesson plans or goals for each year. I make monthly lesson plans and they are helpful to keep me on track. Here is a free e-zine that you can subscribe to.

http://www.design-your-homeschool.com/H ... -zine.html

My biggest motivation is reading homeschooling blogs. When I see all the cool stuff that they are doing with their kids I can't wait to get up in the morning and try it with my kids as well. I'm not the kind of person who can plan homeschooling a year in advance, I have to go with what seems cool and interesting a the time. I usually plan about a week in advance. I used to have the same problem that you do. I run a home business which could eat up 24 hrs. a day if I let it, but reading other people's stories really helps me. Another thing we do is allow ourselves to get sidetracked (as far as our textbooks are concerned.) I'm a big science geek so anytime my kids seem to have an interest in something that we're learning about in science I will set the textbook down and find activities and experiments for them to do so they can keep on learning about it, which they love. My children's excitement about learning is also a big motivation for me to teach!