Thank you to Teaching Textbooks for sponsoring this post.
Contrary to what some people might think, homeschool moms are busy people. Like really busy! Between parenting, housework, meal planning and prep, errands, co-op, sports and music lessons, church, AND homeschooling, it’s a wonder how homeschool moms find the time to sleep. And that doesn’t even include making time for your marriage and yourself.
With hiring a personal assistant being out of most homeschool budgets and cloning yourself pretty much impossible, homeschool moms have to get creative when it comes to saving time so that they can get it all done, or at least most of it done.
We are going into our 13th year of homeschooling and I have learned quite a few ways to save time as a homeschool mom. Below is a list of ways I have saved time in my home and homeschool over the years; some of these time-saving tips I use most of the time and some of them only worked for me for a season. Hopefully you can use some of the ideas below to help you be more productive and efficient in your home.
Prioritize
Plain and simple, you might just have too much on your plate. You’ll need to make a list of all of your obligations and commitments and decide which ones are a priority.
This is never easy, especially when you have multiple kids wanting to do multiple things. There was a season when between 7 of our kids we were running between hockey, soccer, archery, and play rehearsal. We had something (often multiple things) every day of the week. It got exhausting. We had to make a change because we couldn’t go on like that for the long term.
We do want our children to partake in activities that they are interested in or are talented at, so we only allow a child to be enrolled in one activity at a time, and we encourage siblings to do activities together so that lessen the amount of running around.
We’ve also had seasons when we just said ‘no’ to everything, except for church activities. It’s such a refreshing break to not have tons of commitments weighing you down.
Co-op
Joining a homeschool co-op pretty much saved my homeschool last year. There is no way I could have homeschooled all 6 of my school-aged kids without outside help, at least not with my sanity intact. My 4 oldest kids all took science and history at our co-op, so that was a huge load taken off of my shoulders.
If there aren’t any homeschool co-ops in your area, maybe you could start one, or at least find another homeschool mom or two with kids similar in age and swap teaching. For example one of you could teach science, one could teach history, and one could teach art. My sister-in-law and I used to do this when our kids were younger.
Independent curriculum
When choosing our homeschool curriculum, I look for curriculum that doesn’t require a lot of teacher involvement. So for the older kids (like middle school and up), I prefer courses that they can do mostly on their own and I just have to oversee things and help as needed. For the younger kids, I will obviously have to do the teaching in most cases, but when that’s the case, I need open and go and not a ton of prep work.
Teaching Textbooks has practically taken teaching math off of my plate. We have been using Teaching Textbooks in our homeschool for over 8 years now. Once my kids hit 3rd grade, they begin math instruction using Teaching Textbooks (3rd grade is the lowest grade Teaching Textbooks offers). Teaching Textbooks provides online math instruction, correction, AND grading! One of the things that takes up A LOT of my time when it comes to homeschooling is checking and grading my kids’ work. Not having to do this task for math is a HUGE time saver for me!
I don’t do any of the teaching unless a child is struggling with a concept or topic and then my husband or I will go over the lesson with them that they are having trouble with. This isn’t needed often though because after every problem is answered (whether right or wrong), Teaching Textbooks gives the student the option to see how the problem is solved.
You can read my full review of Teaching Textbooks 3.0, here. You can also try out Teaching Textbooks for FREE! Teaching Textbooks allows you to try the 3.0 version before you buy it! You can try lessons 1-15 in any of the levels of Teaching Textbooks 3.0 absolutely FREE. And, this trial never expires, so take your time. If you decide to buy, the lessons that were completed in the trial will be transferred over to your account so that no information or grades are lost.
If you have questions about the free trial, click here. If you have additional questions about Teaching Textbooks in general, click here.
Delegate
If you have more than one child in your family, and if they are old enough, enlist the older child(ren) to help with the younger child(ren). It can be help with getting dressed or help with school work. Having older kids help younger kids with reading (have younger kids read aloud to older siblings) and math can be a huge help to a homeschool mom, plus it creates closer sibling bonds and reinforces concepts for the older child – it’s really a win-win-win situation.
If you don’t have multiple kids or kids that are old enough to help younger siblings, get your spouse on board to help. Husbands can pick up more of the household chores to help lighten your load, or they can teach a subject or two that they are particularly good at or fond of.
All of the kids in a family should be pitching in around the house by doing age-appropriate chores. Moms should not be doing all of the household chore. Even young children can start helping with simple chores.
Combine kids
If you have multiple children, especially ones that are close in age, say 1-4 years apart, teach them together. With subjects such as science, history, and art, you can teach kids that are close in age with one curriculum. There are many curriculums available that teach a wide range of ages. You can see some of our favorites, here.
Meal planning / Order groceries
Have a plan when it comes to meals! This will save you so much time and relieve so much stress. Keeping it simple is key! I keep things simple by having a handful of staples on hand for breakfast – cereal, oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, waffles, muffins – and the kids can pick, and make, whatever they want for breakfast. For lunch, we do a weekly rotation – every Monday we have the same thing, every Tuesday we have the same thing, etc. And for dinner we also do a rotation, but we do a two week rotation so that we don’t get bored with eating the same thing over and over. I also switch things about seasonally so that we can mix up or meal options a bit.
If you haven’t tried ordering groceries online and picking them up at the store, you are missing out! This has been such a huge time-saver for me. I usually shop at Kroger, but sometimes I will use Wal-Mart’s pick-up service as well. It’s so easy to just sit down at my computer anytime and order online – they make it super easy by keeping track of your recent purchases, so I can just go in and re-buy the same things I typically buy.
Wear pajamas
Yup, that’s right, wear your pajamas when you are at home! Nothing wrong with fitting into a stereotype. 🙂 We are a pajama-wearing homeschool family and it saves me so much time on laundry!! We have 8 kids and people are amazed at how little laundry I do. Most people assume that I do laundry every day, all day, but I really only do 1-2 loads 2-3 days a week.
Homeschool mom, what are some of your time-saving tips!?
Karen Origer-Greco says
One of my time saving tips are to have one child work on an activity while instruction is given to the other.
Becky says
That is so interesting that co-op saves your family time. I am taking a year off from co-op to have baby #6. I feel like driving there and back and waiting or trying to go home and come back is such a time killer and not something I want to do with a newborn. The biggest time saver for my family is routine. Things go so much smoother when everyone knows what to expect. Great tips 👍.
Sarah says
I can totally relate to that. We didn’t do co-ops when we were having babies, but now that that season is over, we find co-ops very helpful.
Crystal says
This year is our busiest. 7th grader at UMS School. 3 kids taking music/art classes on Monday and Tuesday. Plus, all of them in individual classes 1-2 days a week. I’m afraid we won’t last a semester! I want it to be enjoyable not stressed.
Sarah says
Create a calendar for the month with a check list in each square of what work is expected. This allows the kids to take ownership of their schooling and if you miss a day or know a day you will need to be gone the kids can work ahead or catch up. Plus its great for a record of what work got completed during the school year and for attendance logs for the states that require them!
Sarah says
This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Amy says
This is a fantastic program.
Heather says
Teaching the kids together in history, Bible, and science.
Christy says
We are very excited about possibly switching over to TT. Math is a daily struggle in our homeschool so we need a change!
Tina Clemente says
I save time by combining history and science subjects with my younger children and oldest child. Each one of the pick up something different.
Lynn says
So many important points. Thank you! Thankfully, I am down to my last child, and am bringing him back to homeschool. He is MUCH younger than all the others, and I feel like I’ve forgotten so much. Thanks for the reminders.
mc says
Thanks for offering such a great giveaway!
Sara says
I love how Teaching Textbooks has simplified math for my four boys! We really enjoy reading together, so we try to keep our history and literature as group classes as much as possible. That has really saved us time!
Rheea says
I teach my 9 and 12 yo daughters together when I can–Bible, Science, some history, and Filipino. They also do chores, so I can focus on my own work. We cook big batches so we can just reheat food.
Martha says
One of my tips is prepping as much as possible during the summer.
Danielle says
Teaching Textbooks saves me so much time. Also, teaching some subjects family style.
Lisa Popovich says
Audiobooks in the car! We spend a lot of time driving to various field trips, classes, co-ops, etc.
Karis says
Thanks for this giveaway and reminder. I already signed up for the free trial earlier this summer and had been giving thought to using this program this year but had forgotten about it over the last month. It looks like something my son would really enjoy, so thanks for the reminder.
Kayla says
I love having the older kids take a turn with the toddler while I teach one-on-one with another child. Then they switch places and everyone gets quality time with Mom and baby sister. We also love Teaching Textbooks and enjoy that it can be used for any level (my autistic 10 year old is starting with Math 3 this year and she loves it). In contrast, my 12 year old is in Pre-Algebra and will probably do Algebra this year too. He loves math.
My other time saver is bundling therapy. I have 3 kids in speech therapy/OT and arranging them to be all together or back to back in one place is a lifesaver.
And lastly, I have experimented with having the older kids fix a meal once a week. We meal plan, but both my older two are responsible for making one meal a week.
Sarah says
We are considering trying out the meal thing once a week with the older kids – assign them each a day of the week to make dinner.
Kim says
Thank you so much for offering this giveaway. I too have 8 kiddos and 4 are at homeschool aged. I am currently doing the trial with 2 of my kiddos. Thankful for this program and my kiddos are too! We save time by doing our Bible, Lang Arts, science and social studies all together.
Lori H says
I make the children’s schedule out for two weeks at a time. We also have a set routine that we follow each day.
Rachel Dial says
Finding Curriclum that work for my children and that they actually like has helped us save lots of time and frustration! I also try to use unit studies to get several subjects done together!
Mackenzie Foust says
Walmart Grocery Pickup!!!
Libby says
Reproducible are the best time saver as if you need to repeat something you can just reprint it.
Karie Bair says
We have been using the free trial and I had no idea how much my son would like TT! Here’s already become so frustrated with online math programs.
Judy says
I don’t really have many time saving tips but am thankful for this post. Received a lot of great ideas from it as well as from the comments section!
Mary Ann says
I use teaching textbooks for my 3rd and 5th grader. I’m so thankful we discovered this math curriculum!
A few ways I save time is by working with my kindergartener while the older 2 are working on independent work (math and cursive). I also try to have a preschool book or paper, glue and pencil crayons out for my 3 year old to help keep him occupied while we’re busy. He wants to do school, too. 😉
Janelle Allen says
I save time in my homeschooling by using the same curriculum for science and history with my 5th and 2nd grader. The 5th grader has slightly more work required, but both can pull valuable information from the lessons and reading! Makes my planning that much easier.
Teressa says
I love to have the kids fold laundry while we do our read-alouds!
Kori Ireland says
I have always believed in increasing the independence of my kids each year. It must be done carefully or you just have to back track. I love Teaching Textbooks once my kids have a firm grasp of math. I love Tapestry of Grace (history, literature, geography, hands-on, read aloud, philosophy, government, worldview – all in one curriculum!) because it teaches independence while teaching deep thinking, it allows all students of all ages to learn the same topics at their own level. Another best tip for time saving is to let the kids help. Chores, cooking, cleaning, anything that needs to be done – teach your kids to do it. They will be better off as adults and you will all be better off now to work together.
Julie M. says
This would be wonderful to win! I am looking for something new for my daughter. Math is not her strong subject and the help with grading would be such a welcome change!
Kristin says
I am not the master at saving time, but one thing I am doing is trying to track down some of our read aloud a on audio book to listen to as a family while we do other little chores like cleaning up lunch.
Adrienne says
Individual binders/totes for each child with their daily schedule clearly written. Can grab totes when we need to school away from home.
Becky says
Combining kids for some subjects is definitely a time saver! Also encorporating some household tasks into our homeschool day, like cooking and baking, saves me time, and gives them life skills. We just were introduced to teaching textbooks and so far it’s a big hit! Math has been a struggle for some of my kids, so I am excited to try something new.
Melissa C says
Flexibility and being organized. With 5 kids, I need to be organized and prepared. But we are also flexible. With 5 kids, it’s hard to stick to a schedule so we don’t have a set schedule with times. We start when we start, hit the core subjects first and school wherever and whenever.
Terri Baehr says
I have my oldest daughter help my other daughters whenever possible, that is such a great help.
Alisha M. says
These are some great tips! I feel that using the intstsnt pot is helping me save time, and doing my homeschool planning during the summer so we have all our science or art supplies, etc. all ready to go. Thanks for offering such a great giveaway!
Angela D says
For time saving during the week I mean plan, trying to use the Crock-Pot as much as I can. I also like to do all my printing out or photocopying on the weekend. I work full time so our schedule is a little different than most. Send everything had to go on the calendar. It may not be time saving, but it cuts down on frustration.
Jena says
My time saving tip is to try to do group subjects, like safety, music, history, Bible, science, etc. in our Morning Time plans. It is such a lifesaver!
Stephanie Chartier says
Love Teaching Textbooks!! Thanks for the giveaway offer!
Denise says
Looking fwd to giving this a shot. I’ve heard great things about teaching textbooks.
Kristin says
One of my time saving tips is to plan ahead and be flexible. We plan our school year a year in advance, but always leave room for days off when needed. Helps me so much that my older kids can get up and get started on their own without needing too much help from me.
Sandy Tsoi says
I use my personal planner to help me set up my to do list.
Kira says
Thank you so much for this change to win this giveaway. We have used teaching textbooks before and would love to use again.
MacKenzie Mate says
Thank you for being so honest about managing time as a homeschool parent! I have so much on my plate ready and adding schooling to it made me feel overwhelmed, but your post has really helped!!