Bookends:

Picture your favorite set of bookends. You’ve got an end on the left, the books in the middle and then another end on the right side. Without one of the ends, one book falls over, and then another, and another, and well, you get the idea. Our days are similar. If we can start off right, and end right, then the stuff in the middle will all come together as well.

For example, let’s say it’s important to you to start your day with a good workout and a healthy breakfast. It’s also important to you to be well rounded, so you like reading in the evening followed by a quick page of journaling. If you can be consistent and follow your morning routine and evening routine, after a while, you’ll become more routined in the middle of your day too.

Another way to look at it: If everything flops in the middle, you at least did the things that were important to you in the morning and the evening.

Ways the Bookend Approach Works with Homeschool

• Always start with your day with a certain subject, always end with a certain subject
• Start your day together, before doing individual work, then end your day together
• Have your children start and end working individually
• Start with an upbeat playlist and end with a calming one
• Begin with something fun that your kids love and end that way as well
• Begin with the hardest subject, and end with the easiest
• Get going with a cleaning routine and end with a pick-up routine
• Open the day with movement that gets you going, and end it with movement that helps you calm down

There are a ton of ways to bookend your day. So if you can pick out what’s most important for your child to accomplish first thing and last thing, then the middle stuff will follow. And if you have a crazy day, then at least they did what was most important.

So, what is most important? That will all depend on your child and your family. You’ll need to decide. If you need help trying to figure out where to start, our post on Foundations might help. It’s important to know that bookends may change year to year, or even sooner than that. Maybe you try something for a term, and switch it up the next. Be sure to include your children, especially the older ones, in how they would like to begin and end their school day.

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Week by Week Approach

One of my favorite ways to start a new habit or routine is to choose one thing and do it for one week. Then ask yourself how it feels. Are there adjustments that need to be made? Do you like it as is? Is it bringing value to your life? If you need to make changes, do so and try again for another week. If it’s working great, then keep it going. But only add one new thing each week.

Ways the Week by Week Approach Works with Homeschool

• Try adding only one subject at a time, until you’ve got them all going and you are in a rhythm.
• Try adding only one elective subject at a time, but do all the core subjects along with it.
• Start a morning routine
• Start an evening routine
• Begin a reading habit, or any habit at that.
• Learn a new skill
• Set a schedule for practicing a fine art

You get the idea. The week by week approach is a great way to see if something is going to fit in with your current schedule or an even better way to create a routine or try bookending.

Your Homework:

What’s a homeschool blog without a little homework?

• List a few places you are struggling in your homeschool day (getting started in the morning, remembering a life skill to practice, ending on a good note, etc…)
• Pick one place you’d like to improve
• Now list out ten different things you could do to improve your struggle
• Pick one and try it out for a week, then reevaluate.