In order to build something, you need a foundation. It’s that way with buildings and structures, companies and organizations, and it’s the same way with homeschool. While every family determines what their foundations will be, here’s a list of four foundational skills that we have found important when building a home of learning.

1. Taking Care of Ourselves

Taking care of ourselves should be a no-brainer. Yet, so many times we find ourselves running thin on patience, short on time and with a bucket that has nothing left to give. So, how can we possibly teach our children to take care of theirselves? By breaking down personal care routines into small, simple, daily habits. We suggest the following four areas:

Spiritual

We need to be feeding our spiritual self daily. This will look different for everyone but could include things like: prayer, scripture study, meditation, etc. What can you do to help your child nourish their soul daily?

• Teach them to pray
• Teach them to read scriptures from their faith daily
• Teach them to be still
• Teach them to be grateful

Physical

Movement is so important for our physical health. This doesn’t mean you have to be a marathon runner or a body builder. But what is some movement your child loves doing? Dancing, jumping, biking? This will change as they get older and their body more fully develops. Encourage daily play and movement and as they do grow into their body, encourage more.

• Teach them to eat healthy
• Teach them to exercise
• Teach them to get out into nature
• Teach them to compete against themselves
• Teach them to garden

Intellectual

Intellectual will cover both our emotional and mental state. Here, you can teach younger children coping skills, and older children stress management. You can encourage developing skills or talents, especially in areas of the fine arts. They can read, write, or even play. Along with all the do’s, talk about what to avoid to keep our minds and spirits healthy and strong like avoiding excess in all things, or avoiding substances or technology that will dull our senses and judgment.

• Teach them to keep a journal
• Teach them to always be reading by cultivating a reading culture in your home
• Teach them to always be learning a new skill
• Teach them to manage their emotions
• Teach them kindness, humility, and any other values important to your family

Social

Lastly, social development is important. Each child needs to feel needed within their family unit. Each child also needs a friend. Join clubs or co-ops if that fits your families needs. Or stay in and invite friends over for game nights or special events. Don’t have any special events? Plan one! Be social with extended family, neighbors or other people in the community. Take your children to Care Centers for the elderly. Teaching them how to socialize with children their own age, younger and older as well will benefit them as a whole.

• Teach kindness and respect by modeling manners in your home
• Teach them rules of conversation–when to talk and when to listen
• Teach them to share
• Teach them to serve
• Teach them to give

2. Becoming a Self-Starter

A self-starter is just that: someone who gets started without having to be told or asked to do something. How can we cultivate this attitude in our kids? Well… monkey see, monkey do. Right? Our example will go a long way, but so will our clear expectations. Children want to make us proud. They want to do what’s right. They just need guidance. Start small and be clear on your expectations, then praise, praise, praise! Here’s a few simple ways kids can be taught to become self-starters:

In the Home:

• Make their own bed, first thing
• Start off with something spiritual
• Start off with something physical
• Get dressed
• Make a healthy breakfast

For Homeschool:

• Start with a writing prompt daily
• Reading assignment
• Worksheet with a review or quiz
• Handwriting worksheets
• Typing skills
• Anything that can be done without a parent’s guidance

3. Managing Our Time

Managing our time is important for a number of reasons. It keeps us punctual and organized. It can also be a form of self-care. When we can manage the small minutes of our day, we can manage our whole life. Teaching children to manage time will take time. But that’s okay. We start small: five minutes. If they can practice piano for five minutes, they can have five minutes to play. Then we add to it. Five minutes becomes ten and so on, until they are able to get up and get going for at least a thirty minute period.

Another way to show children how much can be accomplished in a short amount of time is to set a timer for two minutes. Tell them everyone in the household has to give their best efforts at cleaning up for only two minutes, then we can (enter a reward: eat ice cream, play a card game, read a book….). After the two minutes is up, praise, praise, praise everyone and walk them through what they just accomplished in no time at all!

Time Management Tips

• Set a wake up time
• Set a bed time
• Have a set schedule: daily and weekly (so they know what to expect)
• Let them keep a planner or simple calendar
• Teach them time management methods like the Pomodoro Method
• Set a timer for a small amount of time to accomplish a task

4. Taking Care of Our Environment

Children need to fit in the family. They need a purpose. And in order for families to function properly, each member needs to share in the responsibilities it takes to keep a household going. Teach them that taking care of our environment sets the tone for how our days go. Especially when it comes to homeschool. There are many ways to do this: children can first learn to make their bed, then to keep their room clean. They then can keep adding to that by helping with other chores around the house like laundry and dishes. Our three-year old sorts the laundry every single week day. After breakfast, he knows it’s chore time so he runs to the bedrooms to get the laundry basket and hauls them to the laundry room where he sorts them into colors, whites, towels and baby. He doesn’t love it everyday, but he’s always very proud of himself when he’s finished. Taking care of our environment teaches us to respect other people’s environments and gives us a clear mind to learn with.

Ideas for Clean Environments

• Give them the responsibility of daily and weekly chores
• Start off with a clean room with bed made
• Start the day with a clean home: this means cleaning up the night before
• Teach kids to pick up after themselves

Your Homework:

What’s a homeschool blog without a little homework?

• Pick one way you and your kids can start taking better care of yourselves, your environment or your time
• Brainstorm 10 ways you can take better care of your selected area
• Pick one way and get to work. Try it out for a week and then reevaluate.