When I first started homeschooling I wanted to hang a sign on our front door… Interrupt Homeschool and prepare to die. I didn’t, but I felt that way.
Interruptions, in my opinion, were unwelcome. They made the homeschool day longer. They frustrated me. I hated interruptions.
Even when my boys had learned all they could and were staring longingly out the window, I was not ready to be interrupted. I didn’t catch those signs. I beat that dead horse. Numerous times!
It was one day when I gave in to an interruption. The boys literally ran out the door before I could set a five minute timer for my phone call.
30 minutes later I walked outside to find them catching lizards. A typical boy thing, but we had just finished a unit study and reptiles. Had we not been interrupted that day we could still be there reading a textbook!
Lizards turned into caterpillars, caterpillars turned into bird counting, bird counting turned into reading favorite stories. Interruptions to get outside and explore became more and more common and more and more welcomed. Attitudes magically changed.
The playground used to be a reward after school work. If the boys had finished everything we would hit the playground. It took many years for me to realize that my boys need physical movement throughout their homeschool day.
If I do not take a break between every few subjects they begin to act out, become bored, or just be overwhelmed with brain fog.
Rather than bribe them to “hurry up and finish” I scheduled little breaks throughout the day. 15 minutes of fresh air surely does a child some serious goodness. I watched it with my own eyes. Not to mention their mama loves Vitamin D as well.
To interrupt homeschool days I highly suggest setting up some ground rules with your children.
Let them know how long they have outside and that there is more school to finish after the break.
Set a real timer either on your phone or in the kitchen. I would say 15 minutes and it would turn into 45 because I lost track of time.
If my boys didn’t feel like playing they were still required to stay outside. I would bring a sketchpad or one of their books to read.
Bring snacks or at least water outside. My boys would head inside and waste their break time getting snacks. Of course they wanted more break time after they finished eating inside. School never got done when I allowed that.
If the weather is bad bring in jump ropes or hula hoops to encourage movement inside. I purchased a mini trampoline just to get out bubbling energy.
Go ahead and Interrupt Homeschool! You never know how much your children {and you} need it!