So here’s another post in my series for back-to-school. (If you missed my post on finding items for your homeschool when thrifting, go here.) It’s perfect because it’s about taking a virtual vacation before school starts, which I’m all for, since I’m still in summer vacation mode. It features Sarah Mackenzie of readaloudrevival.com. So if you are a homeschooling mom, please enjoy this little vacation that you can take anytime and anywhere. If you can’t be watching it with the waves rolling in on a beach, I hope you can watch it while sitting on a porch on a lazy summer evening, outside with your bare feet touching the grass, or under a shady tree, while the kiddos are happily playing or napping.

Watch below. This isn’t just a break but a time to recharge your homeschool mother batteries and get some truth to guide you in the upcoming school year. The main truth is to consider doing less in your homeschooling year to make room for more connections with your children. I love Sarah’s analogy that preparing for a new school year is like packing a bag or backpack for a trip.

I also love her “Rule of Six.” She says to focus on six foundational things in the coming school year.

She says she learned about this rule from homeschooling mom Melissa Wiley. It’s actually seven things, six things, plus prayer. So besides prayer, these are the six things that you want to get to every week in your homeschooling with your children. For her, it includes math, reading aloud, and going outside.

For me and my son, the only one left at home to homeschool, for last year, our six things besides prayer were: Morning Basket (which includes reading aloud), math, theater class, time at gym, Sword of Freedom/Hero Class, trip to the public library, and sometimes a a board game. As the year went on, I found that my old game a day rule made my backpack too heavy so I had to let the #bookandgameaday goin the fall, as well as a drawing exercise every day. That makes sense since he’s getting older and independent in his learning. He’s not into drawing and wants to focus on drumming.

She also suggests to start the school year out slowly with one thing, besides prayer, like attending co-op, and then gradually add in more things to your backpack for your homeschooling trip, like math. You know you are adding too much to your backpack or bag if you can no longer smile at your children and they aren’t smiling at you.

As she says, the curriculum doesn’t matter so much, as long as you are making these connections:

1. Connection to Christ
2. Connection to each other
3. Connection to ideas in books and lessons.

All we can do is offer invitations to these connections, and God takes care of the rest.

As a veteran homeschooling mom who has never used a box curriculum other than Mathusee, and LEMI projects, I totally agree! Such wise words, thank you Sarah! She also features a guest, Joy Clarkson, who says it’s so important to focus on taking care of our bodies. It’s so easy as a homeschooling mom to forget that we have a body. If you ever have a problem in your homeschooling, remember you have a body and take care of it with the right food, sleep, exercise, and time outside. That will help you deal with the problem better. More wise words, thank you Joy!

Over here you can read about how you can homeschool with just a math curriculum, like Mathusee, and a public library card.

Want more of Sarah? Read her books below.

Want more of Joy? Here’s her book that Sarah mentioned in the video.