Tips for Homeschooling--Part One--Dress the Part

I have always been a bookworm, and lately much of my reading has to do with homeschooling. I'm sometimes overwhelmed by all of the resources out there and have a hard time absorbing it all. Some of these tips come from my own short experience as a mom, some come from favorite bloggers who have shared their own ideas, and some from older, wiser authors who have paved the way for homeschoolers. Many of these tips apply to homemakers in general and not just to homeschoolers.

Dress the Part

I personally find that I feel like more of a teacher when I'm dressed nicely for my day. This is not to say I won't ever take advantage of the opportunity homeschoolers have to lounge around in PJ's now and then and have a lazy day, but for the most part I prefer to be wearing nice, everyday, feminine clothes and have my hair fixed. (You will remember a post in the late winter I wrote about my hair going by the wayside when I had a third kid. Thankfully that was temporary during the time my husband was hurt and I now have time each morning to do hair and make-up! I sure paid the price for being that open on my blog! I assure you I did not drive my husband away into the arms of another woman because I had a stressful season of life where my hair was a low priority!)

There are many reasons I want to look nice, not just to get into my "role" of being a teacher but also because:

*It models good hygiene for my kids
*It honors and blesses my husband
*We see LOTS of people throughout the day--because our home is near a riverwalk we see countless walkers/bikers/neighbors out with dogs and because we live in a rental that is under contract to be sold and has a totally worthless foundation we have lots of repairmen and inspectors dropping by unexpectedly. There's nothing more embarrassing than being in your skimpy summer pajamas with wild hair when people drop by!
*I represent Christ to those around me who know I'm a Christian. I want my behavior and appearance to adorn the gospel and not detract from it.
*I represent young mothers (in a world that discourages women from having kids) and stay-at-home moms (in a world where this is a rarity) and don't want to look like I'm miserable and unkempt in my important and joyous role, which I do love in spite of the less-fun moments.
*I represent mothers of many (in our town you get endless comments if you have more than two) and homeschooling mothers as well (freaks for sure!) and want to look nice to lessen the criticism I already get on a regular basis.




In accordance with dressing the part myself, I expect my kids to have clean clothing and combed hair before we begin homeschooling. Is it life or death? Not at all. As a teen I babysat often for a family of homeschoolers that had a very loose schedule, never had combed hair, and their house was a collossal mess. But today those girls are incredibly smart, talented, kind young women who have great fashion sense and hygiene. Even if appearance isn't a major issue, I feel that my kids should be learning to care for themselves daily because it teaches them personal discipline and because of the reasons mentioned above. Putting on clean, neat clothing and combed hair only takes a few minutes anyhow!

More Tips on Homeschooling to Come.....