8 Ways to Create a Calm and Peaceful Homeschool
Homeschooling can be emotionally taxing as we try to meet the needs of each member of our family, and it takes thoughtfulness to create a calm and peaceful homeschool.
Some children need more developmental time, while others need to develop more grit, and it is our responsibility to prayerfully discern what each child needs and help them develop better habits.
At the same time, we are trying to stay steady through our own seasons that can take a toll emotionally and physically.
Moving, difficult pregnancies, new babies, financial pressures, illness, and other major life events can leave us feeling overwhelmed and out of control. When we are anxious and depleted, our children often pick up on that tension, and the atmosphere of our home can quickly become unsettled.
But life happens even while we are homeschooling, so I have learned that it is important to have a few tools in our kit that we can return to during stressful seasons. After nearly 30 years of homeschooling, these are some of the practices that have helped me create a calmer, more peaceful home.
1. Breathe Deep
When we are stressed, we often hold our breath without even realizing it. We hold our breath while scrolling, while trying to get everyone out the door, or while dealing with a child who is struggling to listen.
Taking a few slow, deep breaths can help us pause before we react. It gives us a moment to settle ourselves and respond rather than simply react to what is happening around us.
Our children are also very aware of our emotional state. When we learn to practice calm, they have an opportunity to experience that calm with us.
The next time you feel yourself becoming frustrated during a lesson, pause and take a few deep breaths before speaking. Sometimes a small physical reset can change the direction of an entire interaction.
2. Laugh Together
There are no emergencies in the Kingdom.
That doesn't mean that difficult things aren't difficult, but it does mean that we can learn to hold our circumstances with a little more lightness. Sometimes laughter can turn a stressful season into a happy family memory.
When we moved to Mexico as missionaries, we were living off-grid in an intense and unfamiliar location. There were plenty of things that could have made us feel overwhelmed and even scared, but we pushed back against this anxiety through prayer, and through a silly practice of watching an episode of The Andy Griffith Show before our bedtime routine.
It sounds simple, but that little tradition gave us a chance to laugh together and remember that we were still a family enjoying life, even in the middle of a challenging transition.
Don't underestimate the power of humor in your homeschool. Put on music and dance in the kitchen. Tell a silly story. Play a ridiculous game. Read a funny book aloud. Sometimes the most peaceful thing you can do is stop trying so hard and laugh with your children.
3. Nurture Connection
Connection makes almost everything else easier.
Simple habits like making eye contact, giving hugs, sitting close to your children, reading aloud together, and spending a few minutes talking without correcting or instructing can help fill their emotional tanks.
When children feel connected to us, they are often more responsive to our direction. That means they are more likely to sit still during a read-aloud, listen when we give math instructions, or cooperate when it is time to clean up.
This is one reason I love literature-based homeschooling. Reading a beautiful story together gives us an opportunity to learn while also strengthening the relationship between mother and child.
Connection isn't something we do instead of discipline or education. It is part of the foundation that makes both possible.
Shop the Peaceful Press Connection Based Homeschool Resources
4. Establish Loving Authority
You are the parent.
Children are more at ease when they know that someone capable is in charge. Establishing authority does not mean being harsh or controlling. It means that our children can trust us to provide boundaries, direction, and consistency.
We can teach habits of attentiveness and obedience while remaining sensitive to the developmental needs of each child. A three-year-old and a thirteen-year-old should not be expected to demonstrate the same level of self-control, but both can be gently taught to listen, respond, contribute to the family, and follow through.
Peace doesn't come from allowing children to do whatever they want. It comes when everyone understands the expectations and has the support and practice needed to meet them.
One of the gifts of homeschooling is that we have time to teach these habits gradually instead of simply expecting children to know how to behave.
5. Turn Habit Building Into a Game
Young children especially learn through play, and I've found that we can use their natural love of pretend play to help them develop better habits.
Play store and let your children pretend to buy the laundry and then put it away.
Play Cinderella or Annie and give your children household jobs to complete.
Play restaurant and let your children be the waiters, cooks, and dishwashers.
Play school while helping your children develop the habit of sitting for lessons.
Cuddle up in the school area and pretend you are on the Mayflower during your first week of Morning Time to help create a physical boundary for where they can be during school time.
When you incorporate imagination into habit training, you can ease children into behaviors that might otherwise feel difficult or tedious. You are still teaching them to listen, work, and contribute, but you are making the process enjoyable.
This is one of the reasons practical life skills are such an important part of our Peaceful Press resources. Cooking, gardening, cleaning, handicrafts, and caring for the home aren't distractions from education. They are opportunities for children to develop competence, responsibility, and confidence.
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6. Tell Stories That Shape Character
Stories have always been one of my favorite ways to teach children about virtue.
Rather than constantly correcting a child with, "You need to be more diligent," or "You need to obey," we can give them stories that help them imagine what diligence and obedience look like in the lives of other people.
In the Restoration Home Community, we include a weekly picture book that highlights the virtue we are studying. When my children were young, I loved using the Little Jewel books and Wisdom and the Millers to reinforce virtues like obedience, diligence, and respect, and in the Peaceful Press curriculum we include great stories that nurture virtue such as:
Each lesson is geared toward nurturing virtue while engaging the imagination and building strong communication skills.
You can also make up stories about the virtues you are working on in your own home. Tell a story about a little girl who learned to finish her work before playing, or a boy who discovered the joy of helping his younger brother.
Stories give children pictures of the people they can become, rather than simply lists of behaviors they are expected to perform.
If you'd like to learn more about the virtue-based rhythms we use in Restoration Home, mark your calendar for October 1, when we open the community again.
7. Nurture Health
Our bodies and our children thrive on good nutrition, rest, and a schedule that allows margin for unscheduled time outside. When we pack the schedule too full it can lead to burnout and meltdowns.
I also nurture health in my family through healthy whole food meals, fermented foods, and simple supplements like magnesium, fermented cod liver oil, and dessicated beef liver.
Shop my Amazon healthy mama shop here
8. Pray
We have an ever-present God who is our refuge, and He loves our children far more than we do.
That truth changes the way we approach homeschooling.
We don't have to carry the responsibility of transforming our children by ourselves. We can ask God for wisdom when we don't know what to do, patience when we are frustrated, and peace when our circumstances feel overwhelming.
I incorporate prayer throughout the rhythms of my day. I use audio prayers such as the Pause App, pray as I go to sleep and as I wake up, and incorporate family prayers in the morning, evening, and at mealtimes.
Sometimes my prayer is long and thoughtful. Sometimes it is simply, "Jesus, help me."
Both are prayers.
God is for us, and taking time to ask for His help and receive His peace can transform the atmosphere of our homes.
Peace Is Built in the Ordinary
A peaceful homeschool doesn't mean that everyone is always happy, every child always obeys, and lessons always go according to plan.
There will be difficult days. There will be sibling arguments, spilled milk, unfinished math, toddlers who need attention, and mothers who lose their patience.
Peace is not the absence of difficulty. It is learning how to return to what is true in the middle of difficulty.
Take a breath.
Reconnect.
Laugh.
Give clear direction.
Play a game.
Tell a story.
Pray.
Then begin again.
After nearly 30 years of homeschooling, I have learned that the goal isn't to create a perfectly peaceful homeschool. The goal is to cultivate a home where our children experience the presence of God, the security of loving authority, the joy of learning, and the grace to begin again.
Create a More Peaceful Homeschool with The Peaceful Press
The Peaceful Press homeschool curriculum is designed to nurture peaceful homes through virtuous stories, connection-based learning, and practical life skills.
Our literature-rich resources weave together history, science, Bible, poetry, art, nature study, handicrafts, cooking, and meaningful family work so that education becomes part of the life of your home.
The Peaceful Press Elementary Resources
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