Happy Habits of a Homeschooler

I thought that today's Heart of the Matter meme would be ideal for getting intentional about habits I'd like to incorporate into our upcoming official homeschooling. When I think about our homeschooling, so many thoughts and activities swirl around that it's hard to carve out and prioritize what we should be doing and what will make it run more smoothly. Of course, I'm sure we'll discover many more habits to incorporate as we go through the process. Here is what I've thought should become habits at Seven Pillars Academy.

• Having devotional time to start each day. Reading aloud Catherine Vos's The Child's Story Bible, prayer, and Bible songs would help to instill Biblical values and would start each day off with God.
• Doing scripture memorization. I think that I'll combine the verses we'll do with A Reason for Handwriting with the scripture memory system I wrote about here.
• Keeping a daily agenda on a whiteboard. I know from teaching high school and attending a myriad of meetings that things go much more smoothly if everyone knows what to expect. I'll write our daily schedule on the whiteboard so that Emily Anne (and eventually Will) will know what the day will hold.
• Reading on long car trips. We have gotten too much in the habit of plugging in a DVD for the children on long car trips, and I would like us to share the experience of hearing a book read aloud, whether read aloud by me while dad does the driving or a book on CD. I think this shared reading would make for great memories!

For more Happy Habits of Homeschoolers, visit the Heart of the Matter.