1. Consistency is key. The #1 tip I hear from veteran homeschoolers is to keep it consistent. We have been very consistent with math and the results show. With other curriculums we have experimented with finding the "perfect" one. What I've learned is that there is no perfect curriculum! Sometimes it's better to stick with the same one. Keep in mind that, over time, the consistent work will pay off. 

Welcome to my annual homeschool end-of-year recap. Today I'm sharing my observations from this year... what worked and what didn't. You do not have to be a homeschool family to benefit from the discussion in this video. These concepts can be translated to fit your family.



For more help with raising well-rounded children, check out my book, Connoisseur Kids: Etiquette, Manners, and Living Well for Parents and Their Little Ones from Chronicle Books.



Let's get into the ten observations from this year... in no particular order.
1. The power of dictation Dictation works wonders for children (adults too!) You don't need a curriculum to practice dictation. Simply read an age-appropriate passage from a living book and have your child write down what they hear, paying close attention to spelling, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. This reveals what language arts concepts they are struggling with. The correction process should be gentle and positive.

2. The lasting power of living books Learning through living books (as opposed to a stale text book) has more lasting power. Children tend to remember the concepts in a more meaningful way rather than just memorizing facts. For example, my daughter was studying California History as is mandated for the 4th grade. We enjoyed the California History series from Beautiful Feet Books. She devoured Island of the Blue Dolphins and Zia and is really enjoying learning history through reading.

3. Art Appreciation is fun for the whole family Each Monday we study a work of art and would generally stay on the same artist for 6 weeks. We would all gather around to study it and take time on each painting. This was a wonderful part of our week (everyone can do this... not just homeschooling families!) My (at the time) three-year-old son has been able to recognize paintings from both Monet and Mary Cassatt. How cool is that?

4. Short, impactful lessons are more effective for us This might not hold true for every child and learning style, but we found that short, impactful lessons were more effective than long, drawn-out lessons.

5. A adherence to routine is necessary This might not be true for all families, but for us, an adherence to routine is important. The children build good habits by waking up and going through their morning routine before school begins.

6. The morning hours are precious Sometimes through various scheduling conflicts, our homeschool day gets pushed back and we will start in the afternoon. This is never as successful for us. There is something about those morning hours that creates an atmosphere ripe for learning. I try to avoid distractions between the hours of 9am and noon for this very reason.

7. Involve the little ones first The number one question I get from other homeschoolers is, "What do you do with your toddler and baby during school time?!" The baby's nap occurs largely during school hours so that is taken care of. As for our preschooler... he wakes up earlier than the other children and so we start school together first with uninterrupted learning time. He loves this! Then he will join us for certain morning time subjects like art study, etc. While we do the main subjects, he will play independently, work on an art project, or watch one show.

8. Certain children need time constraints One child had a hard time coming back to work from a break so we decided she needed a timer. Depending on how long the break was, she then knew that she had to get a snack and relax during the time frame, just like with a normal recess. I benefit from a 15-minute timer in my adult life and our children are no exception.

9. Lots of outdoor time Outdoor time is very important. Just spending time in nature and allowing the children to observe and relax helps to calm them down. If anyone has a bad attitude (especially the little ones!) going out into the garden tends to reset things.

10. Focus on the love of learning One of the major reasons why we homeschool is because we feel it is very important to foster a love of learning. Learning should be fun and interesting and we want out kids to be life-long learners. When homeschool gets hard or you have burn-out, focus on the love of learning. Don't be afraid to take a break from a tricky subject and get into the kitchen to bake or go to a fun science experiment, or read a living book instead. You can get back to the tricky subject later when frustrations have been reset.

I hope you enjoyed this end-of-year recap. I would love to know how your family's educational year went.

Please note: if you are new to homeschooling, you'll want to listen to the beginning chat about socialization and academics. If you are not new, and want to skip to the ten observations discussed in the video, please see these time stamps below. YouTube also has a new feature called, "library cards", where if you hover over the video, you will see the different discussion topics and time stamps:

0:00 Start
2:23 crisis schooling
4:00 socialization
5:21 academics
7:15 dictation
9:55 living books
11:14 art study
12:09 short lessons
12:59 routine is necessary
13:49 morning hours
14:22 homeschooling with babies & toddlers
15:46 use of a timer
16:35 outdoor time
17:03 foster a love of learning

What I'm wearing: Très Chic Sweatshirt

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This is a short, informational video on the life of Mary Cassatt that is set to her beautiful paintings. I hope it enriches your Chic Assignment this month.

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フランス人は10着しか服を持たない/ジ ェニファー.L.スコット 神崎朗子 ええい、あれもこれも全部リセットだ整理整頓だ!! と思った次の週末が、今日。全然進んでません.. 季節の変わり目はこういう本が読みたくなります笑。 #読書日記 #備忘録 #メモ #本好きな人と繋がりたい #あれもこれも#読みたい #表紙デザイン #本 #本のある暮ら し #book #cover #装丁 #フランス人は10着しか服を持たない #ジェニファーlスコット #jenniferlscott #神崎朗子 #クローゼット#衣替え #完了しない #おかしいな

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Comment of the Week

Melanie D. writes, "I love these homemaking videos, Jennifer! They are so calming and relaxing to watch, and I get so much inspiration from them! Love the wallpaper too! My husband has unfortunately banned wallpaper from our house LOL! When we bought it, every (and I mean every!) room had wallpaper, so it's been quite a process taking it all down and painting. After that, he said no more! Thank you for another wonderful video!"


Hi Melanie, I had many comments from people who said similar things. I am glad that Ben likes wallpaper as much as I do. I can imagine that taking down wallpaper in every room would be enough to make your husband never want it... although to me it sounds like a dream. Ha! :)

I would love to know how your school year went. Do you homeschool? How was schooling through the pandemic? What worked for you and what didn't? Let us know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on The Daily Connoisseur.


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FTC: Today's video is sponsored by Skillshare. Also, I use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links.