February 25, 2026 – Favorite Teacher Tips and Resources

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

Three Places I Find Help

As a home educator, you will need practical help and resources like any other teacher. We cannot be lone rangers in this journey of home education. We need support. Because homeschooling has exploded, the amount of help and number of resources available have also exploded. So, it really helps to hear from others who have the same age children or are a few steps ahead. Word of mouth and testimonials are wonderful helps for decision making.

I have found most of my help in three places:

1. My local homeschool support group and the moms who are loaded with wisdom. Nothing beats sitting with local friends and discussing homeschooling. Here is a listing of support groups by state. I highly recommend joining a state or local group.
   
2. Many wonderful authors and experts in home education who have shared with us in the pages of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. Over these twenty plus years, I have grown in wisdom through them and I am so grateful. 
   
3. My local homeschool convention. There is nothing more powerful than seeing you are not alone, reviewing curriculum in person, and listening to amazing speakers. My paradigm has shifted many times over many conventions.

Please let us know your questions or struggles, and we will answer or point you in the right direction. We love to support the homeschool family in every way as you take up the call to keep your children Home. Where They Belong. 

~Deborah

Check out these homeschool hacks:

Math Lesson Hacks by Brigitte Brulz

Household Hacks and Helpful Ideas by Alyssa Hemmer

Field Trip Hacks by David Cox

Homeschooling While Working Remotely: Three Life Lessons by Lindsey Knerl

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Fun, easy, and effective handwriting lessons! Teach kids to print with rhymes, music, and videos developed by an Occupational Therapist. Build confidence with every lesson.  www.rhythmandwriting.com

Heidi Mosher

Weary? Try These Rhythms of Rest

Rest is a tremendous resource for a homeschool mom. Claim it for yourself with these rhythms. 

Nap! In my early homeschool years, a mom I looked up to told me that she napped every day. Her admission transformed me into an unapologetic napper, and, ultimately, blessed my family. I found that a bit of daily physical rest was a wise investment in family life. Ten to twenty minutes was enough to help me mother well for the remainder of the day. If the kids are safe and occupied, close your eyes for a few minutes! 

Choose weekly rest. Just one girl in my freshman dorm at my Christian college regularly took Sundays off from studying in order to rest. She decided to follow the Lord’s guidance established way back in Genesis 2:2-3. (He knew we’d need rest!) Her habit was not unlike that of the families we had grown up in, but her personal choice to rest made an impact. She planned ahead to make her plan work, and she was the envy of all. Following this wonderful practice has turned my Sundays and Mondays into my two favorite days of the week. On Sundays, I rest (from non-essential chores, email replies, homeschool responsibilities, planning, shopping, etc.) to fill up with the Lord’s Word (and I nap, of course!). On Mondays, I’m refreshed and ready to conquer the world. 

Weary and burdened? Jesus invites,“Come unto me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

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About the author

Heidi Mosher is honored to write for The Homeschool Minute, as it was a lifeline of her early homeschooling years. She is thankful to be the mother of four: three recent homeschool graduates and one in high school.

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Adam and Dianne Riveiro

AI as a Homeschool Resource

Let’s be honest, we are still very much in uncharted waters when it comes to using artificial intelligence for any application, let alone in our homeschools. Using AI resources like ChatGPT, Grok, or Copilot, just to name a few, is not the enemy. If you’ve considered using AI to help you with your homeschool, here are a few basics to help you begin using it wisely.

• Do use it to create charts, graphs, and images. AI can produce many kinds of visuals with ease, but you may need to ask it to refine its first attempt before it is useful.
• Do use it to get ideas. If you want to add an activity to a lesson but aren’t sure what to do, this kind of brainstorming is an excellent use of AI.
• Do use it for background research. AI can help you do a deep dive on unfamiliar topics. Be sure to tell it to cite sources so that fact checking is easier later. Speaking of facts . . . 
• Don’t forget to check your facts. Sometimes AI gives incorrect information, and it can do so confidently. Check every sentence for accuracy before trusting its output.
• Don’t expect it to do too much. At first, AI can seem limitless. Over time, its weaknesses become clearer. It is a tool, and like any tool, it does some tasks better than others.

Do not be afraid to use AI in your homeschool, but use it as a tool, not a crutch!

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About the author

Pastor Adam and Dianne Riveiro live in Easton, Massachusetts, where Adam serves as the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church. Together, they’ve authored several books, including their newest book Ministering to YOUR Children with Special Needs, published by Ready Scribe Publications. Parents to four amazing kids—Bethany, Kaylee, AJ, and Peyton—the Riveiros are deeply committed to helping special needs families discover joy and contentment through Christ.

Sherri Seligson

Helpful Teaching Hints for the New Year

Once the Christmas and New Year holidays are over, many of us face the long, cold winter ahead and have a hard time wanting to dive back into the school year. The curriculum is no longer new and shiny, it’s hard to step into routine again, and we are looking for new ways to make our homeschooling hours exciting and well spent. I get it. Well, hopefully some of these helpful teaching hints will reignite your homeschool spark and reawaken the learning. 

Rethink what was working in your school day and what was a struggle before the holidays. Do the challenging subjects when your kids are their most awake and alert. Consider not doing every subject every day. Maybe do a day and a half of math on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Or extend the reading lessons into discussion time, writing, and vocabulary. Combine science with arts and crafts, illustrating concepts or building models.

Take a walk while reviewing spelling words. And take a day or an afternoon off from school to just be together with your children and do life. A grocery store trip, visiting friends, or even reorganizing the toy chest can spark excellent conversations and build relationships. After all, we want more than academics. We want our children to grow into mature men and women who love and serve God, using the good gifts He has given them. And that happens from doing more than just teaching reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.

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About the author

Sherri Seligson, M.Ed. is a 21-year veteran homeschool mom, marine biologist and author of Apologia’s science courses, instructional videos, and more. Sherri loves encouraging moms and teaching families the wonders of God’s creation. www.sherriseligson.com; Facebook: SherriSeligsonAuthor; Instagram: sherriseligson 

Teachers make learning come alive! At SchoolhouseTeachers.com, we’ve got your go-to resources that help unify your homeschool from Writing On This Day in History to Art & History: Interconnected, plus practical ways to weave literature, geography, and writing throughout the week. See all that SchoolhouseTeachers.com has to offer!