151: How Kids Learn Better with Short Lessons in Homeschooling
Homeschool doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or exhausting. In this episode, we’ll explore the power of short lessons in homeschooling—a simple shift that helps kids stay focused, build confidence, and reduce daily stress.You’ll discover practical ways to break subjects into smaller sessions, add movement breaks, and use short lessons for mastery. With real-life examples for both elementary and high school, you’ll see how to make lessons in homeschooling more effective and doable for every age and stage. ✅ Why kids lose focus in long lessons (and how to fix it) ✅ How to structure short lessons for younger and older students ✅ The role of breaks and movement in keeping attention ✅ Practical examples for history, science, and more ✅ How short lessons build confidence and consistency👉 Grab the free notebooking resource mentioned in this episode to make short homeschooling lessons even more effective!Resources Mentioned:FREE Notebooking PagesShow Notes: Hey everyone, Kerry Beck here with Homeschool Coffee Break, where we help you stop the overwhelm so you can take Coffee Break. We want to get you where you're not overwhelmed, you have the confidence to do what you need to do in homeschooling, and today's topic is so practical.It is something you can implement today, right after you listen to this. We're talking about building consistency and why shorter lessons can make a huge difference.The Problem with Long LessonsThink about it. You sit down with your 8-year-old to do a math lesson. And the first 10 minutes go well. But by minute 15, your kid's squirming in his chair, doodling in the margin, and suddenly needs a drink of water. And by minute 20, they're groaning, dragging their pencil, or even saying, this is too long, I hate math.It's not that they can't do the work. Their brains just aren't built for long lecture-style lessons. Most kids, especially in the elementary years, learn better with shorter, focused bursts of learning, and then followed by some sort of change of pace. You've heard that from Charlotte Mason, we're going to talk about that in a minute.So, you might do something focused, and then change to a hands-on activity or discussion, something that has some sort of movement in it. Remember that more learning, and this, if you do short lessons, you'll see more learning and less stress for you, mom, and your child.You see, the problem is long lessons often backfire. And maybe mom's all into it, but the kids aren't. Kids lose focus quickly, and then frustration happens for mom and the child. And then this leads to ups and downs and lots of inconsistency in your home school. We want to build consistency so that there's a little bit of learning taking place every single day.The Reality Check StorySome of you might sit down. We used to do read alouds, and it may be from a history book, and you begin to read aloud to your kids every morning. But about halfway through, you look around and you notice glazed over eyes. And by the end, one child is sprawled across the couch, staring at the ceiling, another fiddling with the Legos, and the youngest has just wandered off completely.And you think, they just don't like history. Now, I personally think it's okay if they're doing things with their hands. But you're like, they don't like it, I don't know what to do, and you have a good friend, hopefully maybe a veteran homeschool mom telling you, hey, you know what? If you would introduce this into smaller chunks instead of trying to read for an hour, that would be hard for me as an adult.Just read a few pages one day, and do a quick map, or a quick little activity afterwards, or let them narrate back to you. All of a sudden, your kids can lean in and maybe start asking questions as well.Why Traditional School Methods Don't Work at HomeSo the problem is, sometimes we as moms are trying to model after the traditional school, which is come in, sit down for an hour, and then go to the next class. And this is even true in elementary, in 3rd, 4th, and fifth, they are changing classes, and they're doing all types of these activities.You see, there is power in the short lessons, and they are focused. Why, these are easier for your kids to concentrate. It is said, and studies show, that a children's average attention span is about 2 to 5 minutes for each year of age. So, a 7-year-old can focus for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, and those longer lessons they lose focus and don't remember anything, and if you would just stick with this, they're going to have greater retention, and their mind isn't going to go off wandering after the 15 minutes.Parents, also, you will stay energized, and you will stay content, because all of a sudden, your kids are paying attention. They can focus for 15 minutes. This can help build consistency with a predictable routine. This, all of a sudden, is achievable.Charlotte Mason Was RightCharlotte Mason knew this, you've read this. She believes that shorter lessons are better for all the kids. Younger kids, 10 to 20 minutes. Older kids, maybe 30 to 45 minutes. This helps preserve their attention span, and it prevents all the dawdling and all the wasted time. And they build a habit of focus, of full focus, because it's for a short period of time.You know, and lots of homeschoolers have fallen into what Charlotte Mason has said in her home education series. So let's talk about this from an elementary perspective and a high school perspective. How could we really implement this?Elementary Example: 30-Minute History LessonLet's say in elementary, we want to have a 30-minute history lesson, and we're going to study ancient Egypt and the pyramids. Here is the suggestion. You read aloud, or they could read quietly, but I would say read aloud for 10 minutes and narrate. So you read aloud a short passage from their history storybook about ancient Egypt, and ask one question. Tell me what you remember about the pyramids, or whatever the topic is. And that's it!Then, you do a quick hands-on project, like build a pyramid out of sugar cubes or Legos. And then, finally, maybe you have an educational video that's only 3 to 5 minutes, and then for the next 5 minutes, they are going to write something in their notebook, because you choose to record what they are learning in a notebook.If you're not familiar with notebooking, you can go to HowToHomeschoolmychild.com slash notebooking. We will put this in the show notes, and you can learn how to use notebooking, and it's not a bunch of waste and multiple choice, busy work.You watch an educational video, maybe on the Nile, and the impact that it had on Egyptian farming, and then they draw a picture of the Nile, or they write about the Nile. That is three 10 minutes. You start with reading and narrating, then you do a hands-on activity, then we go back to a 3-5 minute video, and then another hands-on activity of drawing a picture or writing about what you just learned. That's something simple for elementary ages.High School Example: 45-Minute Biology LessonLet's fast forward into high school. Biology. You read for about 10 minutes, taking notes from your biology book, whatever you're using. Just take some quick notes. And then, you have a 15-minute lab on whatever that topic is. And your student maybe sketches in their lab notebook what they are seeing in the microscope. Maybe it's onion cells, or whatever. So that's 25 minutes.We're shooting for Charlotte Mason, 30 to 45 minutes. Then, we're going to have them, after they've done all the hands-on lab, then we want them to write a short paragraph summary of how this structure relates the cell structure to how the cell functions. And that might be a 10-minute paragraph, or put it in a notebook. Notebooks are great even for high school kids.Maybe it's a lab notebook where you're drawing the pictures, and then you write a 10 minute… for 10 minutes about that item. And then, finally, a last 10 minutes to review maybe the key terms with flashcards, or maybe an app like Quizlet.But this breaks a 45-minute biology lesson into 10 minutes of reading and taking notes, 15-minute lab, 10-minute writing and summarizing, and then 10-minute review. Kids are going to learn more than just saying, read and take notes for 45 minutes. They're going to fall asleep, maybe. So break it down into short, bite-sized sessions as well.Four Practical Tips for ImplementationThat's tip number one. Break your subjects into mini sessions.Tip number two, include breaks or movement between lessons. Even as a high schooler, get up and walk around. As a worker, I am upstairs on the computer, I put a timer on for 25 minutes, and then when that's up, I get up, I come down, do some kind of activity, and then I go back. I'm an adult! If I need it, kids need it even more.When our kids were in elementary. At 10 o'clock, we took a 15-minute break. It was resource, resource, recess, or outdoor play. They would go outside and do something. It gave me a break, it gave them a break, they needed to run around, they would come in, and we would have a little morning snack. And then we would hit the books again, or whatever the activity was.Tip number three, focus on mastery, not just completing and checking off the lists or some long schedule. You need to get off the productivity hamster wheel. Stop using someone else's checklist. Mastery is what you want. That's one reason I loved using Matthew C. If they didn't learn it, you went back, and they had to pass it. Same with Bonetic Zoo. If they couldn't make 100% on their spelling test two times, they didn't move on. They kept practicing the same words until they learned all of it.And then tip number four, use short lessons for review, reinforcement, or new concepts. You can use it for any of these things, just like I described in our biology lesson.Addressing Common ConcernsNow, some of you, I know what you are thinking. You're like, well, what if I don't finish the book? I've told you before, I was a public school teacher for 6 years, and I don't remember I ever finished a textbook. You're thinking, will this cover everything we need? You know what? It probably won't. Everyone has gaps in their education. You have to decide which gaps are you willing to live with.A gap in academics? I was fine with. Because I was giving my kids a love of learning and tools of learning, so that they could learn anything in the future. Gentry didn't like math, but she knew how to do math, she knew how to figure it out. And so she would do as much as she needed to get through college, because she still probably doesn't. I'm sure she's using a calculator. But when there's motivation to learn it, then you're going to learn it. She had the tools to learn math, even though she didn't know every little detail of every concept.What if my child finishes too quickly? I'm like, yay! Give them some freedom! Let them go study something. Let them go explore. Let them go invent something. Let them go outside and run off energy and shoot some baskets. Why does it matter? You don't have to fill in a 4-hour time period, or especially an 8-hour day. If they finish too quickly. Maybe it's too easy, maybe you need to bump it up a little bit, but that should not be a reason to quit using short lessons.Consistency over quantity is what is going to matter more than anything. Remember that short lessons build momentum and confidence for you, mom, and for your kids. And who… why not? Let your kids feel confident that they have succeeded in a 10 or 15 minute lesson. Otherwise, you're going to give them a 30, 45 minute, 60-minute lesson, and they're going to fail. They are losing momentum, and they are losing confidence.Shorter lessons build momentum, and they build consistency and confidence. All right. And they reduce your stress and your kids' stress. That's just better learning all around.Your Action StepSo I would really encourage you to try implementing some 10 to 15 minute lessons in one subject this week or next week. Just pick one subject, keep doing whatever you're doing. Find one subject that you could shorten their lessons.Want to make those lessons even more engaging? Get free notebooking resources - you'll find many notebooking pages and ideas for hands-on learning that make short lessons even more effective!
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