The One Thing Rule
"Did you know that you are more likely to feel successful in homeschooling if you do one thing really well today (invest in it, spend energy on it)? If you let other things go and are fully present for one thing, you’ll feel like you got a lot done." --Julie Bogart
As Muslim homeschooling parents, we often strive to nurture our children’s education, faith, and personal growth with zeal.
We have so many aspirations—Qur’an memorization, solid Islamic studies, language, math, science, history, and the list goes on! It’s easy to feel as though we must fit everything in at that precise moment in time lest we lose precious months of our children's early absorption years. But the reality is that we don't need to do it all, and we most certainly don't need to do it all at once.
I want to introduce you to a simple but powerful principle: The One Thing Rule.
The One Thing Rule encourages us to take on one new subject, task, or area of learning at a time. Rather than diving headfirst into multiple new commitments and feeling frazzled, we build up our homeschool load gradually, with intention and ease. This allows both us and our children to adjust to each new subject while maintaining balance in our daily routines.
How many of us dread September because we have filled up our kids' calendars with classes, sports, and extracurricular activities that all happen the first week of the month? If we allowed ourselves some flexibility to start classes and sports at later times in the year by gradually adding them in we would feel way less stressed.
Take a step back, look at that long Wishlist of classes and extracurriculars, and decide what are Needs, and what are Wants, then gradually add in one thing at time.
Doing this simple task will help in the following areas:
Avoid Burnout: It’s easy to get overly ambitious and try to take on too much at once. By focusing on one subject at a time, we allow ourselves and our children to thrive without becoming overwhelmed or stressed, or anxious.
Mastery Before Moving On: Introducing too many subjects at once can cause confusion or surface-level learning for our children. It will also most certainly help kids develop that ever so common "I just need to get this done!" attitude which is often detrimental to our homeschooled child's curious mind and kills love of learning. Mastering one area before moving to the next ensures a solid foundation.
Adjustment Period: Whether you’re adding a new language, extracurricular activities, or more structured academic work, easing into it allows everyone time to adjust and adapt. Time allows our children the mental space they need to connect to any given subject or activity.
Learn 4 simple steps for implementing the One Thing Rule in your homeschool here.