If you are like many people who follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you are wondering what is up with my kids wearing uniforms for homeschool.
I know. I know. It seems somehow un-homeschoolish, doesn’t it?
Maybe not wanting to stress about if you and your kids are dressed in the morning is the whole reason you started homeschooling in the first place.
But it really works well for our family. My kids have been wearing uniforms for homeschool ever since Betty, my second, started kindergarten six years ago.
Here are three reasons uniforms + homeschool works for us:
1. Less Laundry
My kids each have two complete uniforms. Most years we’ve done two different color polo shirts, but I found the uniform shirts in a two pack at Costco this year, so we’re going with all red, all the time. Anyway, two complete uniforms, and they wear each one for two days. One Monday and Tuesday, the other Wednesday and Thursday, then play clothes for parkday on Friday.
We live in LA, so the boys wear shorts and shirtsleeves year round. The girls have sweaters, just in case.
What we use as our uniforms has varied over the years. This year it’s Costco shirts and Target shorts for the boys. The girls’ pieces I ended up getting from French Toast online. Other years I’ve ordered from Lands End. One year Betty and Anita wore home-sewn plaid dresses I made for them over the summer.
The kids don’t change out of their uniforms after school unless they have sports practices. If they get dirty, I (or they) just spot clean them a bit.
Overall, it cuts down our total amount of laundry by about a third for the week. Yay.
2. Less Stress
I was a public school kid, and my mom, who had gone to Catholic school, always lamented that we didn’t have uniforms, because it was such a pain getting clothes picked out in the morning.
I find that kids not having to worry about picking what to wear saves time in the morning. ESPECIALLY with younger kids. That’s why even my preschoolers wear uniforms. (But not the baby.)
We have some trouble keeping track of sports uniforms, despite having a dedicated bin that they’re all supposed to live in in the laundry room. But I think that’s because the kids only wear them once a week, which gives them plenty of time to disappear on us. That hasn’t been a problem with the school uniforms.
On Monday and Wednesday evenings, they fold what they’re wearing and leave it
neatly by the door of their rooms for the next day. (Or they leave it in a crumpled pile there, but still.) On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it goes into the dirty clothes bin.
In the morning, you just grab it and put it on. Plaid shorts if
it’s Monday, khaki shorts if it’s Wednesday. Done.
Fewer choices = less drama.
3. More Cute
I’m a big believer that what I wear matters. It affects my confidence and productivity. I actually kind of doubt that the same is true of my kids. They don’t seem to really notice what they’re wearing. Certainly not the boys anyway.
But I enjoy tidy, schoolish-looking children. Them being in uniform makes our school seem more legit to them and to me. It reminds me what is my primary responsibility during the day. Mass is special, so we wear special clothes for it. School is special, too.
School starts for us . . . TODAY!
Let’s introduce the cast of characters, and I’ve got a little giveaway for ya at the end.
Here is the enthusiastic student body of the Tierney Family School: 2015-2016.
And . . . NOT attending the Tierney Family Homeschool this year:
He’s leaving the nest! (But needs help with his tie.)
She gets to wear whatever she wants.
You might also enjoy . . .
Why I Homeschool Like That
Homeschooling: One-Room Schoolhouse Meets Three-Ring Circus
Why What I Wear Matters
Gifts From Our Father is an illustrated Catholic prayer book that was
created to help teach kids the richness of their faith while inspiring
the adults in their lives to reconnect with their Catholic faith as
well. The engaging illustrations are attractive for kids of all ages,
while the prayers and lessons are accessible and suitable for all
Catholics.
It covers prayers, traditions, pious practices, saints, the basics of the faith, and the liturgical year. It would be a great resource for any Catholic family, homeschooling or not. To win your very own copy, just leave a comment telling me your favorite prayer. I’ll announce the winner ON THE BLOG on Friday.
So excited for this post! I mentioned in another comment that "homeschool uniforms" is how I found this blog. I love it! Now on to enjoying the post. Thank you!
My favorite prayer is the memorare.
I love the Rosary, and also St. Michael the Archangel.
Do the girls ever wear shorts or do they only get to wear skirts or jumpers?
They prefer skirts and dresses, so that's what they chose. They have bike shorts under. In case anyone needs to do a somersault.
Hail Mary…simple. Love the uniforms!
Memorare! Wish I'd thought of uniforms a long time ago!!
Hands down favorite prayer is the Prayer of St. Ephraim – it is so awesome.
Close second is St. Michael Prayer and runner up to that is the Lorica of St. Patrick – btw I have not memorized so I the girls begged me to read/say/pray it on the way to school last Lent which I don't recommend while driving!
My favorite prayer is known as the "Guardian Angel Prayer" in my family. It's a "spiritual mass" prayer, rhymes, and is so sweet. The rhyming also makes it easier for little kids to remember.
The memorare! May God bless you this year!
Memorare! And jack looks quite dashing in his uniform, as do the others!
One of my favorite prayers is a morning offering that my husband's grandfather use to say everyday! He made me a copy of it one of the first times we ever met and I've been saying it ever since! When I use to teach middle school Religion I use to teach it to my students and we said it every morning!
Oh Jesus, you are my Creator and Protector and the ultimate end of my existence.
I believe you, strengthen my faith.
My hopes are in you, may they live and grow.
I love you, teach me to love you even more.
Fill my heart with thanks for your goodness,
Love of my neighbor, charity toward my enemies and distrust of worldly wisdom.
Make me prudent in my undertakings, patient in affliction and humble in good fortune.
Grant that I may be attentive to my prayers and ever mindful of your presence through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Thank you for sharing that morning offering! It's beautiful and I've been looking for one that I could connect with like that. Now I'm going to start saying it daily! Thank you!
My favorite prayer (so far) is the Hail Mary. I've loved it since I first heard it, and my grandmother wrote it out for me in her exquisite cursive, when I was still in grade school. Long before I ever considered the Catholic Church! 🙂 Wish I still had that piece of paper…
Whenever I pray it I think of her, too, and know that she and the Blessed Mother are both interceding for me before the Throne of Grace.
Memorare
I love the Memorare…trying to teach it to our preschooler currently which is uber cute to witness
I love the St. Michael prayer!
We have two Michaels in our household so I'm pretty partial to St. Michael's prayer.
Hopefully this doesn't publish twice!
My favorite prayer is one that my husband and I had printed on prayer cards distributed at our wedding. It talks about our relationship with each other and God, and helps us reflect on our marriage as a sacrament and on a day-to-day level.
Before I talk about my favorite prayer I would just like to say that I LOVE your idea of having uniforms for the kids during school. I do believe, like you, that having uniforms puts them in the "now is work time" mindset. My kids went to parochial school and would change into play clothes after homework so that they could get in the "now is playtime" mindset. That being said I would love this book for my grandbaby who is going to be 1 in a couple of weeks. My favorite prayer is Psalm 23…isn't everyone's?
Oh my, the Hail Mary, because She certainly knows the struggles of mothering…
The Hail Mary
I did really enjoy this post, but mostly I have to say that I just about died when I saw the last pic of Mary Jane. That little chin! Those cheeks! The tiny baby hands! Such cute! :oD
Nothing is better than the Hail Mary…however..the morning and night Guardian Angel prayers in our house have become so important to us.
Hi Kendra,
I'm not sure if the giveaway is open to Canadian readers but I wanted to share my favourite prayer in any event! This is dear to my heart as I learned it as a first grader and have been saying it (three times) after I receive communion every single time since I was six. Now I'm teaching it to my preschooler daughter (my oldest)!
Father in communion, I believe in you.
You have promised me yourself, and your Word is true.
Jesus hidden God, I love you. Come to me and stay.
Be the bread that makes myself, more like you each day.
Thanks so much for the wonderful blog, and happy first day of school!
Shannon
I love the morning offering. When I say it with the kids we always have such great discussions about struggles and offering up.
Kendra, What is your uniform for school days?
I don't have a set uniform, but I do change out of jammies or running clothes into a real outfit. 🙂
Hail Mary, especially in times of stress or worry. I try to also remember a daily offering – it is a great way to start the day.
My favorite prayer is the Memorare.
My favorite prayer is the St. Michael Prayer!
I like the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
This is so fascinating to me! Thanks for sharing! P.S. Have you already shared about your decision to send Jack out of the nest this year? Did I miss it? I'd love to hear.
A "mystery blogger" wrote about it for me last Thursday on the blog.
I was thinking the whole time I read that… this has got to be Kendra!
Oh, I was right! I'd told my husband I was pretty sure that was actually you 🙂 I really enjoyed that post, your oldest reminds me of my now-7-year-old oldest. We're playing it by ear as far as who/if we homeschool high school and I could see my son being one that we choose to send to school actually. He loves homeschool right now but he's such an independent kid I can see us butting heads at that middle school age. I'd love to hear updates on how it goes later in the year or at the end what his impressions were. He looks sharp in his uniform, love the tie 🙂
The Guardian angel prayer. I say it every morning to start our day off right!
Definitely the Hail Mary.
What was your deciding factor for sending oldest to private school? Favorite prayer here is the Rosary
Check out the mystery blogger post from last Thursday about the terrible twelves. 🙂
I think your thoughts on homeschooling and uniforms are quite interesting. While I was totally not a uniform-wearing homeschooler, I think there are some definite benefits to it, especially the whole simplicity factor. When I started attending Catholic school as a teenager, it was nice and simple that I had my clothes automatically picked out every day! Plus, uniforms encouraged creativity in hairstyles and accessories 🙂 Now, I do have a question, 'cause I wasn't too sure when I read the post (my brain is kinda fuzzy this morning) with the uniform-wearing, do your kids have a regularly scheduled "end" to the school day, where they change into play clothes? Or is it uniforms until sports or bedtime?
Thanks for this great post! Also, the pics of your kids are adorable 🙂 Oh yeah, and my favorite prayer is Cardinal Mercier's "Secret of Sanctity and Happiness":
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your Will.Amen.
In order to keep laundry to a minimum, they keep their uniforms on until they change into sports clothes if they have practice, or their jammies. If they get dirty, we spot clean.
Ok, cool beans! I'm sure the decrease in laundry is absolutely amazing!
I love Hail Holy Queen, mainly because I love hearing my 4yo pray it! I think the uniform idea is wonderful! Less laundry sounds awesome!:-)
We have many favorite prayers- we love the prayer cubes we picked up at the Mebkin Abbey but one of the kids favorite is a sung prayer in a round "God our Father, God our Father- Once again, "whoo" once again "whoo", Thank you for our blessings, Thank you for our blessings, Ahhh a men, "whoo", Ahh a men "whoo". The kids teach it to everyone who eats a meal with us! Can you hear the song? LOL
Our three year old, Gemma, has taken to the Divine Mercy chaplet; so much so, she calls it "her special prayer."
Gotta say, hearing her tiny voice saying it with as much gusto as she can muster…yeah, definitely became my favorite, too.
Love the Morning Offering and have your printable in my bathroom so I don't forget to say it every day!
I love uniforms! Totally want to do that! My preschooler is 3 so we might have a bit to go on that.
I love the Memorare. I've heard that saying it 9 times is the Mother Theresa Emergency Novena.
My favorite is Holy Mary
Lulu! You are too cute for words! And best of luck to Jack. I hope it's a great fit for your family!
My favorite prayer has always been the Memorare.
My favorite prayer is the Memorare, but the morning offering has been pretty solid to me the last few weeks/months! Thanks for sharing!
We just started RCIA…so I don't know that I have a favorite.prayer yet, but I am looking forward to learning 🙂 love the uniforms!!!
My favorite prayer, hands down, is the Memorare. "When in need of immediate assistance, pray the Memorare."
The uniforms are so cute, and Anita's hair cut is adorable.
I have many favorite prayers, what's really speaking to my hear lately is St. Pio's prayer of Trust & Confidence.
Kendra,
I so enjoy your blog. Can I be your neighbor and learn all the things? We say lots of "Not for babies!" in this house and my husband has even become familiar with your blog ("What does that one Catholic super mom have to say about XYZ?").
We love the prayer to St. Michael in this home. Jack's out of the nest! Can't wait to hear about it.
– Kassi
Thanks Kassi!
Hi Kendra!
I want to enter the book contest, as my child is nearing 2 years old and I think we'd get some good years out of the book of prayers.
My favorite, favorite prayer is the Prayer of St. Francis… "Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand." I believe that so much strife, both in personal lives and the world at large, stems from people wishing that others would understand their point of view. If we could all take the default position to seek to understand, we would be in such a better place.
Amy
My favorite prayer is the Canticle of Simeon. It's random, but always brings me peace!
I have to say my favorite prayer is the Hail Mary. It is my go to prayer when I am waiting in line, when I need to calm down, when I need to recenter myself, when I need help and when I offer thanksgiving.
St Michael the Archangel….I was wondering about you guys when reading last week's post about the terrible twelves. May God bless all of you in this upcoming change!
Not related at all…but I remember you're an INTJ as well. We did not fare so well….
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65218/10-myers-briggs-type-charts-pop-culture-characters
Hah! Hilarious.
I don't know which is worse, the Governor or Elsa. But hey, we got Daredevil. . . and the Queen of the my little ponies, so that's something.
So how do you handle muddy messes with the uniforms or do you not allow your kids to play in mud/dirt? I like the idea of uniforms, but we live on five acres in the country and most of the kid's time spent outside is getting down and dirty. They sometimes change multiple times a day just because I don't want them wearing muddy clothes in the house.
We live in LA. No water means no mud. 😛 My kids get dusty, but that shakes out.
The uniforms are REALLY cute. I would like my homeschool kids to wear uniforms, but the hubs is not on board with that.
My favorite prayer is the Prayer of St Francis. I tear up every time I say or sing it.
Love the uniform idea so smart. Laundry is always so overwhelming to me. I would say my favorite would have to be the Hail Mary.
Love the uniforms! I'm also a big fan of doing less laundry. And my favorite prayer is… Mass. Particularly when I can go by myselfn a weekday when it's quiet.
My favorite prayers are the Guardian Angel prayer and Saint Michael the Archangel.
You are totally right about the mindset of less stress. That's why I chose a profession in which I wear a "uniform" every day to work 🙂
My favorite prayer is the Anima Christi. I love to pray it after receiving communion because I've found that it helps me reflect on what I've just received–the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ!
I love the uniforms. 🙂
We wore uniforms at Catholic School. You are right it did make life easier. Love to get the prayer bool.
We wore uniforms at Catholic School. You are right it did make life easier. Love to get the prayer bool.
The Hail Mary
Love Charles de Foucauld's Prayer of Abandonment!
As a Catholic convert with a 15 month old daughter this will be super helpful as I only know the basics. Hence my favorite, the Hail Mary.
My favorite prayer is probably the St. Michael the Archangel prayer. Way back when, I was in a young adult group that said it at our weekly adoration sessions. It was probably the first non-standard Catholic prayer that I memorized.
Are you planning on telling us why Jack is going to non-homeschool? I seem to know a lot of families that have done something similar starting this year, so I am very curious.
Nevermind to the question, I read upwards in the comments. Thanks…
My current favorite prayer is St. Michael the Archangel. And your family is so cute!!
Rosary and St. Gertrude prayer 🙂
I've only been Catholic since this Easter so I'd have to say the Hail Mary!
Love the uniforms!! And your kids are so beautiful – there's a twinkle I love in all their eyes. They just all seem like such joyful, fun kids. Good parenting really shows through.
Our oldest wears a uniform for her little Catholic school – and there's absolutely no "getting dressed drama" in the mornings. I love it. If we ever ended up homeschooling, I would definitely steal your idea of continuing the uniforms. Because you're right – there's something to "being dressed for the event" that gives school a bit more gravitas, no? When I was in grad school, I used to dress up for big exams. It tricked me into having more confidence.
Also – don't enter me in the giveaway, since I just won the last big one! Just wanted to comment on the uniforms. Thanks!
Hail Mary 🙂
Our Father. I knew it before I was Catholic; I always knew I would be one day…
I have recently found comfort in the glory be and Hail Marys
The Hail Mary is my favorite prayer. Thank you so much for your wonderful posts and ideas, I found you late in my life, both of my kids are grown but be assured I will be sharing your great ideas and thoughts with my grandson (due 11/22/2015) and any future grand kids.
The "Our Father" always gives me a lot to think about, so I would say that one is my favorite (keeps me on my toes… Or, erm, knees.) I think I could really use that book though! I need a little re-catechizing.
Whoops, deleted that by mistake! My favorite prayer is the Hail Mary.
Lately I've really been loving the Angelus, and trying extra hard to remember it at noon. Cell phone alarms are great!
Also, if you feel comfortable sharing, I'd love to hear more about Jack going to Catholic school this year. I know a lot of parents manage it, but it seems like a lot of work to keep up with the demands of both homeschooling and Catholic school. Why did you decide to take it on?
As you go through the year, too, I'd love to hear your strategies for managing things like drop off, pick up, activities, naptime, and schooling the ones at home.
Maybe it's just all possible if you're a robot 🙂
This is definitely a huge concern for me. It feels kind of impossible to have a foot in each world, since both homeschooling and traditional school-involvement can be a full time job. We have worked out a carpool, and my husband is helping with the driving (he's actually doing all of it right now, but I expect to take over once we've relocated closer to the school in a month or two).
I'm looking for at home volunteer hours I can do.
The only reason I expect to be able to manage it, even though it seems impossible, is that we know good families who are making it work. My general philosophy is that if it can be done, I can probably do it. So, I'm hoping that will work out for me . . . somehow.
But it was a move that seemed really important for our family dynamics. I think Jack will really thrive there. He loved his first day.
You can expect to hear more about it on the blog at some point, I'm sure. 🙂
I don't pray it a lot, but I love the divine chaplet. Really reminds me to pray for others and not forget I need forgiving too.
What a cute tribe! And I admire the dedication of hauling furniture outside for pics 🙂
I completely agree about discerning each year for each child (even though by oldest is only 3). We are so torn here since the Catholic & public schools are fantastic. However, if we don't start in the Catholic school are chances of getting in are slim to none. They So happy for you that you were able to get your oldest in (with no difficulties?). I'm all for uniforms for any schooling. Makes life easier.
Anyways, my favorite prayer is Hail Holy Queen. I remember it being written on the chalkboard in 4th grade and thinking it was the prettiest prayer I've ever heard.
The rosary is my favorite prayer!
Hail Holy Queen & Our Father
Stella Maris
I love the Saint Francis prayer. It gives me much to work towards.
I'm rather partial to the Angelus, both the prayer and the picture, since we said it growing up on the farm 🙂
Just like in the painting!
I love this whole post. The pictures, as usual are great!
I love The Fatima Prayer.
I love this whole post. The pictures, as usual are great!
I love The Fatima Prayer.
It's hard to choose just one prayer! It's very close between the Memorare and St. Michale Prayer. I love uniforms too.
Thanks, love the uniforms you guys chose this year!
So partly because your example gave me the courage to try it and partly out of desperation with our laundry situation (5 kids….ahhhh!!) I decided to do a pseudo-uniform this year. I found hot pink polos for the girls (which they love) and a turquoise-blue color and then white + turquoise for the boys with black/gray pants/skirts. I'm loving it and my 7 and 4 year olds are totally on board and working the system well (they wear each outfit Mon/Tues and then Wed/Thurs, then free dress on Friday but oftentimes wear the uniform a third day just for kicks). But, my 13 year old is still changing clothes (different excuse every day) 1-2x a day and it's driving me batty. Plus the toddler (2.5) is unreliably potty trained so she keeps going through a billion outfits with that and I'm too sleep-deprived to get her properly potty trained at the moment, lol! Plus there is the mud (orange NC clay!) and the markers and whatever else she can get into while we are distracted by schoolwork, oy!
Any ideas for getting the 13 year old more on board and cutting out her constant wardrobe changes? She did this all summer and weekends too so it's not just a uniform problem. And tips for keeping the toddlers' clothes less messy throughout the day? I'm wondering if I should have just picked a darker color for her shirts!
That is an issue. We had light blue shirts one year and they were always a mess. I try to spot clean them a bit, but also I just don't worry about it too much if they're a little messy. They're toddlers. I figure even if we end up running errands in the afternoon, people will cut us some slack.
I'm not sure about your older daughter. I've only had a teenager for a couple months, so I'm no expert. If you think she could handle it developmentally, I'd have her do her own laundry. That might help her understand why you have the policy.
This is exactly what my mom did when I was 12 or 13 (?). I made a laundry instructions chart, even. I asked her how to do the laundry and then made the chart. The reason she handed our laundry over to my sister and me was that we kept putting dirty laundry on top of clean laundry in the basket. Now I actually love doing laundry! I think I liked doing it then, too. The chart is still at the house, 25 years later. Whoa, that's a long time!
Just to clarify… I made the chart and had fun with it, but the decision to require us to do our own laundry was made by my mom, who gave up on it after trying to get us to keep dirty stuff being put on top of the clean basket (terrible!). Looking back, it seems now like the right thing for her to have done anyway. We were ready to do our own. We had started getting a clothing allowance and babysitting for friends and neighbors for income for extras. The whole thing worked together, I'm realizing in retrospect.
LOL, Anna, my husband's mother made him start doing his own laundry at that age for the same reason 🙂
I'm not sure DD would really 'get' that she's using too much laundry even if she was doing it herself. She's intellectually disabled (about 7-10 mentally) and so doesn't infer very well. She'd probably just do 2 loads of her own laundry and never think about how it was using too much water or monopolizing the dryer time. 🙂 I might just need to make a hard-and-fast rule that unless she has swim team she can only wear 1 outfit a day.
And yeah, for the toddler it sounds like I should just pick darker shirts next time. I joked to my husband last night that I'm just going to buy all the kids black clothes from here on out….no more stains! 😉
My favorite is the Memorare…it helped me survive the death of my 10 year old son, Sanjay, 4 and a half years ago…
My favorite prayer is the "Our Father". I absolutely love hearing my 4 year old pray it. Cutest thing ever!!!
"Hail, Holy Queen" is my favorite. I love being able to turn to Mary in this way – and I hope my children learn to do the same someday.
And I DO so love the uniforms. We have uniforms in our homeschool too! (I'll be doing a post on it soon!)
My favorite prayer is the Our Father, but I also really like the Angel of God.
St. Ignatius Take Lord Receive prayer
I have a question! I am going to try this again this year…. I tried last year after reading your post, but it fizzled pretty quickly (my fault, not theirs)…. Anyway, I was thinking about it last night again, as today is our official first day, and I was wondering if I should dress accordingly as well. Not in uniform, mind you, but dressing up a bit more than I usually would. Do you dress up a bit more than casual? Thanks!
I don't have a set uniform, but I do get "dressed" every morning. If I went running (haven't started that back up yet) I change out of running clothes. I just wear jeans/a skirt and a top, or a casual dress, but not doing school in my jammies is better for me.
Love this post! My kids wear uniforms at the Catholic school they attend. I LOVE uniforms! The younger kids in the school wear cardigans over their uniforms when they attend Mass and the older kids wear very nice dress clothes. 🙂
I would have to say my favorite prayer is the Fatima prayer.
Favorite prayer: The Morning Prayer of St. Therese
Your kids: Absolutely adorable. Happy school year to all of you!
My favorite prayer is the Hail Holy Queen! 🙂 Mostly because I think its so beautiful and I have very fond memories of praying it everyday in 5th grade.
Also, as much as I love all your kids' uniforms, I really really love Jack's! It's awesome that he gets to wear a tie! So classy!
I love the uniforms! Brings back such memories of my school education. I also love hpw it helps cut down on your laundry during the week. Wonder if my son would be on board with this idea?
My favorite prayer is The Memorare.
I love the Anima Christi.
I really love the O My Jesus prayer.
Love the uniforms! Red is a great colour for the year of Mercy too.
Just wondering, have you written about why you decided you decided to put Jack in school? Just curious.
Good point!
I had a similar experience to last Thursday's mystery blogger.
I love the Angel of Schools prayer these days. A college professor used to lead us in this prayer before class, and I have found it helpful to say before I start my work for the day.
Favorite prayer…hmmm…that's tough. I think I'd have to go with the Hail, Holy Queen.
My favorite prayer is Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55.
Hail, Holy Queen. The uniforms are on point!
The Glory Be is my favorite!
Uniforms = adorable!!
I love this! Your uniforms are great! 😀