On September 27th we will officially begin our 10th year of homeschooling! It's exciting, and-modesty be darned-I'm extremely proud of myself for "making it" this long. I have always looked forward to the new school year. Looking over curriculum choices, getting packages in the mail and lining our bookshelves with new reads always puts a smile on my face.
But I've found that (if you homeschool for any length of time) there are seasons to homeschooling.
And for the first time I find myself in the winter of our homeschoool career. I just don't have the energy, the organization or the desire to pull it all together. I have moments of excitement, but not the Christmas morning, kid in a candy store joy I usually experience.
There will be times when you just have to put one foot in front of the other and will yourself on. I'm making my way out of this slump, slowly but surely. And I'm here to tell you that you that you can too! Here are my tips for
Gearing Up For A New Homeschool Year (When You Don't Want To):
- Pray - Ask and ye shall receive. Pray and meditate on what it is you need, joy, patience, health, help, etc.
- Reminisce - It hasn't always been hard. Remember the good times and have faith that they will return.
- Plan The Fun First - What is it you enjoy most? Start with that! I enjoy field trips! So before I considered curriculum choices, I made a loose outline of field trips and volunteer opportunities for the year.
- Smile - If you attitude is poor your children's will be also. This makes your job harder and creates a viscous circle of bad attitudes.
- Ask For Help - In very difficult times, especially those involving chronic illness or a new birth, you just can't do it all no matter how hard you try. Ask for help. Can Dad cover P.E? Will Aunt Velma take the kids to the zoo? Maybe your neighbor is a retired science teacher and will do labs with your children once a week.
- Take Care of You - I have found my job is infinitely harder if I'm out of sync. Do your best to eat right, exercise and get a full night of sleep.
- Change It Up - Consider starting the new school year "late" or try homeschooling year round. Switch the order of your lessons. Sometimes all we need is a little change in the schedule to brighten our outlook.
- Reevaluate - I've found that when I'm overwhelmed it's often because I've taken on too much. Try trimming some of the extras out of the schedule. Or if you need a radical change, take it down to the bare minimum (reading, math and science) and build out from there...s-l-o-w-l-y.
- Make A List - Sometimes it helps to see it on paper. Make a list of why you started homeschooling, why you've continued to homeschool and the good you've seen come from it. Count your blessings.
- Spend Some Time With Public Schoolers - I don't mean this to bash public school, it is a great option for some. But whether your kids are public, private, or homeschooled we all know at least one kid that is the bane of public school's existence-spend some time with that kid and allow them to steel your homeschool resolve.
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Excellent tips! I may have to come back to this post in a few months when the excitement wanes.
ReplyDeleteMy mom did this sometimes, to help her lesson plans go easier. She would have us work 1 subject (i.e. history) to be completed in the first quarter or half of the school year and for the second half we would spend the time focusing on a different subject (i.e. science). Doing this makes the subject more concentrated, but still usually easy to follow.
ReplyDeleteThese are great, common sense tips. We aren't starting school until October! We are also starting the work box system which I am looking forward to.
ReplyDeleteI had been struggling with home school motivation over the summer and God got a hold of my heart and revealed to me that there was a deeper issue involved. I now have a new primary blog because of it so I can focus on the important things!
I have found #4 to be extremely important. If I am a grumble bunny...I have 7 little grumble bunnies trailing behind me.
ReplyDelete#7 (homeschooling year round) is absolutely necessary with 7 kiddos, ranging from 11 months to 13 years...because we have a #8 (bare minimums day) almost once a week!
#3 is at the top of my list. Field Trips...I doubt my younger/never public schooled boys even know what those words mean. Sad.
Thank you so much for sharing your lack of enthusiasm to start school with us! Very helpful! Hope you feel excited soon!
It is so nice when we are reminded we are not alone -- whether it is in our eagerness or in our foot dragging, hesitant, lumbering attempts!
ReplyDeleteI find I go back and forth each day about my feelings on it this year. I think that once I have all of my ducks in a row, it will look brighter:) Have a great day!