There are mornings when my girls take almost an hour to get dressed and ready in the morning. Why? I have no clue. There are days when my oldest seems to have forgotten every math fact from essential addition to division. There are days when the middle daughter can't sit still and is more consumed. They are just as many days that our littlest is just not having our school time, and I have to stop what I am doing with my older girls and rearrange our school day. Those are just some days, though, and some of our struggles. Throw in outside forces telling you that your doing something wrong, that your kids will be awkward and weird for homeschooling. What about your house out of control, laundry piled higher than the ceiling allows? Just like everything in one's life, we sometimes can get overwhelmed. Homeschooling is not different, and Yep, homeschooling isn't always sunshine and rainbows either.
I'm here to tell you that it is ok to hit the reset button, and it is ok to take a step back and reevaluate your homeschooling. You do not have to quit homeschooling. Let me say that again. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO QUIT HOMESCHOOLING! In our homeschooling journey, I have had several times where I felt like throwing in the towel and just giving up. In my mind, I couldn't see past the pile-up of everything return tog that seemed to be going wrong steadily.
You can take several action steps to reset your homeschooling time and get you and your family back on track. Each of these five things builds off and around each other, or they can stand independently of each other, allowing you to rest your homeschool and get yourself and your family back on track.
1. Return to Your Why
Take a breath and remember why you chose to homeschool. Is what is happening in your current homeschool situation a reflection of your reasons why. If it is not, take the following few tips to help you return to your why.
2. Find the Bare Minimum
Think about what a minimum homeschool day ideally would look like to you. What is the minimum amount you could get done in a day and feel like you still accomplished school? When something comes to derail your day, focus on those things on that list, and you will still have completed school that day, and that's ok. Be flexible and do not be so rigid in your schedule that disruptions don't derail your whole school day, week, or month.
3. Slim Down Your Day
Often, we get overwhelmed because we try to do "all the things" and keep up with everyone else's "perfect" homeschool. Before we know it, we are overbooked and overscheduled, and our school day is going into the evening hours or not happening because we are doing 1 million other things outside of school. Think back to all you are doing, and ask yourself, am I doing too much? What can you eliminate, and what can you only do once or twice a week or month instead of every day.
4. Combine Your Kiddos
If you feel pulled in too many directions, besides taking things out and rearranging them, we can also combine our kids in the same subjects. It is easy to do this in science, geography, and history, and you can even do it in electives like art, music, and physical education. When you combine kids, level the expectations according to each child's skill level. Require more out of the big kiddos than you do the younger ones. I would still keep math and language arts separate as these are more skill-based.
5. Shake Things Up
One of the reasons you might be overwhelmed and need to reset it is because you are stuck in a rut and a routine every day. So, SHAKE THINGS UP! Do school differently. Allow math to take place playing a board game, watch a science video (or, if you brave, do the science experiments you've been putting off). Bake with your kids or do an art project. Or change locations. Take school outside or to the park. Get rid of the mundane routine and explore something new.
These five simple things can help reset any homeschool overwhelm. The biggest thing to realize is that almost every homeschool family at one time or another feels overwhelmed and that they might give up. It is a season, and eventually, it will pass. You are not alone. Please feel free to join the Momma Bear School Parent Group for more support. As always, feel free to follow our personal journey on our Facebook Page or Instagram.