Homeschooling is a wonderful way to educate kids, but let’s be honest: It’s tough. There are some days when I just don’t feel like it, and that’s fine. There are days when people who work outside the home don’t want to go to the office, either. Is your homeschool schedule wearing you out?
However, homeschooling typically allows us to have a lot of say over how much schoolwork we cover each day, how long we spend on each subject, and so on. This means that if I’m feeling burned out, my schedule is probably to blame.
There’s good news, though! This is totally fixable. You are the ONLY person who can fix it, so that makes you your superhero! If your homeschool schedule is wearing you out, here are a few ways to take back control over your days.
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Is Your Homeschool Schedule Wearing You Out?
If your homeschool schedule is too strict, it can make you feel burned out. How do you know when you’re suffering from homeschool burnout? Here are a few surefire signs:
You put off starting school for several days in a row.
It’s normal to skip a day or two, but something might be wrong when a week stretches into two, and you can’t bring yourself to get started.
Your patience with your children is wearing thin.
Kids have a unique way of working every last nerve in their body, so occasional impatience is a way of life. When you can’t answer a single question without snapping, though, you might be burned out.
You question your decision to homeschool.
Doubts are very common for mothers, both in homeschooling and public schooling. If you constantly question yourself as a homeschooler, however, you may be feeling a bit tired of the journey.
How to Destress Your Homeschool Schedule
If you’ve been experiencing these feelings, try these simple tips to destress your homeschool schedule:
Simplify everything.
And I mean everything. Have you been teaching five subjects a day? Cut back to three. Do you assign your child 10 pages to read? Reduce that to five pages. Are you regularly scheduling your lesson plans a month in advance? Drop that back to a week at a time. Homeschooling is not a race. You have plenty of time to help your child learn everything he or she needs to know.
Get outside help.
Sometimes new homeschoolers make the mistake of trying to be their child’s sole teacher. That’s too much for any human to handle. Think about it: Even public school teachers often have paraprofessionals, volunteers, and (most of all) parents to help reinforce what they teach. Homeschooling parents need backup, too! Sign your child up for occasional tutoring, workshops, or homeschool classes at a local attraction.
Make time to relax.
You do not have to cover lessons at the dining room table or in the school room. Take a read-aloud book outside and lay on the grass while your child reads to you. Recite math problems as you walk around the neighborhood. Make a pillow fort and watch an educational science video. There are plenty of ways to relax while teaching your kids.
For more tips, read about how you can stop the stress of homeschooling over at Look! We’re Learning!
How do you manage your homeschooling schedule? Have you learned ways to keep it from wearing you out? Share your experiences in the comments!
