Does it feel like the responsibilities of homeschooling are too much? Is there a difficult subject that you don’t enjoy teaching. Or a challenging child who is wearing you out? Maybe the daily school routine has become boring, and you need to make some changes.
Sometimes homeschooling feels like a lot of work. Other families are sending their kids off on the bus and you’re teaching your kids, again, at home. And YOU are responsible for what they learn. I know it can feel like a heavy burden at times.
So how do you find joy and motivation when you just want to go back to bed, read a good book, or spend time with a friend, instead of teaching the kids today?
Here are some ideas to help…
PRAY AND SEEK THE LORD EACH DAY! Rest in Him…
God is with you and wants to help you and give wisdom for every day and every situation as you teach your children. You are not alone!
As you begin each day, spend time with God, seeking His strength and asking Him to give you a thankful and joyful attitude.
Many times, when I’m feeling discouraged or unmotivated, I truly need the Lord to renew my mind, to change my attitude so it’s in line with His will for my life.
He can help you get motivated and find joy in each day. And He can help you look for things to be thankful for even on hard days.
Remember that your attitude will rub off on your children! If you’re excited about a new day, looking forward to all God is going to teach you, your children will be too! A joyful attitude is infectious!
This verse has been a huge help in renewing my mind each day:
REMEMBER IT’S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS!
We often get so focused on academics and making sure we’re accomplishing all the schoolwork that we forget one of the most important things about homeschooling:
We’re building relationships!
- Our children’s relationship with God
- Our relationship with our children
- Our children’s relationships with each other
- Outside relationships with others
Ask the Lord to help you make relationships a priority this semester.
- Focus on helping your children grow in their faith and in godly character. Here are some resources to help:
- Growing the Fruit of the Spirit, A Bible-based Unit Study is a devotional for the whole family plus a unit study for grades pre-K to 6th.
- Read this blog post called Resources and Ideas for Building Your Child’s Faith.
- I have written many blogposts on building godly character. Put the phrase ‘Blog posts on godly character’ in the search box on this page and you’ll find them!
- Focus on spending quality time enjoying your children: playing a game, reading to them, or just snuggling.
- Focus on helping your children love one another, helping them to develop a deep friendship with their siblings.
You’ll be surprised at what this change of focus will do for your family and your homeschool days!
TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO RE-EVALUATE
Could you be struggling with burnout?
Do you give so much of yourself that you’re not taking time for yourself and your needs? Homeschool burnout is very real!
It’s so important for you to take care of yourself, spend time with Jesus, get proper rest, exercise, and eat well. Allow yourself to enjoy the things you like to do regularly to avoid burning out.
One February when I was very down and discouraged, I realized that I needed to get more regular exercise, so we joined a gym as a family. I found that getting regular exercise was good for me as well as for our children!
What do you need to help you feel better emotionally, physically, and spiritually? Seek the Lord’s help in this.
Check out this blog post: “Encouragement for the Burned-out Homeschool Mom”
Do you need to consider a change of curriculum?
Are you finding you dread a certain subject? Or have you noticed your children seem to complain about doing some subjects? Maybe it’s time for a change of curriculum. Check out cathyduffyreviews.com for new ideas on curriculum and read this post on Choosing Curriculum.
Do you need to make some changes in other areas?
Focusing on developing a love for learning using delight-directed studies and adding some fun ideas and games into your school day can make a huge difference to your days.
One year I was just so tired of the “same old, same old” every day. I purchased the book “Ignite the Fire” by Terri Camp. It was so helpful to get me out of the rut we were in and she offered such great ideas! One of the many we tried was making mailboxes out of shoeboxes and then writing letters to each other. It motivated the kids to write and was a lot of fun!
Also check out these blog posts on delight-directed learning, teaching tips and using games to help make learning more fun:
- Delight-directed learning: Igniting the Joy of Learning in Your Children
- Teaching tips: Homeschool Teaching Tips
- Using games for learning: click on the titles to link to the post
- Download my free “Student evaluation and goal setting form” to help you assess any changes you may wish to make going forward.
BRAINSTORM with your spouse or other homeschool friends on ideas to make this semester better for you and your children…
Make school something you DO look forward to!
As a homeschool consultant, I would love to meet with you and help you think through how to bring more joy into your homeschool days if this is a struggle for you.
RELAX AND ENJOY LEARNING WITH YOUR CHILDREN!
So much learning can happen without textbooks. Allow yourself to relax a bit. When your children ask questions about life and things that happen in their world, take the time to answer. Discover learning like this leads to more retention in learning because they are interested in the topic.
Let your children explore their interests as part of your school day. Delight-directed learning will ignite the joy of learning in your children. I encourage you to find time to study your own interests as well! You could include a sharing time each week when everyone shares what they’re learning in their delight-directed studies.
Please share any other ideas to help foster more joy in your homeschool journey below. I love to hear from you!
