Faith-Based Homeschool Highs & Lows Series Part 4: When The Days Are Long

Welcome to my article series on faith-based homeschooling! I am so glad you're here!

Let's jump right in!

Early in your homeschool journey, you’re going to have a stressful day, and that is not only normal but expected! No matter how you choose to educate your children, whether in public, private, or homeschool, there will be stressful days! The kids will spill water on their brand-new (likely expensive) textbooks, someone will whine about doing long division, and you will inevitably wonder if you made the right decision to homeschool. You might even consider looking up the nearest school to put your kids in if the day leaves you really frazzled! The good news? All homeschool moms have these days, so you’re in good company. Cue the “we are all in this together” song from High School Musical (did I just age myself?). 

What do we do on the days, weeks, and months when we are struggling with homeschooling?

1. We take a mental health day to rest and regroup. If you’re not scheduling teacher work days into your homeschool year, start now. These days will help you make space not only for rest for you and your children, but also to take a look at your homeschool routine and determine if it is working well for your family or if you need to tweak something. Don’t underestimate the power of taking a day or two to regroup. All schools take breaks throughout the year so teachers can plan, rest, and, you guessed it, regroup. Apply this same principle to your homeschool.

2. Take learning to a new location. If everyone is having a rough day learning a concept or simply sitting still, take your lessons to a local coffee shop, library, or park. Or pick a favorite field trip location and spend a day learning hands-on. There is something very powerful about a change of scenery, especially if you’re feeling like you’re in the trenches of the mundane. This benefits you and your children.

3. Make sure that the curriculum and schedule you are utilizing are working well for your family. I know that curriculum is expensive, but sometimes we have to completely change our books and routines to keep the school day running smoothly. There may come times when your children all learn differently, therefore requiring different materials-that is okay! One curriculum might not work for a family with multiple children, so you might need to select different books for each child. However, if they are close in grade, one curriculum company might work perfectly.

4. Keep your season in mind. Our lives bring many different seasons, especially when raising children. You might not be in a stage where you can take a lot of field trips, or perhaps you’re in a stage where you’re homeschooling a wide range of grades and can’t add in a lot of  “extra” homeschool projects or unit studies. This season is the perfect time for an easy-to-teach, ready-to-go curriculum. Or maybe you can plan an entire homeschool year yourself and piece together tons of different curricula. Whatever works for you in your season is what you should do. There are so many different ways you can “skin a cat,” as we say here in the South.

5. Don’t make permanent decisions when you’re burnt out. As you keep reading, you will find my devotional on burnout, but it bears repeating. For me, the springtime is a season of immense burnout, even when I do my best to avoid it. No matter which stage of the school year brings burnout, don’t make any hard-and-fast decisions during that time period. Take a long time to pray, breathe, finish out the school year, and then enjoy a nice long summer break all before making any decisions. By mid-summer break, you’ll be looking up new homeschool materials and looking forward to a new year-trust me!

The heart of it: When the days are long, my friend, just know that you’re not alone! 

Galatians 6:9 (ESV) “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

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