At some point in the year most of us reach that burnout point in our homeschooling adventure. Frazzled Mom went so far to call January, National Homeschool Burnout Month.  This incited an interesting conversation on our local homeschool support group.

Earlier Karri Fieglein shared with us her 26 Tips for Overcoming Homeschool Burnout. Well, Lorry Nell, a homeschooling mom of 4, has also generously agreed to share her 7 tips and a little perspective to help us overcome homeschool burnout. (Thanks Lorry!!)

7 Tips for Overcoming Homeschool Mommy Burnout

By Lorry Nell

Here are a couple of things I try and do if I feel like I’m approaching homeschool mommy burnout:

1.   Remember “WHY” we’re homeschooling in the first place. Make a list of reasons or write a mission statement; even telling someone who will listen to why you are homeschooling often helps!

2.   Get back to the basics, take things a bit slower – it’s O. K.!

3.   Have some silly fun: bake, make crafts, sing, play games, do skits, listen to your favorite tunes, have a lip syncing show, and dress up, etc.

4.   Get out of your house; like that saying “Get out of the boat…”  I find that being inside my house too much gets me down in the dumps, especially in the cold, wet, rainy, winter months.  Try to get outside in each season; observe/participate in “creation” wherever you live! 

5.   Read a book that has NOTHING to do with homeschooling!

6.   Make a list of all the things you HAVE accomplished since you began homeschooling and praise God for ALL that He has given you!

7.   This one may seem drastic to some, but being that I’m an ex-public school educator, if I’m having an especially hard time, I have been known to visit my local public school and ask for a list of the essential elements, lunch, and daily schedule for the grade level of students in my household and am miraculously inspired to race home, hug and kiss my kids and get right back into the trenches of homeschooling my four blessings!  I know, I know, I’m probably going to get razzed on this one – but it’s true!

Please remember, we are a threat to Satan’s schemes/plans.

It’s true, homeschooling is very hard. 

It’s true that we are doing at least 2 full time jobs simultaneously. 

It’s true, that we could have the day off, five days a week/ 9 months a year, If we put our kids in school. 

It’s true, we could have the whole day to ourselves to do WHATEVER we wanted: grocery shop, hair cuts, shopping, sleeping (who gets enough of this?). 

What we do each day is our own humble attempt to teach our children that HIStory is far better that any other author’s…  This is about the Lord’s unfolding plan; not mine.  Some days I think, come on Lorry, you’re suppose to know this stuff like the back of your hand, but I often am faced w ith situations that I just don’t see coming. 

EVERY year, what worked the past year doesn’t usually work for the next.  As the dynamics of  our family changes, so do our needs. I went from homeschooling in one room upstairs, to schooling in different parts of our home. And that’s O. K.  Do what your comfortable with – my children respond well when they know that I like what/where/how I’m doing whatever it is that we’re doing. 

Each of us are working on beautiful tapestries called our families. And if you humble yourself and seek Him each new day, do your very best, that’s all any of us can do!

If none of the above mentioned lifts your spirit or puts a smile on your face, call me and I’ll have you come over to my home for tea/conversation and you are welcome to have a first hand glance at my humble attempt in the schooling of our 4 kiddos!  When you realize we’re all more or less in the same boat, you will be feeling fine in NO time!

Today is the first day back to our regular Wednesday schedule in four months. I adore Wednesdays; the days are peaceful, quiet, and productive. They’re one of our sanity days at home, where we keep the home in homeschooling.

The kids do their morning chores and play time while they wait for me to be ready for the day and make breakfast. (Wednesdays are one of the few days I make breakfast instead of delegating to one of the kids.). Today it was whole wheat waffles and yogurt/strawberry/granola parfaits. And we sit and talk over breakfast and mint tea. Then everyone goes to their schoolwork.

Since the youngers finish their schoolwork in less than 45 minutes, they go off to play and be creative in their games or art work, while the olders finish up their reading and math. Today, my 11 year old struggled a bit with factoring fractions, as we had taken a break from it for a week, and she needed a refresher. So, she and I worked through some practice problems together and she got it again. She’s now done and curled up in the recliner, reading In Grandmas Attic.

My 9 year old hasn’t yet gotten to his math yet, because he’s absorbed in the new book I assigned him: In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Since we are in baseball season, I pulled it off our Sonlight 3/4 shelf and assigned it to him. He is completely absorbed so we may need to forgo math today or do light math, ‘cuz it’s looking like he’s just going to read the book straight through. Can’t complain about that.

At my desk I have classical music playing because I’m working on magazine proofing today, and I can’t have music with lyrics in the background while I’m editing…makes it hard to focus. Later when I’m coding and doing analytical work I’ll switch over to KLOVE or KSBJ, but for now, it’s classical and all very relaxing and peaceful.

The youngers are now working at the art table. My 7 year old is reading an apology letter he wrote to his younger sister to make up for the fight they just had, while she is taping up a present she wants to give to someone.

My 11 year old has moved now to the computer and researching Roman Mythology for her Latin class and checking email. She just called me over to see some pictures of 3D art her friend sent her. In a couple hours she’ll be online with her friend in California for their weekly chat date.

And,the tissue paper has come out on the art table…I’m sure by the end of the day, I’ll have paper clipping all over the floor again, but the process of creating is so critical in my opinion, it’s worth the mess (besides…they are the ones who will be cleaning it up…:)

Our day will progress like this, until it’s time to leave for baseball practice. With the kids doing their schoolwork and playing, working on their projects, while I work on mine. I love days like this!

Twice in the last two weeks, I’ve had this conversation with other moms. Their daughters are 9 and the moms are wondering about how they are going to go about talking to their daughters about puberty and the changes the girls will be facing in the coming years. 

I remember feeling the same with my oldest.  Just before she turned nine, I mentioned it to a friend of mine who has a daughter a year older. And she shared with me what they did, based on another friend’s recommendation – bought their daughter, The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls from the American Girl Library

 So that’s what I did, and two years later, I still think it was the best decision I made for my daughter. I gave it to her as a reference book, a book that she could look at and read when she was interested or had questions.

Sometimes the book just sits collecting dust, sometimes I find it next to her night stand, sometimes she tells me something she learned from the book, and sometimes she brings it to me open to the page she wants to show me and talk about.  It’s been a great tool for discussion, for information, for non-threatening take it at your own pace, learn what you need to information.

The book covers hygiene, hair, teeth, nutrition, puberty changes and various stages of development, fitness, even discusses eating disorders. The tone is friendly, and positive, embracing of all body types and development timelines. It includes questions girls might be thinking about and their answers. The illustrations are drawn and informative, but not obscene or objectionable (in my opinion).

Normally, I’m in favor of using library books whenever possible, but part of the beauty of this book for us is that it’s a reference book, so I’m really glad I bought a copy for my daughter. That way it’s right there available to her, when she’s wanting the info and when she is comfortable to go look things up. At $9.95 new it’s been a really good investment, and one that even I, as a frugal mom, recommend if you have a 9 year old girl and are looking for some help in talking about puberty and other sensitive body-related topics.

Last week another mom and I were discussing routines and kids, and the subject of dining out versus cooking in came up. While she wanted to cut down on how much they were dining out, to help with their budget, she just didn’t know what to cook that everyone in her family would like. 

Up until then I really hadn’t understood why there was a need for menu services like Dine Without Whine , Menu Planning Central or Menus 4 Moms. But I think I’m finally getting it. In our busy-ness and media-oriented-ness, we, as a culture, seem to have lost that tradition of cooking, and eating meals together as a family.  As a family who cooks and eats together often, I was oblivious to this, until just recently, but apparently these menu planning services aren’t.

Just for kicks and to see what it was all about I’m trying the Healthy Menu Mailer. I like the menu suggestions, but my favorite part, a part I haven’t done yet with my own menus, is the grocery lists. This is a fantastic, time-saving feature.  It lists all the foods needed, by grocery aisle category, so it can just be printed and taken to the grocery store. That is worth the $7.95 price tag in my book.

If you’re struggling with ideas of what to cook, it is worth taking a look at one of the menu services – but first look at the sample menus to see if it’s the type of foods your family likes.  For example, I first looked at Dine Without Whine, but found I wanted something that better matched our food preferences.  Many of the menu planning services offer a free or 1 cent trial period as well, which is also a good way to figure out whether the service will work for your family’s tastes.

Later this week I’ll share more about how we handle family meal time. Until then, enjoy your week!

Ever get that panicked feeling that you aren’t homeschooling the right way or the best way? 

I certainly do, every once in a while.  And I’m pretty rooted in my methodology. I know what works for our family and what doesn’t.

But sometimes I start getting panicky… maybe I need to use a different method, maybe I should be unschooling more, maybe I should be more structured… and the doubts come in.  For a time I might make a change, but then I come to my senses, usually pretty quickly, and everything goes right back to what works for our family.

If you sometimes suffer from this too, I recommend checking out this 4-step recovery program article by Diane Flynn Keith at Homefires.com. It’s worth the read.