The hardest part of homeschooling.
When I think of the "homeschooling," many things come to my mind, but if I'm going to be anywhere near real with you, the word easy... is NOT one of them! I don't know of anyone who began their journey to home schooling with the sentence, "You know what would be SO much easier? If I were responsible for overseeing the scope and sequence, here to there, start to (hopefully) finish of every subject area of our child(ren's) educational experience."
Don't get me wrong. There are definitely perks. Like when your child's grandparent suddenly passes away and there is no looming attendance policy to dictate how many days are acceptable to miss. Or perhaps (hee hee) Spring break was strangely scheduled in March but Easter isn't until mid April and you get to make the executive decision of having yours magically coincide with the holiday because.... you said so. However, those proverbial rainbows and butterflies do NOT exist on a daily basis and there are plans to make.
What are the goals this year? Who is studying what and are we using a curriculum, unit studies, co-op, extra curriculars or all of the above? How much technology are we using? How many hours do we need? How are we fitting in one on one instruction time? Do we keep a portfolio, make a transcript, do testing and what about college?!!
Meanwhile, the dishes and laundry are calling your name, you forgot to set out meat for supper (time for a fridge raid scramble) a child needs help with math and..."Wait... have I had any water today?" Not all days are this hectic. Others you are really on top of things. Morning chores get done, school begins on time, you DID set out the meat and the welcomed learning is flowing freely.
The common thread in both scenarios? One very busy (and sometimes overwhelmed) Mamma. This is the hardest part for me (and several of my homeschooling Mom friends). So how do we accomplish all of these things, provide our children with rich learning opportunities and NOT turn into the resentful queen of yonder martyrdom? Three words. FILL... YOUR... CUP!
I know, I know. You've heard it a thousand times. Call it self care, me time or recharge and renew. You know it's a good idea, but you just don't have time for it, you don't really have hobbies anymore. Where would you go? What would you do? Everyone is so busy- who would even go with you? First of all, you DO have time. There are 1,440 minutes in a day. It's ok if 20 or 30 of them relax you. There are 720 hours in a month and nothing even mildly unreasonable about having 2 or 3 to yourself. (That's .004%). Seriously. I did it on the calculator- but don't tell my son. He will say I need to show my work :)
So, how exactly do we go about doing this when we already feel like we are running behind so often? For me, it literally means changing my definition of important. (Note the use of present tense here, because I am TOTALLY still working on this. See the links below for awesome tools)! To accomplish this, I started running my priorities through a bit of a litmus test.
For example:
1. Does my family feel differently about me when my hair and make-up (insert incredibly high expectation here) are done? No.
2. Does Jesus feel differently about me when my hair and make-up done? Not even close!
3. Do I feel differently about me when my hair and make-up aren't done. Ding ding ding- we have a winner!
Once I discovered that I was, not only, unhappy at the end of some of these "days filled with accomplishment," but that I was also responsible for setting up these nearly impossible standards, things started to change. The boys (yes, this includes my husband) help out a lot around the house. Vacuuming, laundry, shower scrubbing and Sunday brunch are now part of "family work." Am I still annoyed at dirty footprints across a newly mopped floor? Yeah. But now I have sufficient time to fill my cup and avoid that whole nasty queen part.
Next, I enlisted the help of extended family. If your kid(s) can go spend a few hours with their grandparents, super cool aunt or even great grandparents once a month, you can stagger the visits out and end up with a little down time about once a week. The same goes for play dates, but the majority of those usually involve swapping, which isn't a problem because when the playmate isn't a housemate, somehow, it seems funner for them.
Maybe the hardest part for you is something completely different. Perhaps it's budget, schooling a special needs child, dealing with a chronic illness or a spouse that travels for work. Share your "hardest part of homeschooling" and help fill the cup of others!
Ready for some cup filling resources?
This book was recommended by a dear friend with health struggles and really tackles how to approach homeschooling from a place of peace.
I use a gratitude journal daily. Even if it's just being able to breathe and hug my hubby, I jot a few things down and try to listen to some type of positive material each day.
Inspiring movies
Some days you just need a little clean distraction with minimal effort. Here are some of my favorites. If you'd rather not spring for a purchase, the Amazon video app (Apple - Android) allows you rent MUCH cheaper!
(This post contains affiliate links. Please visit my affiliate disclosure for more info).