Here are my last five tips on how to keep your sanity as a homeschool mom.
Rule the Curriculum, Don't Let the Curriculum Rule You
Choosing the right curriculum is a big deal. Around the end of July, beginning of August, all the online homeschool groups seem to be flooded with questions of what curriculum should I use. Having curriculum in place for the school year is an important step, but please keep in mind that curriculum is a guide or a foundation from which you build. It can make homeschool life easier, but its not always necessary. There are so many free and well-designed activities, apps, and affordable worksheets for pre-K and Kindergarten between Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers that I don’t think its necessary to purchase a curriculum for these ages.
I remember my first year of homeschooling, I carefully researched all of my curriculum choices and was convinced our year would be smooth sailing. I proudly purchased all of our shiny curriculum only to realize a few weeks in that the math curriculum, I’d set my heart on was not going to work for us. Then, I discovered that the history curriculum I’d chosen simply had too many moving parts for me to consistently work through it day after day. What did I do? I had to find alternative resources that could supplement the poor curriculum choices I’d made until I could purchase something more suitable at the end of the semester. I also decided that I didn’t have to do every single activity prescribed in the history curriculum in order for my kids to learn history. This was especially difficult for me because I wanted to, but I had to choose between finishing the school year with consistent instruction or flame out early on and only end up covering a portion of what I intended.
What’s the takeaway? Curriculum is designed to serve your needs, if it fails to meet your needs or its not working, don’t be afraid to switch things up. Also, don’t be afraid to design your own curriculum pulling from various resources. Your kids will still learn.
Take Time For God
I’ve written previously about how central to our homeschooling Jesus is to our homeschool , but I really don’t know how we would’ve ever gotten this far in homeschooling without Him. You can’t offer your children what you haven’t first acquired yourself. Day in and day out we pour ourselves out, our energy, our knowledge and skills, our determination, into our kids. By the end of the day, we typically go to bed on E. Just to get up and do it all over again. The question is how do we get filled up again? The answer for me has been God’s Word. God’s Word encourages, corrects, convicts, and motivates me at my lowest points.
Find Your Tribe
No woman or homeschool mom is an island. It may not be feasible for you to have an ENTIRE tribe of homeschool moms, but you definitely need one. Connecting with other homeschool moms who are in the trenches with you is a morale booster. If you don’t know anyone around you who you feel comfortable with, join a homeschool mom facebook group! These facebook groups are a wealth of information.
Make Space For Breaks (Be Flexible)
If you’re like me, you thrive on planning and checking off your lists of tasks each day. If you accomplish your entire list, it’s a good day! If you don’t, you feel a little defeated. Give yourself permission to toss your into the trash some days. Homeschooling is as much about cherishing the time you’ve been given with your kids as it is making sure they can read, write, and do arithmetic. Make memories, smell the roses, enjoy your kids.
Accept The Things You Cannot Change
As parents, we want to feel confident that after all our sweat, blood, and tears, our children will enter adulthood well-rounded, well-educated, and fully prepared for the world they will be entering. We’ve sacrificed to ensure our kids have the best possible chance, but we also struggle with the fear that our best isn’t good enough. We may secretly fear that in spite of our best efforts, our kids will have deficits. Gaps in their understanding we didn’t fill. Gaps in their preparedness we just didn’t get to. We can do everything right and our kids will still have gaps. But here is the good news. God can fill those gaps. Gaps are good because they are areas that leave room for our kids to grow and gain strength through their own struggles and experiences.
My Prayers For This Upcoming School Year
This year (2020) has been a year of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of not sure whether they will send their kids back to school in the fall. Many others have decided to embark on this homeschooling journey for the long term. Still others have decided to temporarily homeschool their kids for the year until a vaccine becomes available for the Corona virus. No matter what choice you’ve made for your child, I pray that you give your self grace. You don’t have to be perfect. You just need to be willing. You don’t have to have everything together, you just have to not give up. You don’t have to have all of the answers, you just have to seek the one who has all the answers.
