Many parents may believe that homeschooling is a very difficult task designated only for a select few parents. While it does take a little bit of extra effort to homeschool your children, just about anyone with a little time and dedication to educating their children and preparing them for the life that lies ahead of them can do. There are many obstacles that you will face as a homeschool parent. One of the most common issues that I have discovered among homeschooling families is burnout. Just about every parent that performs this task has experienced this issue at one point or another – myself included. This is why I felt it appropriate to compose a guide on how parents and families in general can avoid homeschool burnout.
One of the first things that you can do in order to successfully combat homeschool burnout is avoid setting yourself and your children in a strict routine. If you remember back to when you first conceived the possibility of educating your children at home, you will probably remember that variety and change of pace were some of the key advantages to making this decision. While children in traditional brick and mortar schools were confined to one classroom, and the same old thing day after day, you and your children would be experiencing the “variety and spice” of life. However, over time, things eventually wear down to where schedules and so on are kind of “strict”. Remember to make sure you mix things up a little. This will keep the experience “fresh”.
The next thing that you can do to avoid homeschool burnout is mix up the lessons a little bit. Initially, we started off doing a little bit of everything every single day. Then, that got a little bit overwhelming. I adjusted the schedule to where we would do like math and science, on certain days and so on. That worked a lot better! Then, it got to the point where that ended up being a bit monotonous. Now, we take the subjects that we have to cover, write their names on a small piece of paper, place them in a bowl and pick one without looking every single day. This adds some excitement to our daily routine. It is more like a game rather than “work” for both the parents, and the kids.
The next thing that you can do to avoid homeschool burnout is to liven things up a little bit. You have the flexibility to change any and every single aspect of homeschooling if you like. This means, you can change the schedule, how you teach, where you teach, and when you teach. If the kids are not big on mornings, let them wake up, do arts and fun activities and then focus on the important subject matters after lunch. If there is a day during the week where something exciting is happening in your community, by all means, participate! You always have Saturday and Sunday free and can catch up then! If you are having a hard time teaching fractions, set up a math lesson in the kitchen by say, making and cutting a homemade pizza!
Homeschool burnout is extremely challenging when it occurs. The best advice that I have is work with it – be creative with it. Last, but not least, HAVE FUN!
What causes homeschool burnout?
The article describes burnout as something many homeschool families experience when the work starts to feel strict, monotonous, or overwhelming. A schedule that once helped can begin to feel stale if there is no variety or room to breathe.
How can parents avoid homeschool burnout?
The article recommends keeping variety in the homeschool day. Parents can mix up routines, change the order of subjects, adjust where and when lessons happen, and use community events or weekend catch-up time when that fits the family.
Should homeschool lessons follow the same schedule every day?
Not necessarily. The article suggests that too much sameness can wear everyone down. One playful idea is writing subjects on slips of paper and drawing one each day so lessons feel a little more like a game.
What is a simple way to refresh a hard lesson?
Use the flexibility homeschooling gives you. The article gives the example of teaching fractions in the kitchen by making and cutting a homemade pizza, turning a frustrating lesson into something hands-on and memorable.
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