There are days where you just need to kick back and have some fun. Throw aside the lesson plans....and that can be very hard to do, and take a breather.
Here are some suggestions....
1. Take a field trip to a local business. Call ahead and see if there is a less busy time for them and arrange to have your children talk to the business owner. Suggestions could be jewelry store, bakery, clothing boutique, music/book store, bowling alley, or even an ice cream shop.
2. Have a reading marathon. See how long you can lay around and read. Track the number of pages each person reads. Offer a prize for the person who reads the most and can tell about the books that they read.
3. Read aloud a book based on a movie and then make some popcorn and watch the movie.
4. Have a world theme day. Spend the day learning about a country and cook easy recipes from that country. You can visit the library and check out books or just use internet resources. Make a map of that country or even put together their traditional dress. You could also memorize a poem from there or build a national landmark from out of Legos or some other type of building material.
5. Maybe you aren't feeling international, pick a region of the United States. Do a virtual field trip. Make some cuisine.
6. Take a walk in your local community and learn about the history of it. Visit the library and check out any local history books. Compare the pictures in the book with the way the streets look now. How much has changed through the years? (We live in a really small town...so we can see massive changes.)
7. Pick an artist and learn about their life. Try to re-create a piece of their artwork not using traditional materials. Use jelly beans or candy...recycled materials....melted crayons instead of paint. The options are endless.
8. Snowed in....Take a virtual field trip. There are thousands of options online. You can visit Mount Vernon without leaving your living room. Spend the day learning about George Washington and his famous home. Simple Google the term, "Virtual Fieldtrip" and see what comes up. Take your choice for that day!
9. Binge watch Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. This is a great cartoon that helps reinforce geography, science, history, and problem solving skills. Have a world map handy so you can mark on the map where you have visited. Print some coloring sheets from these areas of the landmarks and color as you watch.
10. Go on a bike ride or nature walk and just get out together. Enjoy the day. Stop for ice cream. Make the day special and memorable.
Have you checked out the Schoolhouse Review Crew on the 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents Blog Hop.....Take some time to see what they have learned on their homeschooling journeys!
Here are some of the Members that are taking part this week....
Annette @ A Net In Time
Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Cassandra @ A Glimpse of Normal
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses
Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm
Crystal @ Crystal Starr
DaLynn @ Biblical Womanhood
Danielle @ Sensible Whimsy
Dawn @ Double O Farms
Dawn @ Guiding Light Homeschool
Debbie @ Debbie's Homeschool Corner
Desiree @ Our Homeschool Notebook
Diana @ Busy Homeschool Days
Diana @ Homeschool Review
Elyse @ Oiralinde: Eternal Song
Emilee @ Pea of Sweetness
Erin @ For Him and My Family
Jen @ Chestnut Grove Academy
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead
Joelle @ homeschooling for His Glory
Joesette @ Learning Curve
Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood
Katie @ Katie's Daily Life
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Kim @ Homestead Acres
Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom
Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Latonya @ Joy in the Ordinary
Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Leah @ As We Walk Along the Road
Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures
Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Meg @ Adventures with Jude
Megan @ My Full Heart
Melanie (Wren) @ finchnwren
Melissa @ Mom's Plans
Melissa @ Grace Christian School
Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Missica @ Through the Open Window
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
Renita @ Krazy Kuehner Days
Sarah @ Renaissance Mama
Sasha @ Such a Time as This
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Tiffany @ The Crafty Home
Tina @ Desperate Homeschoolers
Some days the stress is so bad that I just want to curl up and crawl under a rock and pretend like life isn't going on around me. Homeschooling four children with special needs keeps me going 24 hours a day. One of the kids is always having an issue. Very little time each day doesn't include some sort of drama....and yes even during the night. Needless to say I don't think I have had a full night's sleep in over 16 years. Lack of sleep makes the days even harder most times.
Recently I was letting myself get so overwhelmed, and trust me it's easy to do. I was crawling into a pity hole. Joe has been traveling a lot and that leaves all childc and household responsibilities on me. I couldn't just go and and take a walk, or shop on my own. So I had to start getting creative.
Here are a few of the things I do to help control a little of the stress....it doesn't take it all away, but it helps.
Exercise
Exercise helps to lessen the damage of stress in your life. You don't need to do a full cardio workout. A simple walk can help immensely. Well how do I do that being the lone adult home? I wake up early and walk/jog on the treadmill. Our treadmill is in a separate room from our living room. I can hide out on the treadmill, leaving the storage room door open in case a child wakes up and needs something. I really test myself and force myself out of my comfort zone. I do this for a minimum of 30 minutes.
If I can't seem to do that for some reason, I watch the weather and plan a bike ride with the kids. I either jog alongside them or ride my bike. Even though I am with the kids, I am still getting that exercise that really helps out. I do feel better at the end of a good workout.
Another way I will sneak exercise in (and call me a bad mom) but I will walk/jog in the side street next to our house. I wait until the kids are all happy and occupied, mainly the boys, and the girls will come out to ride their bikes or scooters while I walk/jog the same pattern over and over for 30 minutes. Yeah, it's not great walking the same pattern up to 10 times, but I am out and getting sunshine. Did I mention how great sunshine is for helping with stress and beating depression?
Get up Early
As if my days aren't long enough, it helps me to get up at least an hour before I expect the first child to awaken. This is the time that I can read my Bible, run billing, return emails that require concentration or even do studying for my homework. If I can get the important stuff done first thing, that helps me throughout the day. I also double check my to-do list before I start waking up the kids. I make my plan of attack for field trips, experiments or projects that are going to be tackled that day. I still check email throughout the day, unless we are not home, but I can get a jump on things. Sometimes I do exercise also, so I leave myself up to an hour and a half in the early am to get started. I also plan what I will be doing during these times. One day might be bill paying, another might be extra Bible study, another might be uploading classes to our Homeschool with Minecraft server, or some days it literally is all office work.
But that extra 1 - 2 hours in the am really helps me know that I am able to get some things done. It also leaves me feeling less guilty about taking that 45 minutes of exercise each day that I need.
Watch What you Eat
Eating junk food is so easy to do.....but stop it. Watching your diet and eating healthy foods/snacks is imperative. Junk food can cause brain fog and leave you feeling more drained than you are already feeling. Stress takes a toll on your body. You need to replenish the nutrients that are being eaten constantly as your body continues the fight. Junk food doesn't provide any of those vitamins and minerals you need. Find a way to stay out of those bad for your snacks. Find healthy alterantives such as carrots, grapes, and other healthy treats.
Know you are Not Alone
Some days it really feels like you are not alone. That's when it's great to have a group of friends to rely on. Find your group. But make sure that you are close in the good times and the stressful times. There are many places to find support. You can contact your local disabilities chapter for a support group or you can check your church. Or it could be a Facebook group that you discovered. Make sure you share the highs and lows. Those highs make a huge difference in overcoming the struggles during the low times. They give you a place to look forward to.
Get yourself a Little Treat
Yeah...you know what I mean. A new t-shirt, a new pair of leggings, those cozy looking warm socks. A new journal or even a new pen. Little things do mean a lot when you have the majority of your money going to your kids. So pamper yourself and get that little thing you have been eyeing. You'll find yourself feeling better every time you wear it or use it.
What works for one person, doesn't work for everyone. Some might say exercise is not an option. But remember, exercise doesn't mean you need to run a marathon. It means to get up and walk. Get moving. Getting extra sunshine helps. Healthy eat helps. Find your support...because you are not alone. Taking it one moment at a time is doable and you will overcome the mountain on a daily basis. You just need to take care of yourself in the process. And I know this is the hardest thing to overcome....you are not being selfish in helping yourself. You are making yourself stronger for your children's sakes.
We are linking up many others from the Schoolhouse Review Crew on the 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents Blog Hop.....Take some time to see what they have learned on their homeschooling journeys!
Annette @ A Net In Time
Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Cassandra @ A Glimpse of Normal
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses
Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm
Crystal @ Crystal Starr
DaLynn @ Biblical Womanhood
Danielle @ Sensible Whimsy
I came to the realization that we have been homeschooling for over 7 years now. We have grown from it just being Joey to all four of the kids now homeschool. Some days are wonderful and other days I just want to make a phone call for that big, yellow school bus to show up.
I have learned quite a bit in the past few years, and I thought I would share the top 5 mistakes that I made and sometimes fall back too, and have to kick myself back in line again.
1. You are Homeschooling....which is education at home, not re-creating a public school classroom in your home.
I'm not saying you shouldn't have a room dedicated just to homeschooling, but if you don't have the money or space to have such a thing, don't think you can't homeschool. This is not necessary. We don't have the space to have an individual room. I wish we did sometimes since it would be nice to have some of the school clutter to be hidden behind a closed door. But that has just made me more conscious of not leaving piles everywhere and come up with creative ways to keep their books out of the way. Currently each child has a backpack that has their current study books and their assignment notebook in it. It works out well for us. Their materials are portable anywhere in the house they want to work.
2. There are so many hours in each day.
Overplanning is a bad thing. There are only so many hours in a day. I know there are some awesome projects and we have a limited amount of time to teach our children, but if you overwhelm the kids and yourself no one will be having fun. No one will really be learning. Keep track of how many hours you are schooling each day. If the kids are whining and getting frustrated, maybe you need to take a look at how much you are packing into each day. It's ok to change your schooltime around. Do some in the am and the evening. Give yourself and the kiddos a rest break or quiet time to read books about the topic you are studying. Get out and take a walk or bike ride. If you find you are planning too much into each week, then definitely take a look at your schedule and experiment over a couple weeks. Adjust how much material you are including each day.
I fight this often. I try to cram too much into each week, and then I feel frustrated that we didn't get to everything. This frustration distracts me from what we actually accomplished.
3. Spend a ton on your first curriculum purchases.
I am a bit of a curriculum junkie. I have shelves and shelves of it. I was even worse though in the beginning. I would buy whatever I read about. We would use it and I would see quickly it wasn't a fit. Sometimes it would fit, but that was a lot of money to waste. A LOT of money to waste. Before running and buying the first curriculum that you like, really look at your child's learning style. Look at various curriculum and go through their samples. Read reviews. Don't go in debt for curriculum you cannot afford. It will frustrate you also. Remember that library books can work at curriculum also. You do not need a fancy box curriculum to homeschool. Find what works best for your family's educational style and also your budget. I am not against box curriculum, they work well for many families. But not for everyone.
Also do your research, you can find used options many times that will save you a ton of money. So if you do want the boxed curriculum, do your research.
4. Sign up for a bunch of clubs and activities
Homeschool clubs abound. It is so different than a few years ago. There are clubs, activities, and field trips that will keep you very busy. In our area, we could find something to do almost daily. Unfortunately our kids are not unschooling kiddos, so I have learned to cut back on activities. We still do field trips and we find many life skill trips to take. But I really look at our schedule now and the activity. I ask myself if the kids will enjoy it or if it is for me. How much are we already doing that week? Will it apply to any of our recent studies? Have we done a field trip or activity like this recently? Going to similar museums repeatedly is rather boring....trust me we have reached this stage in our travels.
5. Forget that learning happens anywhere.
While you are stressing about how much you have not gotten done this week and what you still need to finish, did you realize that your child was watching a movie on bees? Or maybe they learned how to make a new dinner dish for the family? Did they learn how to plant garden plants? Or maybe how to be a better neighbor by helping out next door? Learning happens all around us. Your child can learn while going out and running errands. Let them help make a menu plan for your family. Let them help you grocery shop and plan out your errands. Life learning is as important as book learning. So many kids graduate that are not able to cook, balance a checkbook or even clean up after themselves. You have the perfect opportunity to not only educate your children with books but also in life.
We are linking up many others from the Schoolhouse Review Crew on the 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents Blog Hop.....Take some time to see what they have learned on their homeschooling journeys!
Monica @ Grace Christian School
Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Missica @ Through the Open Window
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling
Rebekah @ There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
Renita @ Krazy Kuehner Days
Sarah @ Renaissance Mama
Sasha @ Such a Time as This
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Tiffany @ The Crafty Home
Tina @ Desperate Homeschoolers
