Are you feeling burned out from homeschooling? It can be tough to manage everything on your own. But don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to overcome it. You just need to get creative!
In this blog post, we’ll discuss some ideas to help you avoid burnout and keep your homeschooling journey fun and exciting!
1. Have a Spirit Week!
Ok, maybe not pajama day, but what about Backward Day? Clothes must be worn backward, start your day with the last subject and work backward, and eat lunch at breakfast and breakfast at lunch!
Get creative! Kids love this and seeing them giggle all day will remind you why you decided to homeschool.
2. Allow Rabbit Trails
If your kids wake up talking nonstop about dinosaurs, take a break from regular lesson plans, and make an impromptu Dinosaur Day!
Go to the library to get a few books about dinosaurs. Cut their sandwiches into dinosaur shapes using a cookie cutter or Play-doh cutter. Cuddle up and watch a Dinosaur documentary. Build some dinosaurs out of Legos.
3. Make it Fun!
Our homeschool days took a significant turn for the better when we traded more fun activities for a lot of worksheets to finish. If you are struggling to make your homeschool fun, here are some ideas!
4. Get Outside.
Take off on an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt, which can be done by walking around your neighborhood.
All you do is ask your child to find certain objects and they can win prizes (stickers, snacks, whatever incentivizes them!).
We do this all the time and my son loves it. It brings up lots of interesting topics that he learns about such as how fire hydrants work, why leaves change different colors, and what sewers do.
It also lets me know what topics are of interest to my son so I can look for books that he will enjoy.
Even better, sometimes we meet new neighborhood kids.
5. Get More Sleep.
We all get a little grumpy when we’re tired. Enough said.
6. Do Something Fun for Yourself, Guilt-Free.
Being with your children practically 24/7 can get exhausting. Take a day to yourself. And don’t feel guilty while you’re doing it. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
Goat Yoga anyone? (My sister talked me into it. It was so much fun!)
7. Get Feedback and Encouragement from Others.
Sometimes when I’m feeling burned out or overwhelmed, it is because I’m worried I’m not doing a good enough job homeschooling.
It’s common for homeschool moms to worry that their child is falling behind.
If you find this to be true, share your process, progress, and plans with other homeschooling moms or teacher friends.
Whenever I’ve done this, I’ve usually been praised and reassured which energizes me to continue homeschooling with passion. Sometimes I even get great tips and ideas from others.
8. Use Your Passion to Fuel Your Teaching.
I love to read and travel. So we base our homeschooling around a ton of books and travel often, while homeschooling.
Maybe your passion is music. Bring your home learning environment alive and teach music to your kids. It really helps energize us when we are doing something we are passionate about.
9. Set Goals.
Set goals for the year, and then reassess them every quarter.
Once you are a few months into the homeschooling year, it’s easy to forget how far you’ve come.
I love using a goal tracker to show myself, my son, and my family what we’ve accomplished.
My son loves coloring it in as we achieve goals and it gives me peace of mind that we aren’t falling behind.
10. Enlist the Help of Family.
Maybe Grandma loves to paint. Does she want to teach an art class once a week?
We have found this to be extremely helpful to give both of us a break to spend time with other people.
Plus, these are special memories he gets to make with Grandma.
11. Find a New Way to Teach Your Child.
Sometimes, burnout happens because it is frustrating trying to convey new concepts to little ones, especially when it isn’t clicking.
Younger kids are much more hands-on.
Maybe your little one would benefit from new educational equipment.
For example, my son loves to help me cook, which I love, because it’s a good math lesson. He was struggling to understand fractions.
I pulled out his Melissa & Doug Wooden Pizza Set and explained ¼ and ½ and suddenly it clicked!
12. Watch Educational Videos with Your Children.
Stay in your pajamas and watch a few documentaries about animals, airplanes, or Outer Space. It takes the pressure of the parent to teach and allows moms to just snuggle with their kids.
13. Go on Field Trips.
Remember how much more fun we had on school days where we went on a field trip?
Kids need to see things to understand sometimes, plus, it’s just more fun to be able to run around instead of sitting at a desk.
Consider going to the zoo, aquarium, planetarium, art exhibit, museum, cave, factory, educational center, or more!
You can also count dance, art, and sports lessons towards homeschooling hours!
14. Get out of the House!
We all go a little stir crazy when we stay home all the time! Change things up a little bit.
Take your lesson outside to a park bench. Plan a time to do a school lesson with another homeschooled child at their house.
Put up a tent in the backyard and teach outside. Any change of scenery will help both student and teacher.
We also visit grandparents and do some verbal lessons in the car on the way to and from their house.
15. Consider Switching Curriculums.
Sometimes burnout happens because you are using a curriculum that is not a good fit for your family. If your burnout has lasted a while, could it possibly be due to the curriculum not meeting your teaching style or your child’s learning style?
Look on YouTube for other options if you are concerned the curriculum may not be the right fit. You can find videos of homeschool moms flipping through the curriculum. This is a great way to see it before you commit to it!
Other homeschool moms experience this too and have to sell their old homeschool material on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of the price. Be sure to look before you buy brand new!
16. Don’t Try to Get Too Much Done in 1 Day.
Usually, when I get burned out homeschooling, it’s because I overestimate the amount of material we can cover in 1 day while keeping up with the house and other responsibilities.
This makes for a stressed-out child and mama.
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.
John Heywood
17. Be Flexible.
Give yourself grace, especially in the first couple of years. It takes a while to get into a groove that works. It is sometimes difficult to get a good balance between mother and teacher.
Homeschooling can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, but it’s a ton of work! It can be tough to balance everything on your own, and it’s easy for burnout to creep up on you.
I’ve been there too.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to avoid burnout and keep homeschooling fun!
From getting more sleep, enlisting help, or spending time away from the house- we’ve covered lots of great ideas that should help you stay excited about teaching your children at home.
How have YOU overcome homeschooling burnout?
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
