This is the time of year when homeschooling really becomes a challenge for me. The weather shifts, time change happens, and the desire to “just get to the end” intensifies. It is easy to just coast through the finish line, but we want to lead by example for our kids and finish the homeschool year strong!
It has become a joke among homeschoolers about shopping for next years curriculum when this year is not even close to being over. Usually this is in the depths of February, but spring certainly has a lot of us looking toward summer and then next school year.
Reflecting on what isn’t working, and just wanting to complete the curriculum, we and our children alike can burn out. Spring break happens and we just want to call it.
Instead of bailing, I have some tricks up my sleeve that I have learned over the years of what works for us when Spring Fever rolls around.
New Season, New stuff
Spring is a new and energizing season, making it a great time to mix things up! We just don’t want to abandon everything and start from scratch.
Is there a topic or skill that you just haven’t gotten to this year?
Now is a great time to introduce it for the spring term. Pick something small but significant.
Some suggestions:
- Typing skills
- Cursive writing
- Those math games you bought that are sitting in the cabinet still
- Geography (pick a continent and learn the countries together)
- A new read aloud (check out the Read Aloud Revival for ideas)
- Build fine motor skills used for handwriting through drawing (Ed Emberly books and Art for Kids Hub videos are favorites)
- a lapbook or unit study on a topic of interest
It doesn’t need to be dramatic, but simple and small changes can feel refreshing and give some pep to our step.
Small Yet Consistent Always Wins
Looking into Charlotte Masons homeschool methodology, one of the best practices I took from her is short manageable lessons. Just 5 minutes of consistent and concentrated work is all it takes to see progress.
Just getting started or feeling overwhelmed and daunted can stop us in our tracks.
5 minutes is enough time to:
- Learn a new letter in cursive
- Start a new read aloud (it’s ok, and actually good to leave them wanting more)
- practice some math flashcards
- One sentence of dictation (I like to use Bible verses)
Don’t get hung up on having to finish a whole lesson either. Just start and see how far you can go, or set a timer and when it goes off you are done with that subject for the day.
Do NOT go past your timer!
Change Up
Keep the content the same but change the scenery and style.
A picnic in the park or at the playground can make a world of difference for antsy kids. Bring one subject to knock out while you eat and then let them play and explore.
Now is a great time for field trips, visit that museum, nature park or historical site you have been meaning to fit in “sometime.”
Want to give unschooling a try? Or perhaps try some project-based learning. These two styles work great for building life skills while giving real world learning experience.
Cooking, woodworking, survival skills, bicycle or auto repair etc. are all hands-on and a great way to incorporate things you have learned and apply them.
Ever Changing Methodology, Never Changing Goal
When teaching our kids, we are not filling a bucket but lighting a fire. We are teaching them How to learn, not necessarily What to learn. We won’t be holding their hands forever so the goal is to guide them to be self-learners and have the tools in place to learn anything new, tackle obstacles and do hard things.
A great way to know if you are staying on track with your goals for homeschooling is to have a mission statement.
Having a focused, personalized, and purpose-filled Mission Statement can help you not get distracted by the wrong things (what others are doing, or the shining new curriculum), stay on track with your educational goals and not feel too boxed-in or restricted.
That is the exact opposite of how homeschooling should feel!
If you haven’t created a mission statement for your homeschool yet, even if you have been doing it for a while, I have made it quick and simple to accomplish!
check out the Mission Statement Builder workbook I created for myself and to share with likeminded home educators.
It’s completely free, and you’ll be signed up for our brand spanking new newsletter so you can stay up to date on freebies, new TPT products, and the latest blog post! (unsubscribe at anytime)
