Posted in Homeschool
|
Denise at Let's Play Math posted Homeschooling Burnout: 10 Tips for Coping. Thanks for some great ideas for re-looking at our days, Denise. How do you know if you're burned out? Some symptoms include: a lack of patience, a lack of appetite OR overeating, overreacting to minor issues, and making irrational decisions. I think I've been burned out I'd like to chime in with Denise on some strategies to battle burnout: (these are listed in no particular order) 1. Find an outside activity for yourself and the kids: a family nature walk or gardening day. If your kids are old enough, maybe you'd prefer a meditaitve walk alone, while they take a bike ride with dad. Or send them out to Tree School so you can relax on your deck and enjoy the sounds of nature vs. the sound of "Mommm"! Get fresh air and out of your house. 2. Once everyone has had some fresh air and exercised a bit, make a pitcher of your favorite drink: ice tea or lemonade? Allow yourself and your kids to take two hours of "alone time" with their beverage. Mom may choose to read one of those books piled next to her bed, or flip through a magazine or catalog, or talk to a supportive friend on the phone. Give the kids some ideas to use this time creatively......give them the digital camera to capture some nature photos, challenge them to a photo contest, make some scrapbooking pages. 3. Find a family service project and take a day away from school to serve others. Once we see "how good we have it", we're more open to recommit to our educational opportunities. 4. If you're not getting together with other homeschool families regularly, find reasons to share learning time outside of your regular academic schedule. Find a substitute teacher for a day or join a co-op in your area. 5. Engage learning modalities which do not require mom time: videos online, supplemental DVD's for textbooks, audio-visual curricular lectures and lessons, and online tutorials. 6. Maybe you have read, changing the behavior and response of others around you, begins with a change in your own heart and words. 7. You can't be serious about everything. Even catastrophes make family memories. Laugh more with your kids! And for those of us in the midst of adolescent angst, Try to Appreciate Those Teen Years. 8. Tackle the clutter and give yourself a Learning Space Make Over. Or implement just a few organizational strategies each month. Can you find the books you need in your house? It also helps to make a library corner....ask anyone who has spent a whole morning just looking for the books they need that day. Sometimes physical and mental clutter, clutters our hearts. 9. Talk to other moms about how they cope with burnout or read about the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Homeschooling. The authors of this blog series admit they do not always succeed at these habits, but sharing experiences and supporting one another goes a long way! 10. Don't re-invent the wheel. Use web resources ... it's not cheating. Honest! You can also find web resources to Homeschool for Free, if financial stress adds to your burnout. 11. Take a school vacation....no not a vacation away from school (although I'm very much in favor of that too!); make the vacation count as school. Here's an example of family weekend school or take a unit study vacation. Or find a week long school camp in your city. It's a change of routine and venue and FUN! 12. And last, but NEVER least, pray this special Homeschool Mom Prayer. Related Tags: homeschool, burnout, stress |
Comments
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Denise
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Links
Home View my profile
Archives
Email Me
