Friends, we have one month left!
One month left of having our kiddos in our newly established “Home Schools,” and then some version of summer will happen. Summer might look different this year, but I can tell you as a homeschooling momma for many years, the days feel different once you have decided that the routine of “school” is done for the year. Way different, yeah!
As I say this, some of you are making paper chains to count down the days with a bottle of champagne cooling in the fridge.
I actually get a little sad at the end of May when school is wrapping up. It’s a year that I will never get back, and what I have done or haven’t done with my kids is now complete and unable to be changed. The question that I always ask myself is, “Did I give it my best?”
So with ONE MONTH left, and for some of us not even that, let’s not wait until the last day to ask that question, but let’s do it today and finish the year strong! I think that the majority of us will look back on these months with our kids as a special time. If you haven’t felt that way yet, read on and take a look at the suggestions below to finish the year with a different mindset. Moms, you are so capable. You can do this!
1. Let mental health come before grades.
Moms, there are a lot of things right now that you didn’t sign up for including teaching your kids from home. So don’t put pressure on yourself to be the perfect teacher. If they get a C in math this year, they get a C. This is not the time to worry about grades. This is the time to make sure that you and your kids are healthy and being encouraged. Work as a team, take breaks, play hard, and get rid of any undo stress of perfection.
2. Throw away schedules that don’t work.
If you haven’t found a schedule that works well for everyone in the family, welcome to the club! After homeschooling for several years, I have yet to find the perfect schedule that works for all three of my kids. I have one kid who starts school the moment he wakes up at 7:00. I have one kid who sleeps until 9:00 and then works the day away. Ella needs to snuggle before she is ready to dive in. They are all different, and that’s okay. If a schedule is causing frustration, throw it out the window. Be flexible. The gift of homeschooling is getting to do things when your people are at their best.
3. It’s okay to let older kids help younger kids with homework.
I read a mom’s post that suggested she felt incompetent to help her child with school work, so an older child was helping out. Absolutely! I love it when the older kids help the younger ones! One of the best things about homeschooling is that my kids know each other well. When they work as a team, their relationships get stronger. An older kid can benefit from teaching a sibling just as much as a sibling benefits from being focused on by an older brother or sister. It’s good stuff. Don’t (for a minute) feel bad about it!
4. You have your kids’ time and attention. Use it!
This may be the only time in your family’s life that you are homeschooling as a family. Think about what you really want them to experience in these last 4 weeks and go for it! Want to teach them about running a business? Do it! Want to do a bible study for the first time at home? Go for it! Want to teach them life skills about changing the oil in a car and doing the laundry, or learning about their families genealogy, or reading more books aloud? Do it! You will feel better about your engagement in their homeschool. Remember the question, “Did I do enough?” Think about what’s important to you that your kids learn and teach it to them. Now is the perfect time!
5. Finish this month of school with the end in mind.
These days are fleeting. Although it might seem as though this time will last forever, it will be gone before we know it. Live these days out with your kiddos with an end goal in mind. Maybe your goal coming out of quarantine would be that your family would be closer. Think of ways to encourage that. Finish this statement, “When my kids look back at this time, I want them to say….. (blank),” and then lay out a plan to stack the deck in that favor.
One month, one month left… so let’s make it a good one! You can do it! HLLF –
