Beating Homeschool Burnout—5 Great Ways to Bring Back the Joy!
Homeschool burnout is not a question of if but when. No matter how prepared, organized, laid back, enthusiastic, or intentional you are, burnout is coming for you. And, one day, it will find you.
Here’s how you will know it has arrived. When you sip your coffee and think about the day’s planned activities, there is no glimmer of that past enthusiasm. Maybe a tiny bit of dread sneaks in. You find yourself procrastinating getting started each day. You are having a harder and harder time selling the kids on how much “fun” this or that activity will be. Sound familiar?
Don’t despair. This is not, in fact, a sign that all your life choices have been wrong and it’s time to enroll at the local school. This is expected, dare I say “normal” . . . whatever that is. It’s homeschool burnout, and it happens to the best of us.
The solutions to homeschool burnout can be as unique as the homeschoolers who have it. But here are a few tried-and-true tips that veteran homeschoolers keep up their sleeve for the inevitable burnout seasons.
1. Institute the “One Thing” Rule
Burnout does not last forever and is often a sign that we need to slow down and give ourselves a break. We may languish for a while, but we eventually feel like resuming our usual activities again . . .
. . . that is, unless we don’t. SIDENOTE: Burnout is sometimes a sign of a more systemic issue that temporary respites will not fix. If you find your season of burnout dragging on and on seemingly without reason, you should consider more permanent shake ups to your homeschool routine. More on that in another article!
While you wait out the storm, choose a “one thing” focus:
Don’t make a mile-long list of lessons, activities, and books for the day or even a small list. Choose one, and only one, of these things each day as your schoolwork goal.
If you find paring it down to one thing too daunting, try this: one math thing, one reading thing, one fun learning thing. Okay, that’s technically three things, but learning gets done and you ease the workload for a bit.
Limit your schedule to one extracurricular or social activity per week or possibly per week per child.
How about choosing a one-subject or one-topic focus? Here is how that might look.
When choosing to focus only on a single subject for a while (for example, just math or just reading), there are two options:
choose the favorite subject, or
choose the one that needs the most work.
Both are great options. Each has a different purpose. Both will give you a break from the grind.
When choosing a one-subject focus, school becomes more like a unit study. Pick a topic everyone can be enthused about (dinosaurs, early American history, space, anything) and dive in! Find ways to incorporate the core subjects: math, reading, etc. through your topic exploration.
2. Try on Something New for Size
It’s amazing how changing things up, even temporarily, can renew everyone’s attitude!
Don’t force yourself to slog through a boring read-aloud just because you’ve started it. Toss it and pick a new book or even an entirely new genre. You could even switch a topic of study. If you and your child are just not feeling ancient history, fast-forward to medieval and circle back to the ancients later.
Maybe it’s time to give your curriculum a second glance and think about switching up at least some of the pieces. Look at each subject separately and consider whether or not it’s fitting the bill.
If you feel like you need an even bigger shake-up, how about test-driving an entirely different homeschool style? Are you more of a traditional homeschooler? Try Unschooling or Gameschooling for a month. More relaxed? Try the structure of Classical or Charlotte Mason for size. Making a big change temporarily allows you to relax and throw yourself into the new approach without making a commitment to it. Think of it as a vacation from your usual routine.
3. Switch up Your Schedule or Location
And speaking of routine, sometimes just the simple act of doing the same tasks in a different order, at different times, or in different places is enough to clear away the cobwebs of burnout.
Do you always have school at the kitchen table? Try read-aloud time with milk and cookies on the sofa. Or what about throwing a blanket over the table for a fort and reading by flashlight on a pile of pillows underneath? Take school outside, to the park, to the library. Even just cleaning out and rearranging your current school space can be enough to re-spark enthusiasm.
Don’t forget to also try rearranging your time as well. Switch up the daily order in which you tackle different subjects. What if you let the kids pick which subjects to do next? Or tossed them in a hat and let chance decide?
Novelty is the spice of life! So, shake up the routine for a breath of fresh air for everyone.
4. Self-Care for Everyone!
And speaking of everyone. It’s important to remember that your little ones get homeschool burnout, too. Everyone in the family needs to balance the things they must do with the things that renew their mind, help them relax, and bring them joy.
Here are some activities that could help everyone in the family fight homeschool burning:
Get outside. Enjoy whatever season you’re currently into the fullest! Hit the pool every afternoon. Play in the snow every morning before school time. Take a hike or a bike ride in the fall foliage. Take school outside onto the picnic blanket to enjoy the fresh spring air.
Get extra sleep. Sometimes, a little extra rest is all we need. What if, for a week, you turned off the alarm and everyone just soaked in the snoozes? Trust me—the world will keep turning. If your kids are early birds, find an alternative way to get rest. Institute quiet afternoon playtime so you can rest on the sofa and still supervise. Silently, dial bedtime back by half an hour.
Me time. This, again, is important for everyone in the family. We adults tend to think that all time is “me time” for kids. But when you stop to think about it, children do spend a large part of their day doing what other people tell them to do when they tell them it’s time to do it. So, just as you need to make time to read a book, get out with your friends, or watch your favorite show, kids also need to recharge by spending quality time with their favorite activities. That might be Legos or Minecraft, playing in the dirt, playing with friends, or playing with you.
Long story short, a great way to beat burnout is just to give everyone in the family some extra time doing the things they love!
5. Just Take a Break
The biggest reason many homeschoolers resist making changes to beat burnout is that they know the change is not sustainable. For example, homeschooling may be less than successful over the long haul if you lived by the “one thing” rule all the time. But that is the point. This is not for the long haul. An essential part of beating homeschool burnout is recognizing that it is not a permanent condition and neither are the changes you put in place to get you through it. This realization allows you the freedom to make whatever adjustments are necessary (in the short term) to relieve the tense and unpleasant drudgery of burnout.
With that being said, sometimes the best thing to do is simply take a break from homeschooling altogether. If you cannot fathom not doing any school for a week, try jotting down all of the educational things your children do anyway. Legos are math and engineering. Their favorite TV show might have social-emotional learning packed in. The playground is P.E. Bedtime reading is, well, reading. Turn on a science documentary over lunch and call it good!
Remember, being burned out is not a measure of how passionate you are about homeschooling, how devoted you are to your children or your worth as a parent. It’s not a failure. It happens to everyone. The key is not to avoid it, but to recognize its telltale signs, know that it is temporary, and learn the tips and tricks that will get you and your kids over the hill.
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