You’re a Better Homeschooler Than You Think
As we press into December, it’s time to start thinking about wrapping up the fall semester of homeschooling. We’re all getting those last assignments turned in and calculating final grades, and now the calendar is lightening up with planning seasonal activities. While some may barrel into December with triumphal confidence in a job well done, many of us cross the semester finish line more like newbies on a first marathon, struggling to drag our ragged bodies across the finish line, exhausted and fighting for every step.
If you are like most people, chances are, your homeschooling year did not go exactly as you planned. Some of the extracurriculars you planned got shoved to the wayside in the face of a flood of other obligations. You only used half of the materials you purchased. Sickness and family emergencies threw you off. Your tidy little schedule got torn to shreds. Life happens.
You might be tempted to think your homeschooling is a mess—and to be honest, maybe it is. But that’s okay because the entire reason we homeschool is because we understand that life does not always fit into a structured regimen. Homeschooling has always been about flexibility. We have to extend that flexibility to our own schedule as well as to judgments about our performance.
If your year didn’t go as you’d hoped, here are a few things you can do:
Ask Yourself What Went Wrong
If you’re not happy with how your semester unfolded, why not? It may help to get a piece of paper and write down what went wrong and why. For example, if you felt like you struggled to stick to your daily schedule, why? What do you think the underlying issue was when a child struggled with a certain subject? If you felt stressed throughout your homeschooling week, what was stressing you out? Lastly, ask yourself what concrete steps you can take to alleviate that.
Learn for Next Time
Once you’ve identified the issues, see what is under your control to adjust. Maybe this semester you found out that certain goals were too ambitious—that seven classes per kid was too much, that there really is no time for ballet on Thursday nights, that your teen can’t handle a full-time school schedule and a 24-hour-per-week job. If you overestimated this semester, learn from that miscalculation and course correct for next semester.
Throw Your Hands Up
Chances are, a lot of your problems with the semester were outside of your control. Life throws innumerable complications into our plans, and whether it’s sickness, car troubles, or a backed-up toilet, there is always something ready to mess up your day. Try not to internalize these problems as a judgment on your homeschooling. When these sorts of things happen, the best you can do is throw your hands up and say. “Welp, I did what I could given the circumstances.” That is the best anyone can do.
Think About What Went Right
Focusing on the flubs and missteps is so easy that we can overlook our successes. Sure, maybe you planned twelve biology lessons and only completed ten, but you successfully homeschooled ten biology classes. That’s an accomplishment! Maybe your field trip to Colonial Williamsburg was a bust because it rained and half the exhibits were closed for renovations… but you successfully planned and executed a homeschool field trip, and that’s no small feat! Even if things didn’t go your way across the board, try to be grateful for what went well.
Give Yourself Some Grace
Finally, give yourself some grace! Educating children at home is tiring, even under the best circumstances. There will be days when you don’t get the laundry done or dinner prepped. There will be days where you do a half-day of school and then spend the afternoon in the park decompressing. And, yes, there will even be days when you say, “No school today, kids! Go watch a movie while Mom takes a nap.” This, too, is all part of homeschooling. Your own clarity of mind, self-care, and mental well-being are all at the core of a successful homeschool. Your own peace is more important than whether you stick to an arbitrary schedule.
In the End, Remember…
Whatever you have in your schedule or planner is just a roadmap. Its purpose is to give you direction. However, it is not something you need to stick to slavishly. Sometimes, it can be better to “take the scenic route” rather than follow the map. When it comes to education, the excitement and love you pour into your children’s homeschooling will be more enduring than whether you stuck to a specific outline or finished the Algebra book by the end of the semester.
Emotions are contagious, so as you wrap up your homeschooling year, make a deliberate effort to stay positive, think about the year’s successes, and resolve to return next semester with renewed dedication and love. You might be ambivalent about the year, but chances are, you did better than you think.
What are your thoughts on this topic? To continue the discussion, join me and other homeschooling parents at our Homeschool Connections Community or our Facebook group!
