Encouragement for homeschool moms is just (or even more) essential to homeschooling as the curriculum you choose.
Most of us start our homeschool journey with blissfully homeschool ideas of what our days will look like, and then the reality of what’s needed, what’s working, or what needs to be modified set in and that perfect ideal homeschool picture in our minds slowly fades away.
Midway through the school year, homeschool burn-out and discouragement are staring you in the face.
But the good news is there’s hope and encouragement for you!
If you’re feeling weary and discouraged in your homeschool, here are five steps you can take starting today to get the motivation you need for the homeschool road ahead.
Encouragement For Homeschool Moms
1. Your Role As Teacher Is Valuable
One of the biggest questions you may ask yourself from time to time as a homeschool mom is, “does this even matter”?
You plan and prep, hoping that your plans will go as expected.
As you begin to homeschool, you will discover some things in your homeschool that you cannot plan for. The curriculum you thought would be “perfect” for your child is too complicated or too easy.
Your routine may not be going as smoothly as you thought. Or, there may be other imperfections that pop up.
During these times, it’s easy to become frustrated and question if your decision to homeschool is valuable and worth the effort.
The more you develop and adjust your homeschool, you’ll discover how liberating and life-changing homeschooling can be!
Besides making sure your homeschool is following your state’s compliance laws, there are no direct rules to follow in your homeschool.
You can create and customize your child’s homeschool that works best for your child.
The sooner you discover how to meet your child’s needs best, the sooner you will find how valuable you are to your child as their teacher.
You can try different homeschooling methods to see which teaching style is best for your child.
You can connect best with your child because your love as a mom comes before your role as a teacher.
Homeschooling gives you the ability to offer your child an educational experience filled with support and nurture from the people who care about them most.
2. It’s Okay To Take A Break When You Need To
Say goodbye to only being able to take holiday or school closure breaks.
If your child needs breaks in between lessons, you can do that.
If life is a little hectic and you or your child are feeling stressed, you have the freedom to take the necessary break you need to give your family time to regroup.
You can establish how long your family breaks will be.
What’s great about this is you don’t have to feel guilty for time off in your homeschool when you need it.
As long as you are schooling for the legally required time for your state, you can create your homeschool schedule with as much flexibility as you need.
3. Boundaries Are Important
Homeschool is a real school for your children, and sometimes family or friends may not understand that.
Because you are home and homeschooling does not mean you can readily drop your homeschool plans to accommodate the needs of others.
A more defined way of viewing homeschool boundaries is to think of limits as a way to protect your homeschool.
Be encouraged to take the necessary steps to protect your child’s education and your bandwidth as mom and teacher when you set homeschool school boundaries.
Setting boundaries surrounding your homeschool hours, limiting distractions, setting a homeschool budget, the number of external activities allowed, and prioritizing your self-care and mental health may be necessary.
Boundaries will help keep your homeschool balanced and with realistic expectations.
4. Get Support When You Need It
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
Finding supportive homeschool mom connections is helpful socially and emotionally.
Having healthy, encouraging conversations, sharing new ideas, and sharing successes and failures are all ways to find emotional support as a homeschool mom.
In-person relationships are always preferred, but if you’re challenged to find those local connections seek out online support groups with other like-minded homeschool moms.
Ask for extra help from your spouse and family members to allow you time for rest and your interests.
Minimizing clutter, automating some household services, home delivery, and hired help are all tools you can use for extra support to help lighten your load.
More support may include supplemental homeschool services such as tutoring or outsourcing classes.
Don’t struggle alone if you are dealing with anxiety, stress, or being overwhelmed by homeschooling. Instead, reach out for the help you need.
5. Homeschool Is Ministry To Your Children
In my course Handcrafted Homeschool, I share tips on how to homeschool with a biblical worldview.
Homeschool allows us to spend quality and intentional time with our children, teaching more than math and reading.
We are able to teach biblical principles and faith.
By teaching and living out our faith before our children, we can be living examples of biblical truths we believe.
We can daily teach moral character, lifelong lessons, gratitude, leadership, and more!
The homeschooling years can be convoluted with curriculum choices, joining homeschool groups, the latest learning gadgets, etc.
It’s easy to get sidetracked and distracted from what matters most in your homeschool.
If you realize your homeschool has gotten off focus, pause and readjust.
Don’t wait for circumstances to be perfect in your homeschool before you remember that you are teaching the minds and hearts of your children.
There’s nothing fancy needed, just a present mom with a heart full of love for her children.
Answering Questions: More Encouragement For Homeschool Moms
How do you get passed not feeling appreciated as a homeschool mom?
It’s pretty common for homeschooling moms to feel unappreciated for the hard work in planning and executing their homeschool plans.
And sometimes, people, even family members, may not see your decision to homeschool your child as valuable either.
Either way, when you decide to homeschool your child, you have to know in your heart that it’s for all the right reasons that matter most to you.
Unlike brick and mortar schools where public school teachers receive awards and accolades for their success, you have to know that your reward will come in other forms.
Choose to focus on the precious time you spend with your child at home every day. The opportunity to become one of your child’s biggest influences. The ability to allow your child to discover their gifts, talents, and interests.
There are many positive ways you and your child can spend your homeschool days together.
Choose experiences, people, and places you can explore with your child.
These positive experiences will last you and your child a lifetime.
The rewards of being a homeschool mom far surpass external validation and recognition.
Is it normal to have homeschooling anxieties?
Yes.
When you decide to homeschool, you agree to take full responsibility for your child’s education.
Even if you outsource classes, you are still ultimately responsible for ensuring your child receives all the educational requirements your states require.
That is a huge undertaking, especially if you have multiple children.
One major mistake that many first-time homeschooling parents make is attempting to cover every fine detail of every school subject within one homeschool year.
Homeschool is more of a marathon than a sprint. So don’t try to rush and cram; instead, choose to take a slower pace that allows your child to grasp each topic thoroughly.
You can find peace knowing that although you will make mistakes, forget something or have to redo a lesson or entire unit, nobody, not even school teachers, are perfect. Likewise, there are no perfect homeschools either.
Surrounding yourself with people and resources that provide encouragement for homeschool moms will help you thrive as a homeschooling parent.
I still remind myself that I’m not competing with the school system or classroom. But instead, I am creating a homeschool environment that will serve my child best.
We can always make changes along the way, fix what’s not working, or try new ideas because there is so much flexibility in homeschooling. We don’t have to allow anxiety to get the best of us.
Where can I find resources to help me create a curriculum for homeschooling?
A great place to start is CathyDuffyreviews.com.
Cathy Duffy has been completing homeschool curriculum reviews since 1984. Her primary goal is “to help families successfully educate their own children“!
There are resource books to purchase, but there are tons of reviews for homeschool curricula free on her website.
She also has many book recommendations for reading beyond homeschool curriculum.
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