Bad homeschool day? Some days for homeschooling mom are ones that could make the hair stand up on even the most placid of us! There can be many reasons for having one of those days but here are the ones some have experienced:

Not being organized

Children not being compliant

Mom’s negative state of mind

Too much planned for one day

Being premenstrual

Comparing yourself to others

Feeling the need to play “catch-up”

Illness

Outside interruptions – repair men or friends.

Well whether or not these are any of your reasons…let’s be honest – we all have a bad homeschool day once in a while. Let’s look at each situation...

Not being organized...

There is nothing worse than waking up in the morning and feeling like you need to play “catch-up” all day long. So take little steps to become more organized...you can visit my organized mom mom page for homeschool mom friendly ideas. Just a warning – don’t expect to have a magic wand waved and instantaneous success, just plod a little each day until you feel the burden lift.

One area of frustration for me used to be not finding our school supplies where we needed them, when we needed them. Be sure to read organize your homeschool if this is your problem.

While this area of organization may be a struggle to fit in, it will eliminate many of the problems associated with a bad homeschool day.

Children not being compliant...

Again this is something that needs to be addressed over the long haul. If your children are characterized by disobedience with their work, then you will need to systematically deal with each offence. The issue here is to get their hearts, not just good behavior. Often this needs to start with Mom and her attitude and temperament. This we will cover in the next point.

Your non compliant children need to be dealt with on two levels. First you need to calm yourself and then you need to engage their heart. I am not talking about offering a different learning activity – this to me just indulges the wrong behavior. You need to help them to understand that their non-compliance is hurting them and the rest of the family. Then explain the spiritual principle of obeying has to happen in the school room as much as in day to day living.

Next you need to deal with the work habit. Charlotte Mason had an expectation of her students to give their best in whatever they put their hand too. This means training our children to work neatly and promptly in the time allotted to them for this subject.

The bonus of coming alongside your children in a grace based manner is that it pretty much irradicates this reason for having a bad homeschool day!

Moms negative state of mind

Let’s face it, not everyday do we bounce out of bed with joy at another homeschooling day. It is unfair to suggest that you should never feel overwhelmed with this task that you have taken on in raising and educating your children 24/7.

But if it is an everyday occurrence there is reason for concern. If you are tired, stressed and burnt out then it is very hard to be positive about each days new challenges. Consider the articles on my Content Woman page.

Being Premenstrual

This is one I hear a lot: “Well its that time of the month” or “My hormones are making me grumpy”. Without sounding callous – you need to get a handle on this...it is not your children (nor husband's) problem if you get PMT.

Suggestions: Make note of your cycle and pay attention to the days when you will be premenstrual or plan an easy day or even an “out day” in nature. But stop making the innocent pay, you cannot blame your bad homeschool day on this for too long without it becoming a crutch instead of finding a cure.

Too much planned for one day?

If you are putting your own curriculum together, then you are your own taskmaster and you have the choice to change it. It may be that you need to lower your expectations for a day, week or permanently.

If you have a schedule to follow from a curriculum supply company, then you need to decide whether they know what is best for your family for this day. Perhaps you feel if it is written in black and white on a schedule, it needs to be done.

You may also have packed in too many extra murals for your children, consider carefully whether they are all necessary.

Comparing yourself to others

This is a dangerous place to be as comparisons rob your family and yourself of your own uniqueness and family identity. Comparisons are also bound to give you and your children a bad homeschool day. Articles for you to consider: Keeping up with the Joneses and The Diligent Mom.

Feeling the need to catch-up?

If you are behind in your proposed learning plan for your children the worst idea is to have a major catch up session. this is bound to cause a bad homeschool day! This is draining on you and is purposeless for your children. Rather reassess your plan and make the adjustments to fit in less quantity with more quality. Remember with homeschooling we are not cramming knowledge into our children’s heads, rather lighting a passion for knowledge. Read A Living Education Issue #5.

Illness

Illness in you or your children can take its toll on a homeschooling home. When our children are genuinely ill we give them the time out that they need. We make sure they rest and eat and drink well. I try and confine them to bed as far as possible and we hand over their chores to another child. While in bed they listen to story tapes and we move our school read alouds to their room so they can listen in.

I do not get sick very often but during pregnancy my energy levels are very low and the nausea is hard to cope with in the first few months. But there are others who are not as fortunate as I am and have to deal with illness and disease often. My advice? Cut back and make a plan. When you have little ones you can move the majority of their work to your room, read alouds can be done on your bed. If you have older children they can take on more chores as well as be encouraged to help their younger siblings with their work.

The important thing to remember is that a season of illness is not the norm and that in the larger period of a year you will be able to catch up anything necessary that you have fallen behind in due to this period.

Outside Interruptions

I make it a rule as far as I possibly can to schedule no repair men in our mornings. When we have done major renovations to our homes, this will become the exception.

As far as friends go, you need to gently ensure that you lay your boundary and protect your times with your children. This is the situation in our home – I do not answer the phone in the morning nor make dates to see friends. With the exception of ministry to friends when God leads I keep this rule enforced.

I hope these hints and tips will help prevent many more bad homeschool days!

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