Why a short term change up and breather is good and can help with homeschool burnout.

As a party to homeschool burnout right now, I felt this article was necessary because I know our family is not alone. Our family had been forcing the schoolwork for a long time and our three wild boys were going stir-crazy. We were feeling the burnout because of sickness across our whole family and feeling forced to get long checklists done. Then a long season o f nagging them constantly and trying to create more curriculum for missing subjects. It was too much and we just got frustrated.

So we took a short break in October. Three days of no expectations, no scheduling, no planning. Just time to play games, go for walks and do some cleaning. It was much needed. Gave us time to reevaluate our content as well. As adults we need these breaks too.

It doesn’t really matter the reason, burnout sometimes happens. It’s okay if it does. We all need a break sometimes. Maybe it’s your kids grumpy and frustrated, maybe it’s you frustrated and tired. Issues with stumbling blocks in curriculum or just a highly opinionated teenager. Whatever the case, make it happen for your family.

Change Up Lessons or Content Short Term

We had a long year with teaching our son Algebra and then Geometry. It was the hardest subject for us to teach our child. We were ready for a break on the complicated text books.

So we recently found a great app that was relatively affordable (equivalent to buying a small curriculum set) and now have our eldest son trying something new – quick fun lessons on Brilliant. He’s already feeling less strained and pushed on math. He’s getting a break just doing fun games and lessons on the app for 15 minutes a day instead of daily complex math lessons. It’s just something different and he’s not complaining! Changing things up is okay to do. That’s the beauty of the flexibility of homeschool.

Now our middle son has finished his math book and we are having him do activities on Brilliant to review and prepare him for next semesters math. This makes it worth the $$.

Take out a subject, do a shorter lesson or have a creative project for a subject instead. Right now my eldest son who is a full teenager is working on two new items for school: Brilliant for Math review and a brochure for civil war history. It’s been great and gives him more flexibility and creative options.

Take a Vaca to Help Homeschool Burnout

Not all of us can take this but some families may need a weekend getaway or a short overnight vacation to a local place. Sometimes the breather from the school grind is necessary to refresh and learn something outside of texts and routine.

Maybe a vacation to see family or visit a local town is a great way to be together as a family and take a break from the everyday expectations of school. As many families take some time to de-school before starting up, as a homeschool family (whether seasoned or brand new) you can also take time off.

Check out homeschool trip discounts in the off-season for places like Great Wolf Lodge and others. Here’s the link for Homeschool Travel Deals (that really make a huge price difference!)

Check out your local state parks and zoos. There are often “deal days” for off-season or weekdays (when us homeschoolers can enjoy a quiet and roaming adventure!)

Take a Trip to Avoid Homeschool Burnout

A friend of ours has three young kids. She was struggling with health issues and getting curriculum organized to teach her son to read this next homeschool season. So they took a trip to the pumpkin patch all day. They went to the zoo one day. They decorated for Christmas one day. This helped them get a small breather before starting up a new challenging chapter of homeschool.

Many of us are on a budget or one income so taking a trip may not be in the works. But trip doesn’t have to be a cross-country excursion to the mountains. It can be to a local town or just an overnight trip somewhere refreshing. For some of our friends, they went and spent the day at the zoo and aquarium at a city within a couple hours. It was a full day of fun and adventure. This trip was a refreshing change. Or maybe a local pumpkin patch for a corn maze, apple picking and hay ride.

Focus on Activities/Crafts

For our family, we have been taking breaks each night to work on a new creative STEM kit to create a pinball machine. This is a change and breather from the daily nighttime routine of reviewing schoolwork. Don’t underestimate the skills that can be learned from putting together a kit or craft. Not only was this activity in an easy to understand format, but it gave us 1:1 time together.

We also enjoy doing art and art history on Thursdays. This break from the everyday lessons and texts is a great breather. It gives us something fun and creative to do together and learn in a new way. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a short activity or art lesson is fun.

Change Up Some Curriculum (Gradually)

There may be a subject or two that are frustrating for your child or yourself right now. It’s okay to take a short break from it. Perhaps it is the amount of time you need to dedicate to explaining/teaching it or there’s a unit that is challenging right now. Sometimes review and breaks are okay for subjects.

Don’t worry that your child will “fall behind” if they take a short break from a subject. Public schools spend the first 90 days or more of the school year REVIEWING last year’s materials. You taking a week off of a subject is forgivable.

For us, we are taking a break from science for our middle son, math for our eldest and history for your youngest. We are spending more efforts and energy on IEW and writing journal skills right now. This will go on for about a month or two until we start the next semester and order new curriculum books.

Some ideas for changing up or pausing curriculum:

• Brilliant.com app for math review
• Interactive journals for history or writing
• Books reports instead of journaling
• Science kits instead of texts

Change Up Routine to Help with Homeschool Burnout

If your child or children are struggling to complete schoolwork right when they wake up or right before they go to bed, try changing the routine.

Ideas for changing up routine:

• Focus on arts or activities first
• Spend more time on music or a subject they like
• Do school in chunks (some in morning, some in afternoon)
• Take off Fridays for a time
• Alternate subjects every other day

Meet with People to Help with Homeschool Burnout

If you are looking for a longer (maybe a full semester worth) of change to really get that breather from burnout, consider joining a co-op. These can work for many families looking for that extra boost in content. Sometimes a child will flourish and grow by being in a small or larger group of kids their age learning about chemistry or arts or Bible. Sometimes the new perspective and a different “teacher” can help that perspective and burnout.

Our child went with his friend to a co-op and he enjoyed having a variety of classes with content such as cooking, building, coding and outdoor games. Just a change up a few times for a few weeks with his friend helped him gain perspective and enjoy a break.

No matter what your situation, it’s okay to take a break, feel the burnout and breathe. Remember that you are doing better than you may think. Even on the most difficult days, you are teaching and loving your children. Take time and regroup or change it up. Whatever you do, it’s okay. Find people in your corner who understand and believe me, you are not alone.