Avoiding Burnout

Burnout. Yuck!

It’s a little gremlin that tries to infiltrate our homes, our jobs, our churches, AND our homeschools.

It makes you and your kids feel tired, grumpy, and unmotivated. Causes your homeschooling and other work to slow down to a snail’s pace. Makes you want to give up.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we never had to deal with this little monster?

While burnout may not be entirely unavoidable, there are some things you can do to freshen up your routine and reduce the chances of it sneaking into your homeschool.

Take a peek at these suggestions.

How to Avoid Homeschool Burnout

Daily Breaks

I don’t know about you, but I get restless after sitting still a long time. I bet you and your kids do too. That’s why it’s valuable to take frequent breaks throughout the day. Studies have shown that taking breaks improves learning. It gives the brain a chance to amalgamate all of the information it has taken in. So feel free to grab a cup of java and take ten with your kids. Or let them go out and play for 15 minutes so you can enjoy some time alone. I think you’ll find that these mini R&R’s make great stress busters.

Fun Activities

Throwing in some fun activities here and there will make learning more interesting for children. Here are some suggestions:

Learning games. There are plenty of educational games available such as these geography games and math games.
Puzzles.
Educational movies. Schoolhouse Rock, PBS, and Magic School Bus are just a few educational videos out there.
Crafts.
Homeschool Olympics. Set up some fun Olympic activities for your family (and perhaps other families).
History reenactments.
Favorite songs.
Reader’s Theater. This is a fun reading activity. Learn more about some Christian Reader’s Theater scripts here.

Field Trips

Field trips are always exciting for kids. They can be big or small. Expensive or cheap. Anything really so long as you just get yourself and your kids out of the house. Here are some possibilities:

Science museum.
Zoo.
Art museum.
Historical site.
Bike trail. Good for some P.E.
Local park. More P.E.
National park.
The library.
Musical performance.
Theatrical performance.
A farm. Unless of course you already live on one, in which case you might try a trip to the city. 😉
Planetarium.
Children’s Museum.

School in Weird Places

Sometimes just a change of scenery for a short time can make learning more fun. You might try letting your kids study in unusual places like:

Under a table with a blanket over it,
A tree house,
A barn,
The backyard,
The deck,
The garage.

Party Hardy

A party is also a great way to break up the monotony of a daily routine. I don’t mean a party like a birthday party. I mean a learning-oriented party or a themed party. Here are some ideas to show you what I mean.

Favorite Author Party. Choose a favorite author to celebrate.
Pajama Party. Spend the entire day in pajamas.
Mad Scientist Party. Do lots of weird science experiments.
Monet Party. Do extra fun art activities.
Ancient Egypt Party. Dress up like Egyptians and do some activities tied to ancient Egypt.
Mozart Party. Sing, perform, and play music on this day.

These party days can be a day where you focus on just that subject most of the day (like the Mad Scientist Party) or a regular day with extra activities thrown in (like the Favorite Author Party). It’s entirely up to you.

Celebrate Little-Known Holidays

Besides good old Christmas and Easter, there are some other really fun holidays that you can celebrate in your homeschool, many of which are not well-known. Here are some examples:

Hat Day. January 15th. Design and wear goofy hats.
Tell a Fairy Tale Day. February 26th. Everyone could dress up as their favorite fairy tale character.
Pi Day. March 14th. Make some pie to eat with your equations and enjoy these other Pi Day activities or share this history of pi with your children.
Tell a Story Day. April 27th. Here is a cooperative storytelling activity you could do for this holiday.
Mother Goose Day. May 1st. Share some of the lesser known rhymes and/or dress up as your favorite Mother Goose character.
Winnie the Pooh Day. September 18th. This would be a nice day to make something with honey. Yum!
Dictionary Day. October 16th. Celebrate Dictionary Day with these activities.
Square Dance Day. November 29th. The perfect day to dance.
Boston Tea Party Day. December 16th. Have a tea party on a pretend ship then throw some of the extra tea overboard.

Avoid Overkill

What is overkill in homeschooling? It is trying to do every single activity and every single problem in your curriculum of choice. Most curriculum you find offers (or should) a variety of activities for accomplishing the objectives (or goals) of the lesson. This is to accommodate different learners. There’s no need to do all of them. Instead choose the activities that best fit your learners. Also, don’t be afraid to do odds or evens, or just cross out a few questions sometimes. As a homeschooler, you have that freedom to adapt your child’s work anyway you find appropriate.