Winter Blues & Homeschooling

I had an email with tips for teaching math all queued up and ready to send, but the winter blues were on my heart and mind.

I’ve felt pretty stir crazy lately.

It’s almost spring, but not quite. We’ve traveled a bit, which provides for nice breaks, but it’s hard to get motivated after a week of vacation. The curriculum feels boring at this point in the year and we’re all feelings on top of each other inside all the time.

Maybe you can relate?

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There’s a bit of trudging through to be done, and that can be a good thing.

It’s a good chance to remind ourselves to rejoice in the Lord always! To choose contentment in every circumstance. To fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. To do all our work heartily as unto the Lord, and to do everything without grumbling. (And to speak these truths to our children in grace & love.)

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But also, I’m trying to overcome evil winter with good & get a little creative for these stir crazy weeks until true spring hits and the kids can easily run around outside for hours every afternoon.

A few not-very-complicated changes we're trying are:

1. A few new books - no drastic curriculum changes. Just picked up a few new read-alouds to enjoy together since we’re indoors more.
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2. New morning time materials - We’ve kept some of our staples, but I also mixed up a few new materials or topics for variety.
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3. Time in the sunshine - I’ve never figured out how to be one of those “outside in all weather” folks, dressing all 4 kids in 3 layers of thermal gear to play for hours in the negative 20 degree weather. But, if it’s above 20, I’m determined to bundle up for at least a few minutes of fresh air. And if it’s one of those rare February days where it hits 40-50, we’ll be outside for a while in the afternoons!
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4. 6 weeks of tickets - the thing my kids are most excited about. We’ve been traveling a bit these past few weeks, but once we get back, we’ll start 6 weeks of tickets. Every school assignment will earn a certain amount of tickets. Plus the kids can earn extra tickets for various activities. At the end of March, we’ll take a day off to open a miniature store where they can buy some activities or privileges with their hard earned tickets. I'm not above a little winter bribery to make February school fun!

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Typically, I’ve found this is the hardest time of year to keep on keeping on with homeschooling. Hang in there & keep in mind:

How are you feeling about homeschool these days?

xo,

Renee
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