Weekly Homeschool Roundup: 9/28/19

This week I found some great audio content for you, as well as a couple of other good things.

Recently I have spent a lot of time listening - to podcasts, audiobooks, and music - in the car while driving, while folding laundry, and while walking the dog. It’s a good time to sneak in learning for me and to scout out good content for you!

It’s hard to believe September is drawing to a close. I put the fall decorations out and had a pumpkin cheesecake muffin. Bring on October!

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I’d love to know if any of my 5 recommendations this week strike a particular chord with you.

• Social media - 5 Questions to Ask Yourself - and to Share With Your Children

  This podcast, from Janet & Doug Newberry, isn’t only about social media. You can ask your children these 5 questions about anything. I am looking forward to having a discussion with my kids about this episode. There is A LOT to think about there.

• The Art (and Awfulness) of the Cliffhanger

  Anne Bogel is one of my favorite online people - and I love her podcast, What Should I Read Next? On this episode she is doing some literary matchmaking for two sisters - ages 10 and 12. It’s SO good… if you have pre-teen book lovers in your house, then you will want to share this episode with them - and be prepared to hit the library afterward.

• A 4-year-old lost her favorite stuffed cat. It turned up 14 years later behind her house.

  I’m sure a lot of you have read The Well Trained Mind. Well, the author of that beloved homeschooling handbook just had something really excellent happen at her home. This article made me smile.

• Consider this as you interact with your children - and pretty much anyone:

  This quote, posted by a friend of mine on Facebook last week, has really changed the way I have related with everyone. I hope I can be more intentional about listening to those around me.

We’re on the road to a wedding in Chicago this weekend - my nephew (who was an adorable ring bearer in my wedding 22 years ago!) is getting married. I’m looking forward to a happy occasion with lots of family. Plus, I get to spend three whole days with my college girl!

It’s funny how much life changes, isn’t it?

Let me hear from you - did you have something that struck you this week?

Share it with me in the comments!

Are You Stealing Your Homeschooler's Joy?

None of us set out to intentionally steal our homeschooler’s joy.

It can creep up on us, especially if we have a child who is a pleaser or a child who is especially hard on themselves.

If you are a parent who prides herself on checking off boxes, being “diligent” in your children’s education, and maintaining a predictable schedule, it could easily happen to you.

One day your homeschool is buzzing along - of course you have the occasional bad day (just like everyone else), your children are completing their work - they are even being compliant and diligent.

And then it HITS you. (Or, maybe it doesn’t hit you - which is why I’m writing this post… consider yourself hit.)

Your children - and you, for that matter - have lost their joy. Everyone is functioning and getting the task of homeschooling completed, but the shine, sparkle, and JOY of learning are gone.

It’s happened to me (on multiple occasions), and I want to give us all reminder, pep talk, and encouragement that we need.

Put Yourself In Your Children’s Shoes

Yesterday it was SO HOT here in Georgia. 93 degrees in the middle of September isn’t right.

I had to get out of the house, so I dropped something off to a friend and then stopped for a cold drink at a cute coffee shop on the way home.

As I was sitting there enjoying this break in the day I thought about my 14-year-old at home. He was at his desk working through his list of assignments for the day. Math, Latin, Debate, Logic, Piano Practice, Reading, Science.

I COULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT.

I had already maxed out after a few hours at home in the morning. I needed a change of scenery, something cool to drink, and a little bit of human interaction (with people not related to me!).

He’s a good worker and puts pressure on himself to finish his assignments each day so he can have free time in the evening. He likes to leave for basketball at 3:30 knowing his schoolwork is complete. I’ve started to feel like he’s almost robotic going through the motions of checking off the boxes.

I immediately was convicted that we need to work on more JOY and flexibility in our homeschool. If I truly put myself in Grant’s shoes I would have been feeling bored and not incredibly inspired to dig much deeper into my subjects than beyond what was simply assigned.

Here’s the Instagram post I made (click if you want to read all of my thoughts and the insightful comments, too!)

Then I also thought back to when my kids were younger.

How many times did I put off the “fun” until all of our work was accomplished? Our best days were those where we put the fun first - and turned our learning into a field trip, hands-on activity, or a game. Because guess what? My college girl now remembers the JOY over the academics.

I know I can’t always scrap a day of school in favor of a day of joy with a teenager who has a challenging curriculum. And, it is important to teach diligence, perseverance, and fortitude - but I also know there are simple ways to make life and learning more joyful - that are applicable to all ages.

5 Ways to Put the Joy Back in Your Homeschool

• Shock Your Children! Don’t be afraid to hop in the car and go get ice cream. Or, if it’s an excruciatingly hot day, head to the local creek (with swimsuits) and take your current read aloud. Try it - this week do one spontaneous thing that will shock your kids! Depending on the type of parent you are, these activities will vary, right?

• Change Your School Location How about going to the local coffee shop to set up for school? Or, if it’s a nice day, how about heading to your favorite outdoor spot to do school? How about you let the kids decide the location (within reason).

• Go to the Library. Really. It’s so simple, isn’t it? A trip to the library can change everything for the day.

• Go to the Movies. I did this a few years ago with my kids. I remember it vividly - it was a Thursday and we woke up with everyone in a bad mood. At lunch time we headed to the movie theater to eat popcorn for lunch and see Chimpanzee. The best thing was that there wasn’t another SOUL in the theater. We had the place to ourselves. We learned a lot about chimpanzees and made a memory.

• Declare a Theme Day You’ve probably heard me talk about our famous Angry Birds Day. I woke the kids up and declared the entire day Angry Birds. We played the game on the iPad. We did a Chalk Pastel art project. We had a physical Angry Birds game. We did all things Angry Birds and it was a blast.
  

These are just a few ideas to get you started, but you get the point, right?

GRACE - and Be Vigilant!

Moms, I know we are famous for being our own worst critics. If you feel like you have been guilty of stealing your homeschooler’s JOY, remember that GRACE abounds.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You care enough to homeschool your kids. I always contend that my kids worst day in our homeschool was better than any day in public school.

Just remember to be vigilant - on the lookout for kids that seem to have lost their spark and love of learning.

Put yourself in your child’s shoes every now and then and see how YOU are feeling about learning.

I pray we all can be intentional about joy in our homeschoolers’ lives.

Do you have a way you spark joy in your homeschooler? Share it with me in the comments below!