I have to admit a hard truth, folks. We’ve kind of sort of misplaced our homeschool rhythm.
Or possibly it was thrown from a speeding Mustang, ridden by feral farm animals, into the jaws of an outlaw coyote. Maybe I’ve been reading too many Adventures of Hank the Cowdog to the children.
I’m not sure. All I know is our rhythm has gone missing, and I’m struggling to find it.
Homeschooling through a move is hard!
*I wrote this post last year as we were moving into our new house. The process was stressful, and I quickly learned that doing All The Things was not the best option when life gets busy.*
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When You’ve Lost Your Homeschool Rhythm
Do you ever feel like one of those trapeze artists at the circus about to jump through a flaming ring while juggling swords and balancing a poodle on your head? All the while praying your leotard doesn’t split mid-jump?
No? ….just me then.
I’m overwhelmed, honestly.
You see, on top of motherhood and homeschooling, we also bought a house. Super exciting, I know! But this house needs some TLC, and since we are doing most of the work ourselves…and learning as we go…it has been an enormous project.
Amid guitar lessons, ballet practice, play rehearsals, barn chores, and everything else, we are now spending most evenings at the new house working on tearing down walls, sanding, painting, building new chicken coops and animal stalls.
Why yes, thermal dynamics can be taught with sandpaper and power tools.
What’s for dinner, you ask? How do a hot pocket and string cheese sound?
I’m kidding! I also offered them an apple with peanut butter!
When You’ve Lost Your Homeschool Rhythm
Here’s the big pink elephant in the room.
Life Happens.
It happens to us all.
I could say that starting tomorrow, we will have a “this and that” schedule, and everything will be smooth as silk again.
But we all know better.
For us, until we get moved into the new house and then after several months of habitation, our rhythm will be off.
That’s how life changes work, big or small. They take time, time to adjust and settle and to find what works.
Rhythms change. Homeschool and motherhood have seasons. Just like in nature, there are seasons of busyness and seasons of rest.
How to Cope With A Changing of Rhythm
Our rhythm feels lost right now because it’s changing. We are trying to create something extraordinary and beautiful. Our homeschool is part of that beauty. So we are focused on what is working and making sure we are doing those things every day.
Not laundry or dishes. Those have taken a back-row seat, as has meal planning.
Guess what? Each family is different and unique. Homeschooling is about finding what works for you and your kids. I’m seeing what’s working for my family during this stressful time. Also remember, that learning happens everywhere, not just with a textbook.
Kids are always learning!
Looking back on the past couple of weeks, I realize just how much we got accomplished.
Note: It’s totally fine to accidentally do some homeschooling awesomeness and then add it to your “What we accomplished” list.
Like, we learned power tool safety. CHECK!
Don’t try to do it all, folks! Focus on what works and make those your priorities.
Here are some of the resources I use when homeschooling through difficult times:
- Read alouds help build connections with our kiddos. We enjoyed the Adventures of Hank the Cowdog during our move.
- Audiobooks come to the rescue when you can’t fit read alouds into your day! These are great for car schooling or during appointments. Around the World Stories are another form of audio that combines geography with stories.
- Documentaries are loaded with educational benefits! Curiosity Stream is our favorite go-to for documentaries.
- Games are an easy way to sneak in stealth learning for all sorts of subjects.
- Subscription boxes can take some of the pressure off when your rhythm gets off. We adore Kiwi Crate for my 6-year-old and Tinker Crate for my 11-year-old.
- Outsource some of the homeschool work! We are big fans of Reading Eggs for younger kids. Smartick is a wonderful math program for ages 12 and younger. Duolingo is a FREE foreign language program that my son and I enjoy. Outschool offers affordable online classes for all ages. My son has taken classes on Wilderness Survival, Harry Potter Potions, and Dragons from East to West!
- Barn Chores (the animals have to eat and get their daily doses of love and affection)
Simplifying our days as much as possible helps tremendously.
Some days our plans still go awry. Some days the kids may only make it to their ballet lessons, and that’s it! It’s OK. You may or may not keep that circus poodle on your head while jumping through flaming hoops.
Those are the days when we break out our Troll Movie Soundtrack for an impromptu dance party in the front yard.
Oh, what must the neighbors think?!
It’s your turn. Tell me what you do when you’ve lost your homeschool rhythm?
You may also enjoy:
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Self-Care for the Introverted Homeschool Mom
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Homeschooling with Depression
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The Pressure to be the Perfect Homeschool Mom
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Leaving Space in Our Homeschool Year
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Scheduling for Your Homeschool When You’re Not a Schedule Kinda Girl
Here are some of my favorite Homeschool Mom resources:
Typically when we’ve lost our rhythm we focus on reading, try to get some sort of math in there and just keeping doing something/ anything until we fall into a new one. I have that in between time but it is life. Whether our rhythm is disrupted by life or the fact that kids have outgrown our old one and need a new one — it does happen. I’m learning that during those times I need to let go and just try to work with what is working and tweak those things that aren’t. I KNOW you have been adding in plenty of art too and that your kids are still devour books galore and you are all going to come out on the other side just fine.
Thank you! I know we will make it through this weird transition. It’s just difficult in the moment.
We dropped the homeschooling ball last fall for a few months when my parents moved in with us, then moved into a new house. We enjoyed the extra time with grandparents, and helped them clean, paint, & move. The rhythm returned eventually 🙂
Congratulations on the new house! Such an exciting (and exhausting) time!
It is exhausting! I’m trying my best to remain present and in the moment with the children…but it’s hard when there are a million and one things on your brain that you know you need to get done. Books and games help as does getting out into nature.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your experience!
In the past when we’ve lost our home school rhythm I have just declared a break! We played games and watched shows and picked up LARGE bags of books at the library until something sparked us. This year is the first year I’m trying to have an actual schedule (with terms and curriculum and going to a co-op one day a week) which is new and kind of fun and I am so glad I kept our curriculum subjects to just 3: Bible, Story of the World and Life of Fred. Every other subject we just explore as it comes and we have lots of time left free to do so. And, we’ve discovered we don’t like Life of Fred as much as we thought we would, so when we finish this book my oldest and I will explore something different for math :).
Oh yes, we check out LARGE bags of books too! So much so that when they were a day late…I had to cough up $21…. Library fines drive my hubby crazy, but I seem them as a fact of life, ha! Books and games have been our saving grace and from the books come the inspiration and exploration of other subjects. I love that! Good luck with your math adventure. I’ve heard great things about Teaching Textbooks, and Shiller Math. We use Beast Academy and Khan Academy.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences!
I love this part, “Our rhythm feels lost right now because it’s changing. We are trying to create something extraordinary and beautiful. Our homeschool is part of that beauty. So we are focused on what is working and making sure we are doing those things every day.” For my family, that is part of the rhythm. Paying attention of how we are needing to live in the moment. I am feeling overwhelemd too. We took on too much this semester. We always do in fall. I try to remind myself they are always learning and practicing, even if we don’t get to the thing I hoped we would. And your staircase is amazing!
Yes! Those overwhelming thoughts and feeling like I’m not doing enough…when in reality I’m doing too much…and the kids are feeling moms manic mode…yeah…it’s rough! It’s such a balancing act trying to do All. The. Things. while not doing everything, ya know? I’m working on it and if I manage to succeed I’ll let you know. But more likely there will be another post soon about paying attention to Everyone. and Everything Else…except myself.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences! And thanks, I’m loving our staircase too!
I love this SO much! I dream of one day being able to home school (you are my hero). Even though I work for the public school system the thought of my child entering into it next fall absolutely terrifies me!