This blog post will give you motivation and help re-discover that spark in your homeschool again!
The ebbs and flows of live are inevitable. Sometimes we are high and sometimes we are low. It’s no different with our homeschool journey. When we start our year, we often feel the juices flowing, the creative sparks flying, and the energy to accomplish it all! After a few months go by, winter break passes and we celebrate the holidays, we often don’t feel as energetic about all those goals we set in July. Here’s how to get that spark back so we not only accomplish our school goals but also look forward to doing it!
This post is all about finding that spark and motivation to get excited about homeschool again!
Clear all the clutter
Take some time to throw away all the unneeded and unused papers, supplies, broken crayons, materials, etc. Clearing out what you don’t need and won’t sue is going to free up physical and mental space and feel like a fresh start! Messy spaces will zap the motivation right out of us so start with clearing all the clutter!
- old papers
- broken/ unused supplies
- old project
- unneeded wall decor
- donate unused books and supplies
Once your homeschool area has only what you need and use, your ready to….
Deep clean your school space
Whether you do school at the dining room table or in a fancy school room, give that space a thorough deep clean. It’s amazing the dirt, grime and yuckiness that builds up after time. When your learning environment is dirty, it’s hard to feel the spark for new ideas because our minds are distracted by the subtly build up messes. An amazing way to get motivated again is to start with a squeaky clean homeschool room
- move furniture to sweep and mop
- Wipes and sanitize tables, chairs, and supplies
- dust bookshelves
- wipe down walls
Cleaning your school space will inevitably lead to…
Re-Organize
My number one tip for regaining motivation is to reorganize. There is something moving furniture, wall decor and other items that makes a room feel brand new! Reorganizing typically always brings improvement to the function of a room.
Recently I moved our school room around and found that a certain shelf was much better utilized near my “teacher’s seat” to hold daily supplies. Plus it holds my coffee too! That means less interruptions getting up for things we use everyday.
Try moving some things around in your school space and watch your spark return! Once you have new vision for your environment, the creative juices will start flowing and all the goals you have for homeschool will become exciting again. Who knows..maybe you’ll find you have a little room for a coffee corner wherever you teach. Get creative!
- files, bins, and places you hold materials
- move furniture around
- replace old wall hangings with fresh currant scholastics material
- Move other decor around
- pencil cases/ holders
Refresh supplies
As a mom and teachers, you know well that some things will just need to be replaced over time. Buying a few new packs of pencils, cravings and other materials will give your class a fresh start. Something about a fresh pack of sharpened pencils just lights a teachers fire. If you’re feeling a little unmotivated, buy a few new supplies and perhaps you’ll even find some creative craft or project ideas along the way.
The goal is to find joy and excitement in your homeschool process. Doing a few of these small things will really get you excited about being your kids teacher again.
- construction and lined paper
- number 2 pencils
- colored pencils, crayons, markers
- School poster boards
- decor items
Pray for a new school mantra
Pray over, ponder, and come up with a 5-10 sentence “mantra” or chant that you and your kids say daily. Doing this puts your family morals and christian principals into an easy format to memorize so that you can ground each day with your big WHY.
Think about what is most important to you as your children’s teacher and mother. Take this seriously. I have this deep down feeling that my kids will recite our mantra in their adult years when they are faced with difficult life trails.
We know that homeschool is not just about being the best, brightest, or smartest person. It’s about discipling our kids to know the presence and character of God. It’s about imparting life skills that will stick with them throughout their life. It’s about empowering them to have strong minds that consider Holy spirit in all their ways, all their days.
Think about these things as you create a mantra
- Why are you homechooling
- What do you want your kids to tell God everyday
- What role does the Holy Spirit play in your daily life/ school day
- Who is God and what do we need to remember everyday about Him
- What are we thankful for
- What declarations do you want to speak over your family
I took our school mantras and wrote them on large project posters for us to read from everyday.
Schedule filed trips
Look over your calendar and schedule 2-4 fun field trips for the upcoming months. Having something to look forward to will ignite excitement and joy in you and your children. It’ll help motivate you and your kids to accomplish other less active homeschool goals.
You can even coordinate planned field trips with a fun unit study on whatever you decide! A unit study can be as simple as taking 1-2 days talking over a subject of interest. For older kids you can pick up extra study materials at the library and have them write a report on what you learn. This is sure to ignite that spark of joy back into your homeschool! Here are some field trip idea and corresponding unit studies!
- local aquarium- marine life
- local arboretum- plant life / bee pollen
- zoo- animal habitats
- historic places near you
- local bakery- the effect of yeast (bible lesson on Matthew 16)
- art gallery
- dairy or other farm
- Fire department- Fire Safety
- Pet shop
- local museums/ gem mines
- Visit daddy at work
- Movie theatre
- Local play or opera
- Local high school sports games
- Google local upcoming events
Review and evaluate your goals
When you started your homeschool year, you had grand visions of Picasso, vocabulary, math flash cards, and whatever else you imaged! Now that your a ways into the year, its time go review the goals you had at the beginning. What goals are not as important anymore? What goals are you hitting like a champ? (Make sure you give yourself and your kids credit where its due!) What goals need to come a it closer to the forefront?
In our homeschool, we have been doing great with our core subjects, but I had a beautiful list of literature in the beginning of the year that id like to return to.
Put some of the things you need to give more attention to a more visible spot on the bookshelf. Let go of things that aren’t as important anymore so you can be free to focus on what exciges you as a teacher and your kids as students.
This is a great time to evaluate the curriculum you chose for the year. With homeschool there is a lot of trial and error so never be afraid to start something new halfway through the year!
Talk to other homeschool moms
Nothing lights my fire like getting with other homeschool moms and discussing it all! I love finding out what they are trying, different teaching methods, interesting subjects, new books, etc. There is so much we will learn as we talk things through! Not only that but the feeling of having other moms who understand the ups and downs of homeschool will bring a peace and comfort like no other.
You might be able to run fast in this homeschool journey alone, but you’ll never go far without a group! If you want to rediscover the spark in your homeschool and stay motivated you need a few people you can talk things over with!
If you’re feeling short of likeminded homeschool moms, hop onto Facebook and there are hundreds of groups with amazing communities. Your local library is sure to have resources and if you go during school hours and find another family there, chances are they are homeschool too.
Celebrate your kids progress and throw a class party
Make a celebration day to really show your kids how well they’ve been doing and how proud you are of them. Having been public schooled, we looked forward to those pizza days and special things we got as the class hit certain goals! We totally need to do this as homeschool families!
This journey is not easy and if you think about it, you’ve probably had some hard fought wins over the last school year. Throw a little class party and speak into each child exactly where they have had success. You could also write yourself a little good job note because you’ve worked really hard to mom!
- write meaningful notes with specific wins for each student
- make little prize and goodie bags
- order pizza
- write a list together of your top 5 favorite things from the year so far
- write a list of each child’s own goals and keep it visible for them
- get little gifts to show them your proud
- decorate the room like a party
- pray and thank God together
- Take a class photo at the party and frame it
Find YouTubers and bloggers that inspire you
Modern technology comes with its good parts too, one of them being the opportunity for connection. There are hundreds of homeschool moms on YouTube and who have blogs that will inspire you so much! Find one, two or even a few that make you smile when they speak about homeschool. The creativity and inspiration these moms have is so motivating to me! if I ever feel in a funk or need some ideas I hop over to their content and always find something that sparks my joy again!
Here are a few homeschool YouTubers and bloggers I like
- Sara Therese
- Angela Braniff
- Jamerrill Stewart
Buy a few new things
Ok this last one is not necessary at all but who doesn’t love to shop a little bit? A new plant for the school room might spark your joy x1000! Or maybe a new teachers outfit? What is going to spark that joy in you and get you motivated again? Remember the goal is so get and stay excited about your homeschool journey so invest in the joy a little bit!
- school outfits for the kids
- new teachers outfit
- a new notebook / journaling pens
- decor piece for the school room
- a nice coffee machine
- A nice lounge set
- anything that sparks joy!!
We are in the long haul with this homeschool gig so we are going to have to find ways to stay motivated, excited and if we loose the spark along the way, we can always find it again! With a few easy tips, your sure to get the joy back into your school.
This post will give you motivation in your homeschool and help you find that spark again!
