Be ready for FEBRUARY
February is coming.
February. The month when we ALL WANT TO QUIT ALL THE THINGS.
I have found that February (and November) are some of the most challenging months of homeschooling. It took me well over a decade of homeschooling to not let the February blues really rock my world. Looking back, I realize that most of the school applications that were mailed out of this house went into the cold February mailbox.
Here are some ideas to help you weather the February doldrums that are common among our homeschooling tribe:
1. Remember that you are not alone. And not only do you have homeschoolers for company, you have traditional school teachers, students, and parents right there with you.
2. Use the "fresh start" of January to put something new and interesting in place. Start a new enrichment class -- getting out of the house will be a mixed blessing, what with the cold weather, but getting together with other moms and students can give you something to look forward to and keep you motivated. Choose a great read-aloud (The Long Winter, perhaps?). Start a DVD series. Dig out a "how to draw" book and supply the kids with fresh sketch books and pencils.
3. Take time to care for yourself. The parent-teacher association of my daughter's school is taking special care to provide the teachers with some hot meals and other treats during the month of February (remember when I said you were not alone?!?). Maybe this would be a great month to attend a homeschool support meeting, or have some other families over for an afternoon of board games for the kids and coffee time for the moms.
4. Watch the mailbox for those curriculum catalogs. It is brilliant marketing, true, to send those catalogs out just about the time you're growing weary, but if you enjoy curriculum research and browsing, it may be just the ticket to keep you inspired. Rather like pouring over a seed catalog in the dead of winter, yes?
5. Watch OUT for those curriculum catalogs. I love curriculum as much (probably more) as the next person, but I've become aware of two dangers: 1) letting the glossy new curriculum ideas make me discontent with what I'm currently using and 2) letting myself believe the lie that we can give up this year as a lost cause, and do better next year. No, dear reader, February is much too soon to start living in next year. Finish strong, and finish well.
6. Check "order / arrange end of year standardized testing" off your to-do list, if at all possible. This will take care of a necessary chore so that you have one less thing to remember, and it will also remind you that you *must* keep working diligently, despite the cold and the wet and the gray, because you have taken on the responsibility to educate your children, and you are stronger than February!!!
Best wishes, brave homeschoolers, and hang in there! Be prepared, be forewarned, be READY to laugh in the face of February!