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Being a homeschool mom is not always rainbows and unicorns, and homeschool burnout is a real thing! I know I know… that probably surprises you ( wink wink )
Or maybe it doesn’t, maybe you are like “Amen sista, this homeschooling stuff can be rough!”
That was my day yesterday! It was ROUGH. Or at least it started that way. Do you ever have those days where it feels like your entire family woke up on the wrong side of the bed?
Do you ever have those days where it seems like the littlest and most insignificant things set you off?
Or how about no matter how much you try to sit down and “get into the groove of school” it just ain’t happening?
Well, yesterday was that day for us. And no matter how much we tried to keep our heads above water it just wasn’t happening.
But there is good news….
Because after 8 years of homeschooling I have learned when it is ok to keep pushing, and when we should just call a truce and start over.
Years ago, my type A personality would have really struggled with this. And I still sometimes do. I would have pushed, pulled, and just short of tortured my kids and I for the sake of staying on schedule.
However, I have learned with time and with experience that this is not good for my kids or for me!
And to be honest it completely defeats the purpose of homeschooling, which prides itself on the ability to switch things up and do what works at the drop of a hat.
So, in case you are wondering……
That is just what we did yesterday! We stopped pushing. We stopped pulling. We called a truce. And we started over!
One of our favorite ways to reset our day comes in the form of some fresh air, and a tiny little backpack that I keep in the back of our van. In it I pack everything we might need to learn about, study, and just enjoy nature.
Next, we pick a park, a lake, or even our backyard. We then spend the rest of the day hiking, fishing, catching bugs, journaling, drawing, and just plain decompressing.
It is truly amazing what a little sunshine can do for your soul.
We have done this more times than I can count, and I can honestly say that we have NEVER regretted it!
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Here are some pics I took of our getaway yesterday. 
We spent the day doing some sight seeing, followed by some journaling. As you can see, even the dog seems to enjoy herself.
Now you might be wondering what to pack for a day like this?
Here is what our pack looks like and here is what we keep in it…..
The first thing we packed was our nature journals from the curriculum we use called The Good and The Beautiful
We absolutely love these journals! They are super fun and help the kids to stay engaged while still loving and learning about nature. Below is an example of a fun little project we did where we collected leaves and made them into fun little animals.
We also brought some binoculars, a magnifying class, and a few small nets for catching things.
Next I packed some colored pencils, markers, and crayons….
My kids love these flash cards! They will either just sit and look at them or they will use them to identify things as we are out and about.
I also pack a few small containers for holding little critters, rocks, shells or any other treasure they might find and want to take home.
These nature journals have been fun for them to just sit and read, and have come in handy more than once.
That about it! I try to keep it pretty simple. Of course don’t forget the obvious things like water, a blanket to sit on, and maybe some bugspray.
Either way, my point is to encourage you that if you are feeling rath of homeschool burnout or maybe you just having an OFF day or week. Please don’t be afraid to take a break and just enjoy your children. You can come back to school later.
There are many ways you can handle homeschool burnout, this is just one of the most effective ways I have found.
School is important. But nothing is more important than your relationship with your child!
You only have them for a season, so you might as well make the best of it.