Monday, January 24, 2011

Burn Out ~ How To Avoid It?

It's the middle of the school year, you've been working in the same books for four or five months, the kids are getting restless, you're already thinking about going to the next homeschool convention...your family is getting burnt out!! 

So how do you avoid burn out in the first place? I think the best advice is to switch things up!  Simple changes in your school day will help to energize your family, giving them the push they need to finish the school year off with a bang.  Here are a few tips.

1.  Location, Location, Location.  Where are you currently doing your schoolwork?  Is it still working for your family?  If not, change it!  Go to the library once a week and get school done there.  Switch from the schoolroom to the kitchen, or the kitchen to the dining room.  Kids love these small changes and it may make a bigger difference than you think.

2.  Change Your Material.  Is there a certain subject that your child is frustrated with?  Change it up a bit.  Instead of reading from your science text book, find a chapter book on the same subject and have them read that (or read it to them).  Find a fun math program online that you can substitute for their regular math work.  There are tons of FREE program out there, you just need to look for them. 

3.  Go Outside.  When was the last time you took your children outside for a nature study or even for just a walk or bike ride?  I know this time of year it is too cold in some places, but even a break to play in the snow is what they may need to get their day going.

4.  Get Out Those Crafts.  Has it been a while since your 3rd grader got out the crafts?  Crafts are fun for all ages and can be made to go along with what they are studying.  Collages are easy and kids love to cut pictures out of magazines.  Give them some legos and have them make the animals who live in that habitat you are studying. 

5.  Experiment Day.  Why not set a day aside every once in a while for experiments?  Science experiments, recipe experiments, playdoh experiments.  Expect a mess and don't worry about it.  Hands on learning is the best kind of learning.

6.  Time Off.  Maybe what your family needs is some time off.  Go on a day trip to a museum, to the park, or to the movies.  Taking time off school and spending the day doing something fun as a family may be just the thing you need to re-energize!

I hope some of my tips have helped.  I know when we have begun to burn out, I have tried each of these at different times, and they always seem to help!

 

8 comments:

Aimee

We are definately suffering from a little burnout here! I've been trying to add spontaneous fun things to the day. For instance, today my daughter was reading about Dairy farms in social studies so we churned our own butter. (I have a churn and happened to have some cream left over from something else.)
We also played a board game.

You have great tips!! Thanks!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet

Great tips! This week we are doing a dvd for history instead of reading. :)

Sandie lee

Hi!

I found you through Blog it Forward Tuesday. I'm your newest follower.

Imagination-Cafe online magazine is hosting a fun President's Day Writing Contest for kids, it may be a fun way to change things up a bit =)

Sandie lee

Unknown

These are some really great tips Christine. Thank you for sharing them and linking up to No Ordinary Blog Hop. Have a wonderful week.

I have a giveaway going on. If you have any recipes that you have posted or would like to post and link up that would be great.

Quirky Homemaker

Following from a Tuesday Blog hop. I love the idea of homeschooling. We are at a christian school right now, but, whoa! expensive. As of this point my son will be in public school next year. We'll see how things go.
Michelle
http://www.heartfeltbalancehandmadelife.blogspot.com

Renee Ann

Great ideas--even for non-homeschoolers! Blessings!

asliceofsmithlife

Great tips and this post is what I need these days as I am trying to get through my homeschooling days, but struggling sometimes miserably :(
We have taken a few field trips the past couple of weeks which is always a fun treat! Thanks for linking this post to No Ordinary Blog Hop! :)

The Adventurer

Thanks for linking up to the NOBH. Great tips. We don't suffer burnout as much as cabin fever. I should take the kids outside more but I hate the cold weather.

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