A new year promises a new beginning. Just the thought makes me smile because, y’all, I need one. I love being with my kids every day, teaching them and learning with them, but I have to be honest and say that we didn’t exactly finish last year on a high homeschool note.
If Christmas holidays were the finish line, we barely limped across it.
There were several reasons that had nothing to do with how far behind my daughter had gotten in math and everything to do with learning to live and love in difficult situations.
It was hard, and it was tiring. I wanted to throw in the towel every bit as much as my children did.
So we stopped. I didn’t badger my oldest to finish her math lessons. I didn’t even look to see if my son had covered all the lessons in his reading book. We just stopped.
Because we needed rest.
We needed renewal.
And we needed it “now.”
We baked cookies, played games, and read books just because we wanted to. More importantly, we enjoyed being together. We relaxed. We caught up on the laundry and cleaned the house. It was like a Christmas miracle because practically no one complained.
Of course, taking a break doesn’t equal quitting so as the new year begins so do we, and to be honest, I am looking forward to a fresh start this January. I’ve thought about the reasons we were struggling, and I’ve made a commitment to do things a little differently this year.
Because we need joy in our hearts and in our homeschool.
Maybe you do, too? It is so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day getting things done that we lose sight of why we’re doing them in the first place. We feel burdened rather than blessed, and we pass that on to the little people all around us because whether we realize it or not, we set the tone for our homeschools.
So, how can we set a better one? How can we rekindle the joy in our homeschools? In our hearts?
Have you lost the joy in your homeschool? Most do at some point. Don’t loose heart- I’d like to offer some tips to help you find the joy in your homeschool again.
I’m guest posting at WorshipfulLiving.com today about ways we can rekindle the joy in our homeschools this year. Join me there to read the rest of this post! We’ve got a free printable available for you, too!