How to Overcome a Bad Day of Homeschool

I am one of those people who love the first day of school. I have new school supplies laid out ahead of time, the kids are always excited, and I live for the newness of back to school season. But last year our first day of school came and went. And let me say it was less than perfect. The next day was even worse, and by the end of the week I was ready to ship them all off on the big yellow school bus.

But homeschool moms don’t really have that option, do we? Our choice is simple —we have to man up and overcome it! I did, and you can too! Here is how to overcome a bad homeschool day (or week).

Evaluate and Fix

The first step in overcoming a bad day of homeschooling is to evaluate the situation. For us, I expected way too much for the first week. We had a brand new homeschooler on board, my preschooler, and was trying out a completely fresh homeschool routine. Evaluating the situation helped me pinpoint the problem.

Look at your day, or week. What were the disrupting factors?

• sick kids?
• a new schedule?
• new to homeschooling?
• an uncooperative child?
• unrealistic expectations?

Some factors are out of our control, but if the problem is something that can be fixed, make a plan to remedy the situation. And then work the plan, no matter how different it may feel from what other moms are doing. 

For us the answer was as simple as cutting out a few busy work activities — memorizing and illustrating poetry, writing out spelling words, and extra handwriting practice. For you it may be rearranging the schedule or lowering your expectations.

There also may be a chance that bad days simply happen, at no fault of your own. If this is the case, it is so important to remember the next step in overcoming a bad homeschool day.

Shake It Off

In the words of Taylor Swift, “Shake it off!” Once you’ve evaluated the situation, you may have to shake off the bad day or week. Remember that you can start anew the next day.

• Don’t dwell on it.
• Don’t bring it up to the kids.
• Don’t stress over whether or not it’s going to happen again.
• Don’t ask yourself over and over what you could have done differently.

Shake it off!

Remember Who Sets the Tone

As homeschool moms and dads, one thing we fail to remember is that we set the tone for our homeschools. Bad homeschool days do not make bad homeschool moms. Too often times when a bad day happens, we beat ourselves up or get in a sour mood. But, moms, it is up to us to choose joy. If we don’t, then our homeschools will suffer, and our days will be long and discouraging.

So the math lesson ran past 10:00. Are you going to feel behind? Or are you going to breathe and remember that homeschooling is more than a pre planned schedule?

An accident broke up the routine of your homeschool day. Are you going to go with the flow? Or will you dwell on the fact that you don’t have time to deal with this disaster?

These are questions I have to ask myself every week. I don’t always like what my gut reaction is. However, I am reminded that I set the tone for my home and the day. I can let a mishap create a bad homeschool day, or I can choose joy and remember that this too shall pass. I can dwell on the fact that we had a bad homeschool day yesterday, or I can wake up and remember that today is a new day!

A bad homeschool day will happen. The choice in how we overcome a bad homeschool day is ours to make. What will your choice be?