4 Smart Ways to Reconnect After a Bad Homeschool Day

Gloomy skies and bickering kids make homeschool moms everywhere long for warm, sunny beaches with a cold drink. Are you in this spot, trying to recover from a bad homeschool day when the kids bickered, argued, and complained about school from breakfast to lunch?

The biggest problem with bad homeschool days is they cause a disconnection between mother and child. Kids spend the day whining; moms spend the day wistfully watching the yellow school bus drive by. Both child and mother are irritated with each other.

When you sense the annoyance rising, use productive procrastination. Forget school for a while and come back to it later. What else do you really need to do or want to do that can help your kids hit the reset button? Do that for a few hours!

Salvage the day with one of these awesome activities to reconnect with your children.

1. Cook Together

Baking cookies or a casserole together is always a great way of relaxing after a bad homeschool day. You have a chance to focus on a project instead of picking at each other. I’ve yet to meet a child who didn’t enjoy baking cookies to get that sweet reward afterwards!

When you’re done baking together, put on the tea kettle and have a tea party with your children. Chat about Minecraft, movies, and your pets -- anything happy that will calm the tension in the home.

2. Tackle a Household Project

Besides teaching life skills, working together on a project at home can take your eyes off the conflict and put it back on your loving relationships. Realize that doing laundry and dishes isn't going to excite anyone. Making your children clean their rooms is probably going to make the problem worse. Switch gears from funk to fun with a novel project that takes a few hours:

• flower bed beautification
• bedroom painting project
• garage organization
• yard sale preparation
• washing and grooming the dog

3. Declare a Plan B Day

When you notice the day is heading downhill, head off the disconnect before it even happens by declaring it a plan B day. Pull out the books and spend the day reading. Spend the day playing games or curled up watching documentaries and educational movies. See all our ideas for Plan B Days here. You don’t have to spend the day fighting.

4. Run Errands

Get out of the house, and accomplish some of the tasks that have been languishing on your to do list. Best case scenario is if those errands somehow involve the kids in something they enjoy. For example, maybe the kids need new winter coats or summer sandals. Taking a shopping trip can lift everyone's spirits, especially if you make a stop for a snack, special treat, or a quick meal out at your children's favorite fast food joint.

Thankfully you don’t have to let a bad homeschool day set the tone for your homeschool.  Instead use one of these awesome techniques to reconnect and enjoy time with your children.

About the Author

Sara Dennis is a homeschooling mother of 6 children ages 5 through 19. After much research into homeschooling in 2000, she and her husband fell in love with classical education and used it as the foundation for their homeschool.  Sara Dennis blogs at Classically Homeschooling.