For sure you do not want me to start singing for you and after I share when my homeschool curriculum has lost that lovin’ feeling with you today I will probably be singing You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling. It is one of those catchy songs for me. That song reminds of the lovin’ feeling we have when we first purchase homeschool curriculum that we think is going to love us back.
When My Homeschool Curriculum has Lost that Lovin’ Feeling
You know the curriculum I am talking about. The pictures are perfect, your husband thinks the price is a real steal and it seems to be laid out where you think it can be finished in a school year.
Let’s not forget the smell of those tantalizing pages as we flip through them imagining that our children are going to eagerly sit down, embrace and complete them.
Then, it happens. Compliments of curriculum turn to criticism.
Tantalizing pages turn to torture and feelings of being trapped by curriculum brings more stress. Everybody is bored and has the doldrums.
It just makes me tired thinking about it. Feeling overwhelmed is normal and happens to all of us.
Teaching Tips to Breath Life Back Into Your Homeschool Curriculum
How can we breathe life back into our day? Here are some tips.
Subjects are not really boring, only the presentation of material or maybe the teacher (ouch).
Many parents I help try to find out what is wrong with the child but never reflect on the type of teacher they want to be.
It has been said that an excellent teacher can use any resource and breathe life into it. Are we the kind of teacher that others want to learn from?
We don’t always have the luxury of ditching our textbooks or expensive curriculum but we can cut back assignments or embellish them.
Do you know what an embellishment does? It makes something more attractive by adding a detail.
This doesn’t make teaching harder because a detail is not reworking the whole process but adding an enhancement.
For example, leave out the worksheets and add in one hands-on activity.
Better yet, do the hands on activity with not 10 families (too much energy when you are drained) but with just 1 family.
Let another mom teach and you listen one week and then trade places.
Let the children teach one day or two, or…..
I LOVE doing this with my boys because my days are so exciting. Seriously though I know my boys do get tired of me talking.
So let your children run school for a day teaching their younger siblings. Even the youngest child can lead the Bible reading assignment and act like “mom”.
I learned a lot about myself as I saw it reflected in their teaching. Of course it adds excitement to the day if you could act like you don’t get anything they are trying to teach you.
When the boys were much younger, this teaching tactic worked because it made them explain back to me what they were learning. It was a lot of fun because I made sure I was always the hard kid to teach and the kids got a great laugh too.
Be selectively creative and try to prevent fatigue and exhaustion.
Many things are thrown at us in the homeschool world and we may think that we can’t have boring days.
Understanding that mundane things in curriculum cultivates determination and endurance helps us to be selectively creative.
Do we really need to do a lapbook or unit study on every topic? Does every science topic have to have an experiment? There is nothing wrong with reading material and moving on.
We live in a world that sows the seeds of discontentment.
Being bored or not bored is more about attitude than curriculum.
Lack of imagination and initiative using any curricula can be more at the root of the problem.
We were created to want a challenge and our minds hunger for it.
Challenges, imagination, and a change of pace generates more energy for the doldrums. When your curriculum has lost that loving feeling remember variety can be the spice of life.
Do you have a favorite thing you do when your curriculum has lost that lovin’ feeling?
Hugs and love ya,
“But the little dear doesn’t want to homeschool”
When does homeschooling become “normal“?
3 Easy Fixes to Recharge Your Homeschool Routine
P.S. I couldn’t resist sharing, now you’re humming the same catchy tune. Plus, I just love this song!
Many times when I start to feel this way, I realize that it’s because I’m trying to fit too much in. I get overly ambitious and don’t realize that I’m making the subject boring! That’s usually when I relax and cut out the busywork and focus on things that are important, and I find enjoyable ways of teaching them. A few years ago my now 14 yr old daughter used to teach her younger siblings for their unit study every Friday. I would give her a list of ideas and things to cover, she would prepare her lessons, and she’d be ready every Friday. She and her siblings enjoyed that so much. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime with another child. ?
I hear Shelly. I have done the same mistake. Right there with you in trying to hard and then I bore myself..lol
I love your tip about your daughter doing the teaching. That’s a great experience for them to see it’s not as easy as it looks..
I love your “selectively creative” suggestion. Many of our homeschool curriculum choices are the same from year to year, but I do switch things up in a couple of subjects, whether it’s a different type of curriculum or an online class, and it keeps the kids interested. 🙂
Glad it resonates with you too Margo. Sometimes we just need a change and sometimes we just need less of it.
I love your tip about just switching a couple of things because it’s uncomplicated and simple.
Thanks for being here!