Southeast Texas Home School Burnout: Prevention and Treatment

Southeast Texas Homeschool Help

Preventing and Treating Burnout for SETX homeschool moms.

Burnout for a Southeast Texas homeschool mom can come at any time. Maybe you’ve had a tough first year, or maybe you’ve put in a strong 5, 10, 15 years and now it feels like you can’t go another day.

I’ve been there, and it’s not a good feeling.

You’ve committed to teaching your children; preparing them for life and college and the working world. But now it just feels like you’ve lost your groove, your ability or desire to keep pulling them along, making them learn and making them care about learning. You’re tired of going through the motions every day.

So what can SETX homeschool moms do to get back that enthusiasm and the energy to keep going?

Well, I can tell you what worked for me and hopefully it will work for you too.

Start re-educating yourself.

That’s right!

Remember when the idea of homeschooling first entered your mind? You were excited; you were unstoppable! You had vision and goals and you read every book or magazine or online article you could get your hands on and you soaked it all in.

Well, that’s what you need to revisit – that little pool of success stories, tips, out-of-the-ordinary accounts of “normal” children doing amazing things when left to their own time. Stories of regular old moms, without PhD’s, teaching their children to learn and love learning; to get excited over bugs and nature and classical music and cultures and whatever else applies to your child.

Visit my Southeast Texas home school blog “A Million Skies” any time – I’ll do my best to always have something to keep you inspired and provide a little fuel to keep you going.

Go back there!

Get out your books – the ones you couldn’t wait to read. Get out your old homeschooling magazines – the ones you waited at the mailbox for and read in one day.

Listen to cd’s from the homeschooling veterans that have already walked this road and graduated their kids and have lived to tell about it all – what’s important and what’s not.

YouTube has lots of great inspirational homeschool clips – many 100% from the perspective of children who have blossomed in home schooling.l

Take time to refuel. Take time to remind yourself why you’re doing this. Why did you become a Southeast Texas homeschool mom? Re-write your goals; your vision for your children, your home, and how to get there.

Take a day or two or even a week, to let the kids be kids and mom be mom – each doing what comes naturally – in order to put things back into perspective. Remember, the public schools do it all the time – give yourself a “home school mom in-service day”!

You’re a mom first – then you teach.

Having homeschooling burnout is kind of like being in a spiritual rut. The only way out is to go back to the source of encouragement – prayer, reading God’s word, spending time with Him. Even though it may seem like you’re just going through the motions – at first – there is no way you can read God’s word or even spend time in prayer, without eventually getting that spark back. It may take time and effort, as good things do, but it’s worth it.

You can also think of it like the oxygen mask directive that you get on an airplane – give yourself oxygen first, then your child. If you’re empty and can’t go on, then you won’t be any help to your children. When you’re excited, they’re excited. But when it’s drudgery for you, what do you really expect out of them?

So, if today is that day – that day that you dreaded – that day that you were hoping wouldn’t come around because you just didn’t feel like you could do it one more day, then don’t!

Declare a Teacher’s Work Day. Give the kids the day off, get your tools together (your homeschooling tools, that is) and tell your kids it’s mom’s day to study.

Find your favorite chair and your favorite cup of choice and start re-fueling.

Take a few days or a week if you have to, because in the end, you’ll be ready to go another round and your kids will be rested and you can all meet back next Monday and start fresh. And, I promise you…..they won’t grow dumb while they wait.

Southeast Texas Homeschooling is a unique job. It’s one that requires us to put on one more hat – in addition to mom, cook, wife, driver, maid, accountant, shopper, gardener, etc. And we never have a break because our little students are always with us! It’s no wonder we burn out!

But, it’s also one of the most rewarding jobs we will ever have the privilege of doing and it’s worth taking some time to hone our skills and re-energize our minds, so we can be the best at what we do.

Last but not least, pray and ask the Lord to set you in the right direction. Ask him to renew your vision, your enthusiasm, your want-to and trust that he will do all of those things. Listen for that still small voice that will whisper to your heart, to keep going. After all, if God is for you, then you can never lose!

Here are some great places for Southeast Texas home school moms to start re-fueling:

Mary Hood’s Relaxed Homeschooling Resources
You can buy podcasts and download them to your ipod or ipad, and listen while you work around the house. These are great for reminding you what’s important and what’s not. Mary talks about goals, homeschooling all ages, record keeping, and many other great topics to get you back on track.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
THE best homeschooling magazine you will ever find and filled with everything you need to get refueled, from curriculum choices, devotions for mom, articles on working with different personalities, to unit studies, to reviews and everything in between. They are in digital format now, so you can have the latest issue instantly, when you download to your ipad or computer!

Christian Book Distributors
Your one-stop-shop for homeschooling books for MOM. Read a book or two about other homeschooling families, their schedules, their choices, their goals, etc. Although no other family will fit your exact situation, we can gain ideas and wisdom from other moms and maybe even gain new perspective on the fact that every family has challenges from time to time.

A Bowl Full of Lemons
This is for all the other areas of your household that SETX homeschool moms may be struggling with! Sometimes we get burned out with homeschooling because the rest of our duties aren’t flowing the way they should. This website will give you some great ideas on all areas of your home, and how to get organized and better prepared. When the house is running fairly smoothly, we can focus on enjoying the time with our children, the way we want to. **Don’t be intimidated though, by this site. Toni is a super-organizer, but you don’t have to be! Just glean some ideas, make them work by your standards and feel good about your accomplishments!

Today’s article “Southeast Texas Home School Burnout: Prevention and Treatment” was provided by Debbie Slaughter. Debbie Slaughter is one of the premier Southeast Texas Christian bloggers.

Her site “A Million Skies” is a wealth of inspiration and encouragement for Southeast Christian women and Southeast Texas homeschool families.

Click to see more from Debbie Slaughter and A Million Skies.

A big SETX Church Guide thank-you to Debbie for all she does to inspire Southeast Texas Christian women and homeschool moms.

We love to feature her on SetxChurchGuide.com, and her messages are always a hit with Southeast Texas Christian women.

We hope you have enjoyed today’s edition of Southeast Texas Homeschool Help.

Today’s SETX homeschool message is sponsored by Southeast Texas Family Magazine.

Like SetxChurchGuide.com, the Southeast Texas Family Magazine is committed to supporting Southeast Texas moms with information about education – and a focus on Southeast Texas Christian education and Southeast Texas homeschool resources.

One popular feature of the Southeast Texas Family Magazine is their kids and family calendar. Many Southeast Texas Christian schools and Southeast Texas homeschool groups use their calendar to plan field trips.

The Southeast Texas Family Magazine has been featured in SetxChurchGuide.com’s Southeast Texas Christian Business spotlight.

If the Kids Directory sounds like the kind of place you’d like to promote your business, Southeast Texas Family would love to advertise your business to moms and families across the Golden Triangle.

Southeast Texas Family Magazine targets women 18-54.

Southeast Texas Family Magazine will promote your Southeast Texas business to all four Southeast Texas counties:

Jefferson Count
Hardin County
Orange County
Tyler County

That’s a lot of Southeast Texas moms!

Tip for Moms: Like SETX Family on Facebook to receive regular updates about family friendly events and resources in East Texas and the Golden Triangle.

Schedule a marketing meeting today – Southeast Texas Family Magazine can come by your Church or business at your convenience: