Are you running around with your head chopped off?  Have you found yourself wondering “What did I get myself into?”  Have you recently asked the question “Am I stressed or blessed?” when it comes to homeschooling?

I was at a GHEA Conference a few years ago when I heard a speaker Sharon Grimes talk about how to avoid being stressed out. As I reviewed my notes I realize that this was something I needed to revisit and share with everyone.

10 Ways to Avoid Homeschool Stress

1. Don’t neglect your morning manna.
   • No Bible then No Breakfast/Facebook/TV
2. Keep the right relationship with your family
   • Your Spouse- have a regular date time together and be creative NOT expensive, have a “weekend to remember” once a year.
   • Your Children- remember that children ARE your MOST important work.
3. Remember WHY you are homeschooling.
   • Deuteronomy 6:4-7- If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them NOT to.
4. Choose curriculum that will work for YOU and for EACH child.
   • There is no such thing as the “PERFECT” curriculum.  Pray and ask God to help you
   • Jeremiah 33:3.
   • What are your homeschool goals?
   • What is your child’s learning style?
   • What is your budget?
   • Control your curriculum and don’t let it control you!
5. Schedule your priorities FIRST; Then just say NO!
   • Get the book “Freedom from the Tyranny of the Urgent” by Charles Hummel
   • Every time you say “yes” to something outside the home you are saying “no” to something inside.
6. Discipline your children.
   • Proverbs 1:7,8
7. Discipline YOURSELF!  Get Organized!
   • Plan your menus a week in advance
   • Homeschool year round
   • Plan in pencil.
8. Be Flexible!
   • Don’t be so structure and organized that you don’t put people first.
   • Only Christ was perfect
9. Don’t let your housework become overwhelming.
   • Train your children to help you
   • “401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home” by Bonnie Runyan McCullough
10. Find Support!! Don’t isolate yourself.
    • Join EPIC Homeschool Network, Inc.

As I typed this up I was reminded that I am blessed to homeschool my children.  They are God’s gift to me and I will appreciate it everyday!

How do you avoid being stressed out in homeschooling?

If you are a homeschooling parent, you know that homeschooling can be… well, emotional.  I recently read about “The Emotional Cycle of Change” by psychologists Don Kelly and Daryl Connor and the parallels to the emotional cycle of homeschooling was so amazing I had to share.  So if you are a parent considering homeschooling or a parent already homeschooling, this is for you.

Kelley and Connor’s emotional cycle of change has 5 phases that I will parallel with the emotional cycle of homeschooling.

Phase 1: Uniformed Optimism – “Homeschooling is Going to Be Great”

This is the stage when you decide to homeschool.  You don’t know what homeschooling is all about but you can imagine all of the benefits you’re going to experience.  More freedom, more learning, more field trips, more time with the family…. You can fill in the dots with what you imagined homeschooling to be.  You haven’t done it yet, but you are optimistic!

Phase 2: Informed Pessimism – “So THIS is Homeschooling”

So you started homeschooling… or maybe you started researching about homeschooling and then the reality of it all is finally hitting you.  You start thinking “So THIS is homeschooling!”  Your amazing lesson plan is not going so amazing.  The house is a mess.  It appears the kids are not learning and you start to question if homeschooling is really worth all the effort!  Maybe it would be better to just put them on the next school bus that rolls by, but it’s not so bad… yet.

Phase 3: Valley of Despair – “I Think I Can, I Think I Can’t”

As you continue to experience the throws of homeschooling, your pessimism starts to sink in deeper.  You and your family are experiencing the emotions of change.  It is unfamiliar. It is hard.  Do you give up and send your kids back to school or do you push through?  This is when having a strong vision is crucial.  You might have heard other homeschoolers ask, “What is your vision for your homeschool?”  You might have glossed over that step in the myriad of research that you did on homeschooling  but now, this is when the vision is important.   Having a strong vision keeps you moving through the valley, knowing that there is a mountain on the other side.  

My vision is to “Create 21st century Christian leaders who will stand for right though the heavens fall”.  I want to create children with an “Excellent spirit”. This vision helps me to evaluate the curriculum I choose and on days that I don’t feel like pushing, I think of WHY I need to push.  I push for my kids, I push for their future.  This is also when I reach out for help and encouragement from fellow homeschoolers.  We have all been in the valley of despair.  The key is to not stay there or quit.

Phase 4: Informed Optimism – “I Can Do This”

Refuled with encouragement and the knowledge that it does get better, you press through.  You start seeing your kids learning and all your hard work is finally bearing fruit. You CAN do this!

Phase 5: Success and Fulfillment – “Yes”

Then finally, you feel success and fulfillment.  You’ve got your homeschool routine together and things that were once difficult and uncomfortable are now routine.  Everyday is not perfect, but you learn to celebrate the victories in your homeschool and you stop comparing it to others.

So there you have it!

Now that you know about the emotional cycle of homeschooling, I hope that you feel more prepared to continue and not let your emotions take you off track.  The emotions you feel right now in your homeschool is normal.  Homeschooling is hard, but so rewarding.  So now you know and as GI Joe says “Knowing is half the battle!”  Go forth and Homeschool to Success!