What Do You Do….

When you don’t want to do what you do anymore?   

The excitement of starting a new school year is over. The holidays have passed. And now a long stretch of the same old, same olds looms before you. That does it. The whining, complaining, griping and grumbling begin in earnest, and that is just you. The kids are no better. You can hardly drag yourself out of bed in the morning and begin to wonder if it is too late to enroll your precious charges in the local school. Buck up. Now is the time to introduce the unexpected and finish strong. You can do it.

When I plan my school year, I will often plan to change things up in the second semester. I switch curriculum, not because the first one wasn’t working, but because I know that we can become complacent. I might switch up the method. We may go from hands on to online learning, or to a literature based program.

If you are suffering from the second semester doldrums, maybe you could try a few tricks to shake things up a bit. Try schooling four days a week and taking an extra day a week for fun family times. You can have class a few extra weeks to make up for time lost if you wish. Take a few days to concentrate on all those messy science experiments that you have skipped all year. Go to the zoo, the beach, the museum, or the science center. Take some time to start a new hobby. Pick one country and study all about it. Make a flag, maps, and travel brochures. Plan a traditional meal and invite your neighbors. I bet they’ll be impressed by your homeschoolers. Check out geocacheing or letterboxing. It will get you out of the house with a purpose. Spend a morning drawing pictures and deliver them to the local nursing home in the afternoon.

Pretty soon you will have a whole list of fun activities to look forward to. Those days of boredom will soon disappear as you plan and prepare for a new adventure each week. I bet the second half of your school year becomes the best half.

By Melanie Thurman, FPEA Relationship Ambassador.  Melanie is a homeschooling mom of five in her 21st year of this adventure. You can catch up with her at www.thurmanmom.blogspot.com