How to Turn Around if You’re Going the Wrong Way

Wow!  It’s already a New Year. Can you believe that?  Personally, I hope this year is better than last year overall, how about you?  So many things happened that I certainly didn’t foresee at the beginning of 2020, but I guess every year is like that in some ways.  Anyway, when you’re homeschooling you always have the opportunity to turn things around if you’re going the wrong way, but many times you might not realize that! So, January is the perfect month to evaluate where you’re at in your homeschool and see if you need a change.

Are you happy with your results?

First off, take a step back and ask yourself…Are you happy with your homeschooling results? Are your children progressing, or are they stressed out and overloaded or perhaps bored?  Are you happy?  Do you enjoy how and what you’re teaching your kids, or is there something that you’ve been itching to try but feel like you shouldn’t for some unknown reason?  Have your kids been begging to learn about a new topic, but you feel incompetent or maybe like its frivolous? If so, I encourage you to go to the next step!

Make a list!

Yep, I have to freely admit, I’m a list lover!  But if what you’re doing right now isn’t turning out the way you hoped then you need to seriously sit down and make a list.  You need to list your kids, their interests, your resources, your finances, and their learning styles.  Ask them too!  Don’t forget it’s their life you’re planning out so don’t forget to actually ask them and don’t assume you know everything about them 🙂

Then, it’s time to research!

I know, research might not be our very favorite activity butttt it’s super duper useful when it comes to teaching our kids!  Why? Because you or I don’t know everything and neither does anyone else, but when you research with an open mind, you can pull from all kinds of people’s experiences.  For example, about a year ago I stumbled upon a book called Wild + Free and absolutely fell in love with that philosophy. Read my review on that here.  It completely revolutionized my way of thinking when it came to homeschooling my kids, and I’m SO thankful for it! I’ve always been a huge Charlotte Mason fan but this allowed me to integrate my outdoor philosophy with Charlotte Mason, and in my mind, made the perfect complement!  But if I hadn’t been constantly on the outlook for new things, this would have never crossed my radar.  So, read, ask questions, join forums, and keep learning!

Don’t forget to pray!

Yeah, I know, it’s SO darn easy to think that we’re doing this on our own and that God probably doesn’t care what curriculum (or lack of curriculum) we use.  But it’s simply NOT true!  God loves us and wants our families to thrive, and He has made our children entirely unique and wants to use them to bless and change the world so why on earth wouldn’t HE care?

Finally, be patient, be bold, and be encouraged!

Guess what?  We’re NOT going to get this thing perfect because quite simply WE aren’t perfect!  But God is able to use our imperfections to be a blessing to our children.  You can do this!  And it’s perfectly ok to admit when something isn’t working and change it.  Remember the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results! Here’s to a New Year that’s full of hope and joy!

Jenny is a wife to her amazing husband of 17 years and stay-at-home momma to 4 kids. She blogs at https://www.inconvenientfamily.com where she is learning that blessings aren’t always convenient.