Boost Motivation with a Low Impact Schedule
It’s already February, but the end of the school year can still seem light years away. There’s something about the winter months that brings a sort of homeschool slump that almost makes it hard to recover and finish strong. Know what I mean?
To be completely honest, I have felt this sense of a slump several times throughout this school year, not just the winter months. I recently had our fourth baby (early December) and took off way longer than I originally planned. It just so happened to roll right into our winter break and when January rolled around, I really struggled to get motivated. The force of procrastination was strong with this one.
The thought of how far we could slip behind [according to what I had planned] and what I would need to rearrange in order to get back up to par made me a little motivated. But not enough. . . so that’s when I decided to give myself [and my homeschool] a super boost of motivation by starting with a low-impact schedule.
A low-impact schedule doesn’t mean you’re not getting things done or that you have to throw your pre-scheduled plans completely out of the window. It simply means tweaking them a bit by dividing your homeschooling time into chunks versus having long drawn out crunch days, and rearranging the amount of schoolwork. It could be watching an educational show on Netflix versus doing a stack of worksheets, for example.
Regardless if you just had a baby, moved to a different town, or took an unexpected break – restarting with a low-impact schedule can be one of the best motivational methods to ever hit your homeschool! Looking back on the moments of planning and implementing our low-impact schedule, I picked up on four major ways a low-impact schedule can boost motivation for any homeschool.
A low-impact schedule beats procrastination.
The last thing any of us wants is to be homeschooling into those nice, warm, swimming, fishing, and all days spent outside months – also known as our summer break. That thought alone is enough to boost my motivation to get started and stay focused, but if I’m not careful, overwhelm can set in and put me back at square one. Has that ever happened to you? This go-around, I found that starting with a low-impact schedule helped me not feel overwhelmed and made that light at the end of the tunnel look much bigger.
A low-impact schedule helps everyone start with ease.
Our kiddos can dread starting school after lengthy breaks just as much as us, am I right? I found that to be the case after this last break we had. My son kept asking if we had taken our planned winter break yet, and while I got a great laugh out of it, the truth of the matter was that our break was over and we had to get back in our homeschool grind. In previous years I would just pick right up with the normal work load and we’d all trudge through it, whether we enjoyed it or not. This year, starting fresh with a low-impact schedule helped us ease back into our routine with much less whining and complaining from everyone (including me)!
A low-impact schedule leaves cushion room.
Suppose a family emergency happens, or a sick-bug hits your home, or you just had a baby. . . maybe there is a curriculum that hasn’t been working for your kiddos. Regardless, starting fresh with a low-impact schedule leaves the “cushion room” to make any necessary changes without feeling super overwhelmed. I have talked to several homeschooling mamas who had to take an entire week, if not more, because of the nasty flu-bug going around. Another homeschooling mama friend of mine just moved a couple of states south which meant she was taking several extra weeks off too. The joys of having a low-impact schedule is it can accommodate those unexpected (and expected) circumstances that happen in life.
A low-impact schedule can help with setting realistic expectations.
How often do we set unrealistic expectations without realizing it? We may begin to realize it once we see that there have been way too many tears, tantrums, and drawbacks. A low-impact schedule can help set realistic expectations and attainable goals that gives everyone something to look forward too. My son has enjoyed, and actually looks forward to doing his schoolwork because his schoolwork load is not too heavy. As days pass I gradually add an extra assignment or two but it’s still not too much. I also enjoy not having so much to do on the “teacher” end. Not to mention, less papers to grade!
So here’s the deal, mama. Allow yourself to bask in the grace that we as homeschooling moms are blessed to have. Throw out the homeschooling mom guilt and start fresh with a low-impact schedule. Ease back into your routine and don’t feel bad if something doesn’t quite happen the way you planned. Release yourself from the tight grip of control and allow things to happen as they come. I will be the first to admit that it may feel like you’re not getting anything accomplished with a low-impact schedule, but trust me: you are. If you divided one lesson into two parts done at two separate times of the day. . . you still completed that one lesson for the day. It’s a matter of perspective, I suppose. However, I know for a fact that starting fresh with a low-impact schedule has done wonders for my growing family of six!
CHIME IN: what are some ways you ease back into your homeschooling routine after a long break? What hasn’t worked for you? Please share, I wanna know!!
Until next time, happy homeschooling y’all!
Michelle Huddleston is a homeschooling momprenuer of four kiddos and counting. She is the voice and resource creator behind With the Huddleston’s and a Homeschool Lifestyle Consultant. Michelle is passionate about linking arms with other homeschooling moms and helping them live unapologetically authentic. You can connect with Michelle on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Read more from her Blog here.
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Tiffany
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