When you’re in a homeschool rut

Long about the middle of January and early February I hit a homeschool rut.  You know that time when you desperately don’t want to be homeschooling and you’ve looked into putting your kids in public school.  Or you’ve reached the point of saying watching 2 episodes of Odd Squad, an episode of Wild Kratts and some Reading Rainbow counts as schoolwork.

That time of year.

It’s also the time of year when I hate all of my homeschool curriculum and am ready to throw it out the window.

But, I really shouldn’t do that.  It’s littering, and it sets a bad example.

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I need a distraction and a way to get out of my homeschool rut

So how do I do that?

I read other homeschool blogs.  I always get inspired reading what my fellow homeschoolers are doing.  My big sources of inspiration are: Angellic Scalliwags, All Things Beautiful, and Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool.  They all have a similar style to my own, and they all get my ADHD brain going.

I browse Pinterest.  Specifically, I look at what I’ve got pinned for the topics I’m currently studying to get me excited again.  Or I search up new ideas.

I read new homeschool books.  Right now I’m reading the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas Volume 2.  It got me thinking.  I browsed the chapter on gameschooling and remembered a few board games I have that relieves a bit of tedium. We still have several challenges to win in Commissioned.

Since it’s not a book you have to read in order, I’m next going to read the Living Math books chapter.  I’ll freely admit our math lessons are boring because while I enjoy math, it doesn’t inspire creative ideas in my brain the way other areas do.

Side note, is it a bad sign or a good sign when I see a chapter heading and think, “oh that looks really interesting,” only to click to the chapter and realize I wrote it?  It probably goes to illustrate my ADHD, which is also why I wrote that chapter in the book.

And of course, since I’m getting serious about this whole “homeschooling older kids” thing I’m reading the entire section on homeschooling teens.

Seriously, look at these giant children.  GIANTS! Future Ticia 2022 laughs at past Ticia thinking these children are giants, they look so little and young now to me.

Oh and one final way I get out of my homeschool rut is to break up the routine.  There’s a reason we spent an entire week in early January funschooling.  I needed the mental break because…. winter.  There’s a reason I don’t live up in Michigan people.  It’s too dang cold.

Get your own copy of Big Book of Homeschool Ideas volume 2 and get yourself out of the homeschool rut

You can buy it on Amazon.