Finishing The Homeschool Year Strong

Several months ago you started out on a journey with your kids. You embarked on a year of homeschooling with goals, and dreams, and (what you thought) was more than enough supplies. But now, with the homeschool year quickly coming to an end you find yourself exhausted, drained, and without the majority of supplies. For months you have encouraged, taught, loved, and pressed forward with learning, excitement, and what you thought was the best approach. Tired, and counting down the days until you can declare summer vacation, you contemplate pushing through… but at the same time secretly wish to simply start your break early.

Yet fluffing of the last few days or weeks won’t help any of you. Neither will cracking down to complete all 180 lessons. Instead, let’s work together to help you and your kids finish this homeschool year strong so you can be prepared for the next year.

I have a secret to share with you:

at this point in the homeschool year, I am as ready to be done as the kids are.!

Yup, I said it… and I’m willing to bet you were thinking it. 😉

And we both know why.  At this point in the school year, I have been in the daily grind of homeschooling right alongside my kids. And while I don’t always plan out our year, I still have to prepare for specific lessons. I do still have to gather materials, teach the concepts, and answer the questions. Then I have to review the assignments that are turned it, read the papers and edit the writing. Coordinate schedules, appointments, and extra-curricular activities. Encourage the learning, find the materials when we don’t have them, and even when I don’t have the patience or time for it, let the kids follow their interests down new paths.

Seriously, I’m Not Complaining

Truly. I love homeschooling and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to do it. Grateful that my husband is supportive of this educational method that we choose for our family.

It’s just that after months of schooling, and even more months preparing for the year, well the kids and I are truly ready to be done. We are ready to finish up and move on to other things. Ready to start summer and take a break from the grind… maybe even get caught up on some reading.

But as much as we are all ready to be done, we know we can’t. More specifically, I can’t. I am the teacher, the secretary, and even the gym teacher. Oh, and definitely the bus driver.

I am the one who needs to set the example of finishing what we start, of pushing through and finish this homeschool year strong. I still need to get up, show up, and encourage learning. Shoulder the responsibilities and expectations both to myself and to my children (not to mention, the state).

You and I, we simply can’t skimp out because the weather is turning nice and we are all just ready to be done. We still need to get the kids up and started. Make sure they learn a little more each and every day while homeschool is in session. That’s just part of the deal with homeschooling.

So it’s at this point in the homeschool year that we change our focus.

Year-round we try to embrace a more relaxed homeschool. Yet, because winters here are long and cold, we do use them to focus on things like book-work, research and reports, and other inside learning pursuits. It just works better that way.

Now that spring has begun though, we can change our focus. We can work on unit studies and outside activities, seasonal interests, and just see where our own curiosity leads us. No longer are we cooped up inside because the weather is hostile and the daylight is limited.

Instead, we can switch gears. We can watch as birds migrate back. Venture outside for walks and enjoy the fresh air. We can practice math facts and vocabulary words while racing outside.

This time of the year, we look for opportunities to learn so much more than what is simply listed in a scope and sequence.

Yes, we will still work on the workbooks, textbooks, and even the online courses… that’s one of the many reasons we started the year with goals for completion. And yes, we will continue learning right through the end of the state-required school year. We will keep moving forward and taking advantage of each and every learning opportunity available to us. Because even though we are all ready to be done, the school year isn’t quite over yet.

We will simply choose to change our focus slightly. Instead of looking inside, we will out. From studying for a test to testing our stamina. We will still read and write, compute math equations, and explore history. But we will also get back to exploring the world around us. Watching science play out as spring blooms, have gym class in the backyard and bring back games like “Red Rover” and “Red Light/Green Light”, and put our math skills to use in real-world applications.

Using All Of The Time We Have This Homeschool Year

We will do all of this because we know there is still a lot of hope in the chaos of the last few weeks of school. There is still time to nurture our homeschool and learn, grow, and experience more. Still time to become more than we are today. Time to grasp a new concept, try a new skill, or develop a new interest that could be a jumping point for a new course for the next school year.

We still have time to follow a passion or develop a new one. Opportunities to learn are still available and these lessons are just as valuable as those we did over the winter. Even though the kids and I are ready to be done, there are still school days to complete even if the sun is shining and the outdoors is calling. And we will utilize this time just as we did those long winter months.

How do you get over the end of the year slump? Comment below with your best tips and tricks to push through and finish strong.

This post has been updated from the original version published April 2017.