And those of us who have been at this for years know it's not really what homeschooling looks like! But I wanted to share my empathy with those who are burning out, whether it's the kids OR the parents! Most homeschool pros will confess there are days they want to tear their hair out. ON those days, we think "I just need to send my kid back to school! I can't do this."
Since NONE of us have that option right now, here are my tips to survive and rework the schools' and your own expectations, hopefully reducing stress, burnout, and hair-loss. ;)
1) Duplicating school at home is hard and leads to burnout for students and parents. (This is absolutely true, even for die-hard homeschoolers.)
2) Break subjects down into proficiency subjects (those whose concepts build incrementally, like reading, math, foreign languages) and content subjects (those which do NOT depend on mastering one concept before going on to the next, like Literature, Geography, History).
3) For ALL subjects, identify what is important for your child to learn - do they need to stay on pace with peers? if they learn something later (or not at all) will it be developmentally harmful? They may need to practice a proficiency subject daily. They may get away with doing a longer stretch on one content subject/day. Set an idea of how much time your child can take and you can support for school work. Prioritize using this time, beginning with completing work for the proficiency subjects, and with time left over, working on content subjects.
4) Determine (or have your older child decide) a "material covered" and/or "time spent" standard for each subject/day. If your child is on pace with the school's proficiency standard for a given subject, consider allowing her to spend less time on that subject, or not doing ALL the assignments for it. For those subjects needing YOUR full participation and support, schedule time for that subject with AND FOR your child. Let him work on self-managed subjects at times he may chose.
5) Look for alternative resources to teach AND ENGAGE your child in both the proficiency and content subjects. Youtube videos, podcasts, documentaries, a phone call with grandma, a fun book from the library all may be excellent DIFFERENT ways to learn and/or cover the same subjects as the school-provided curriculum. Your child's learning is more important than the completed assignment. Be willing to get an F as a parent by NOT turning in assignments/covering the school's exact material in order to give your child an A in life by helping him or her really succeed at LEARNING.
6) If you find FUN ways to cover content, it can be what your family does together or how the child has fun/spends screen time. If all the kids learn the same history facts by watching the same documentary, will they suffer academically for it? No.
7) Balance what is important for your child to learn with what is needful for your family. (For example, history facts may wait while your child gains a skill that allows her to make money to supplement lost income that otherwise would have gone towards lessons, summer fun, new toys, etc.) AND your child might have something that he is passionate about; gaining THAT knowledge or skill may serve him just as much or more than covering the school-supplied content!
8) Remember, the most important thing you may be teaching is adaptability and resiliency! These are VITAL life skills, so take a deep breath and give yourself some credit!
