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Feb 9, 201203:12 PMAdventures in Homeschooling

Beating the Winter Blahs, by Jennifer

February is officially the month of the winter blahs.  So many days are chilly and gray and after five or six months of school, students everywhere suddenly realize that they aren’t interested in doing much of anything.  Unfortunately, moms aren’t immune to this, either, which can be a bad thing when mom is also the teacher!

There are a few simple ways to beat the winter blahs, though.  With a bit of planning, you can enjoy these weeks before spring arrives!

1. Have a Plan:  It sounds simple, but having a good plan for the coming weeks can be a tremendous help.  Right now, May seems a loooong way off, but if you sit down with a calendar and sketch out the things you want to cover, you’ll be surprised at how little time is left in the school year!
2. Take a Field Trip:  Now is the time for field trips.  Once April rolls around, every classroom teacher within a 100 mile radius is going to haul their students anywhere and everywhere they can. Go now while you’re fidgety and avoid the crowds.
3. Take a Road Trip: Is a field trip not enough?  We realized early on that one of the best things about homeschooling is being able to take vacations when everyone else is stuck at their desks. Take a couple of days and visit a new place that’s close, but just far enough away that you have to stay in a hotel, preferably one with an awesome pool. If you don’t want to take the days off of school, make it an educational trip.
4. Celebrate the Season:  Last week I found myself trying to make tiny edible groundhogs. Do I have a special place in my heart for marmots? No, but I look for fun things to do, especially during this time of year. Snuggle up with some good winter books and remind yourself how utterly awful the heat was last summer. Enjoy the cold while it lasts.
5. Shake it Up: Make some changes in your lessons. Play games, put on a play, write books. If there’s more than one way to skin a cat (a saying I thankfully cannot verify), then certainly there’s more than one way to teach a second grader place value.
6. Head Outside: When the weather is nice, take a longer break after lunch and spend it in the sunshine. Your kids will get rid of their extra energy and you will feel better, too.  Take a bit of time for a simple nature study, like this one from Spell Outloud.

Happy February!