So, my recommendation to avoiding burn-out is three-fold. Here are the three words that you need to remember when trying to avoid just wanting to give it all up; Mommy, Mister and Master.
1. Mommy Time
!! Don’t feel bad about it!! This doesn’t make you a bad Mommy; it makes you a wise one.
When my children were a little bit younger we had the “rest time rule.” That was simply a rule that required my children to remain in their room with books and music for a designated period of time. For years it was something that we all needed and looked forward to. As Littlest has gotten older-she is now 2-we have had to change things a good bit. She no longer takes those adored 2 naps a day that she use to nor is she content to occupy herself for very long so, when she is awake, there is noise…and lots of it. So, I’ve had to give up my “rest time rule” so that I could accomplish the more difficult subjects like math and reading while she is taking her nap. It works beautifully to get the things done that we can’t get done while she’s awake but I no longer have my mid-afternoon downtime.
And since homeschooling, as rewarding as it is, gets very demanding I had to think of someway to still get time to myself so that I could avoid burn-out.
There have been times when I’ve allowed the bigger three watch a show while they folded a load of laundry just so I could steal a few moments in the bed with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.
Sometimes I’ll just allow the kids to take a break from school work for a little while and go out to play so that I can just check my email, blog, or the Crew blog for a while.
Every now and then hubby will come home and tell me to just go to the store for a while. Now, while shopping is very low on my list of fun things to do I sometimes take him up on it just to remember how getting out of the van, shutting the door and walking up to the store alone feels. (Can I tell you it’s kind of weird!!)
2. Mister Time
You know, the guy that will not grow up and move out someday. The one that you’ll probably still be cooking for when your youngest has moved into the next stage of life. Ladies, we gotta keep the relationship alive!
What we do here is to make sure that the children are in bed by a certain time (9:00 pm) without question. After that McPapa and I are able to relax together for about an hour or two…depending on how long it takes him to fall asleep!
This has become the rule in our home and I look forward to that time every day. We live about 600 miles away from our closest family members and are very picky when it comes to baby sitters so we do not go on dates like many couples do. Having this time at night allows us to still get time together, the time that I need to spend with my cute hubby, unwind, unleash any burdens on my heart, or just watch a documentary on Netflix.
Getting that time with him has been vital to me avoiding burnout…cause I’ve been close to burning out a time or two.
But I cannot leave you without saying that the priority to hubby comes after the Lord.
3. Master Time
Get alone with the Saviour. This is the glue that keeps me together and without this time I am not living each day to it’s best! I’m not one of those that say that you need to have your quiet time in the AM and only then, I say whenever you can do it do it and do it regularly!!
There are other things that just add to keeping your fire going such as reading encouraging articles, meeting with other homeschooling mothers and attending a Bible believing church. All of these can, in their own ways, add to the fire of homeschooling that we all want to keep burning bright.
So, I hope that something I've said has helped you in a small way. Just remember, our roles as homeschooling Mommies are important in the lives of our children. What we are doing to day God will bless in the fruit of tomorrow!
You are an amazing woman...now, go get a some Mommy, Mister and Master time.
Lovin' Learnin',
Great advice! You are an amazing woman. :)
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