What do you do when you have to make a homeschool change mid-semester? Does changing homeschooling routines really throw you off completely? Should it?
Sometimes we make decisions that just don’t work and ultimately require a homeschool change. Please don’t be discouraged if you are in that boat. I was recently, and I’m here to share with you that it’s okay!
Here are some tips to help guide you as you think about changing up your homeschooling routines- even if it is mid-semester.
Decide what you’re doing isn’t working in your homeschooling routines.
This is when it’s time to suck up the pride and admit to yourself- and maybe even the whole world- that what you were doing before isn’t working. Better yet, rather than making a YouTube video as I did, how about simply making that decision on your own with your family that it’s time for a change. First, you have to admit that things need to change.
Admission is the first step to success. If you can admit you’re wrong, you can get on the right track. Face it- we’ve all made curriculum choices that don’t work for us. At some point, we’ve likely stumbled on a textbook, workbook, lapbook, notebook that just didn’t fit the needs of our children. And for many of us, we’ve gone into the public school system thinking that it might work out for a season.
And what happens when it doesn’t work? That’s when we decide to make a change.
A homeschool change. In the case of my daughter after trying online school twice- both in her seventh-grade year and recently for the beginning half of 9th grade- we discovered that public online school isn’t something she desires to continue. It ended up being a stressful situation that just didn’t prove to be beneficial for any of us, regardless of what it seemed to portray in the catalogs. **Update: It’s currently not that way for my youngest daughter as she enjoys her time at Connections Academy, but we have to make sure we’re tending to each of our individual kids’ needs and keep them emotionally safe.
We tried. And woke up each morning, weeks and months at a time, and just kept on plucking through. My daughter really tried to stick with it, and I tried to continue supporting her endeavors. But the system was broken for us, and we just couldn’t seem to find any relief, any time to catch a deep breath and for her to catch up on lessons. What started off as legitimately do-able, ended up being a gigantic headache. Needless to say, it was time to admit that public online school for us wasn’t working, and it was time to move on to other options. Here’s WHY it’s okay to change up our homeschooling routines.
(I enjoy offering these video messages.)
Be proactive about your next steps.
Being proactive can get lost in the fuddle of busy-ness. We can either ignore our inner voice and just keep on pressing through a situation that is detrimental to our mental and emotional well-being, or we can stop and really listen. I decided to listen to that inner voice that told me to withdraw my daughter from the virtual school and begin the process of traditional homeschooling again. It takes being proactive to get from point Z back around to point A. You don’t get there by simply dreaming about it…we have to put one foot in front of the other and walk straight toward the goal.
When I decided we would withdraw, I had to have a plan B in place. I immediately got to work finding out what other options would suit us for the second semester. After deciding against using the charter school for my daughter that my youngest is currently using, I finally decided on filing a PSP, which in the state of California allows us to homeschool with a “covering” that takes care of our record-keeping. This homeschool change would be necessary. I got those steps taken care of within a few weeks and now we’re all set with a new set of curriculum, a new cover school, and a new outlook on homeschooling for a brand new year. Things are feeling much better around here these days.
Stay flexible in your homeschool routines.
Lastly, my last bit of encouragement for you on this post is: please, whatever you do, stay flexible. Life is all about being able to weave in and out of several opposing circumstances and situations that are in juxtaposition to one another.
Life can get crazy hectic, harried, confusing, and chaotic. As much as I love a homey and peaceful day, I’ve accepted that not all my days are going to carry the same weight of being easy-going. I’ve got to remain flexible and roll with life. If I’m flexible, I’ll be more likely to make a necessary homeschool change when it’s needed. Flexibility is the only reason I was able to pull out of virtual school mid-semester and decide to traditionally homeschool. It wasn’t an easy decision to follow through on because I would have preferred to stick it out the entire school year, but it was for the best.
When you sense that being open to change will bless your family, then by all means, flex your flexibility muscles and allow those changes to take place in your home. You will be blessed because of it!
Do you have a homeschool change on the horizon? What are you going to do to ensure you make the best decision for your family?
Let me encourage you not to be afraid to make a homeschool change when it’s needed. Honor your family with your flexibility and humility and you will be so glad you did!
Thank you….. been homeschooling my youngest, now a 9th grader since 6th grade. Have homeschooled my others but each child is different. (Now all graduated adults) we live in N Alabama now but are from S. Cali. Been struggling with should I change should I stick with it…… but that is the freedom of homeschooling. Another thing is at this age- hormones are running. So what might work one year, won’t work another- someone had told me. I’m always making sure my daughter is seeing it , hearing it, touching it and absorbing it lol. So we use videos, online, books and worksheets. All supplemented together. One week she may be more of an online student. Then another week or month she feels like books. But I think this new semester we will focus on online and video ( not public school) on our own timeline. Because when we try to keep up to speed with those programs she doesn’t do as well. So if it takes her 1-2 years to finish Geometry – that’s ok.Thank you thank you. I read your blogs and know I am not the only one!!!!Kristin
Kristin- thank you so much for your comment. I totally agree with you that each child is different: sometimes like night and day. We literally have to make changes constantly to keep up with their growing needs. And at 14 (I have one, too) hormones can make teaching/learning tricky. Isn’t it a blessing that we have the freedom to navigate our kids’ learning in a way that suits them best?Thanks for taking time to comment! Blessings on your year.