Homeschooling is hard. I believe you need to know that up front, if you don't already. There will be days when you are ready to give up because you just can't face it anymore (whatever your current "it" is) and you're tired of trying. I feel your frustration and I know you are exhausted. It seems like if you could just stop homeschooling, everything would be so much better.
However, now is not the time to quit homeschooling. Now is the time to pivot.
More...
This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on the link and purchasing items, it costs you nothing, but I receive a small stipend that helps me run this website. Thanks so much for your support!
St. Ignatius Agrees
In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius gives rules for discernment that Saints and lay people have followed for ages. He says the following concerning times of desolation, which for our current discussion we'll say is the desire to stop homeschooling:
"In time of desolation, we should never make any change, but remain firm and constant in the resolution and decision which guided us the day before the desolation, or in the decision to which we adhered in the preceding consolation. For just as in consolation the good spirit guides and counsels us, so in desolation the evil spirit guides and counsels. Following his counsels we can never find the way to a right decision."
- St. Ignatius, "The Spiritual Exercises" p 143
What is he saying here? Basically that you made the decision to homeschool and you felt good about it. Now that you're having a difficult time, for whatever reason, you are in a state of desolation about it and it is not the right time to change anything about your original decision to homeschool.
Instead, you need to stop and pivot.
What exactly do I mean by that? I mean that you need to change your perspective on your situation.
Let's take a look at some examples as to why you might be having a hard time with homeschooling. In each example, I'll give you some ideas as to what you can do to make things better that will give you the change in perspective that you might need.
When Homeschooling is Hard
A Guide to Help In Various Circumstances
You probably already know the information I'm going to share. However, when you're in the middle of feeling the weight of homeschooling, you tend to forget it. Seeing it again in print will definitely help.
With that in mind, here's how to use this guide:
- Bookmark this article and come back to it whenever you feel overwhelmed or feel like giving up.
- Reread the part about St. Ignatius and his rule for discernment!
- Come here and click down to the scenario you need help with the most.
- Read through it to remind yourself of those important things to do or to tell yourself.
- Pray about it and then implement something that will allow you to pivot from your current point of view.
Being Pregnant
My kids asked me one day what the clothing style of the 90s was like. I stopped to think for a moment and answered, "Maternity wear" since I basically spent the entire decade pregnant.
We all know that pregnancy in general is difficult. You're sick, tired and uncomfortable most of the time - and that's a good pregnancy!
Add to that the myriad of other problems that can occur during those nine months and you can see how this time can make homeschooling difficult. Plus, the more kids you have outside the womb, the crazier it becomes.
How You can Pivot
First of all, take a deep breath and realize that your children are still learning a lot just by being with you. It might be how to try to not throw up all day, but they're still learning!
The next big thing you have to do is cut yourself some slack and realize that you're doing something important by growing another human for them to love so this time is not a time of failure.
Depending on the ages of your children, give them work they can do on their own while you rest.
If they're too young for that, read aloud. A lot! If you're too tired to read, get audio books from the library or an Audible account. Take advantage of educational movies. Have discussions about topics that you pick and direct. Learn songs to sing.
Basically scale back your schooling to the necessities and do a lot of it on the couch - or even in bed if you have to. This could be one of the best homeschooling times that you have.
Cut out all unnecessary activities and get help with driving and errands, if possible.
And I'll say it again - cut yourself some slack! Really. This won't ruin your child's education. Come back and read this every day if you have to! God's got this and you need to remember that. You're doing His work and He will give you all the grace you need.
Catholic action you can take: Offer up each day for your children's future; their health, education, well-being and whatever else you feel called to.
A helpful article to read: "Homeschooling for the Long Haul"
Having a Newborn, Toddler or Both!
A screaming baby and/or toddler (or both) really adds a whole new level to the homeschooling experience, doesn't it. There were many days that I wondered why I was even bothering to try to teach the other kids anything.
I often wondered how they learned math in between me yelling at the 2 year old to get down from the table, or the baby screaming because she wanted to be fed, again.
Your stress level is at an all time high during this phase. There is so much that you want the kids to accomplish in their schooling but it seems impossible to get it done. When you're not chasing, feeding, changing or soothing your littles, you're too tired to think.
In the meantime, the house is a mess, dinner isn't ready and the laundry isn't done. Boy, just typing all this brings me back to those days, so be assured, mama, that I know how you feel.
How You Can Pivot
The good news is that I MADE IT through those years, and chances are pretty good that you will, too! It might feel like you aren't doing enough and what you are doing isn't good, but don't worry, your kids are still learning! Also remember that this is a season. It will not last forever. One day you'll be on the other side of it and you will look back and smile. You must trust me on that!
I'll also be cliche here and say that "the baby and toddler are the learning", so let the kids help as much as possible.
My best advice for pivoting here is to implement a change in your schedule to do your most intensive school work when the younger ones are either napping, happy or occupied by someone else.
If none of those is happening, just sit down and read together, do independent work or watch a good movie.
Don't try to force the learning if utter chaos is going on. Scale back your expectations for a bit and realize it won't last forever!
This might be a good time to try a morning basket routine, using Pam Barnhill's morning time plans, or unit studies.
If you can pair up an older child that will work well with the baby or toddler for a bit, try that so you can work with another child. I had to be careful doing that as pairing up some kids would cause more chaos! If that is the case, skip the pairing up strategy!
Catholic action you can take: Pray to the guardian angels of your little ones when you need to really get something done and ask them to settle things down for a bit.
A helpful article you can read: "7 Tips for Homeschooling with a Newborn"
Uncooperative Students
If anything has plagued me the most during these years of homeschooling, it's been the constant nagging I've had to do to get the kids to do their work.
I will say that it hasn't been all of my kids. It also hasn't been the same kids all the time. One might have been fine and then just had a really bad year. Bad enough to make me really consider sending them away!
There's nothing more frustrating than planning out what you deem to be an awesome year of school and then having nothing but complaining children. The worst was when I would plan fun activities only to be met with resistance.
I've been seeing this as a major stress for a lot of people in the Facebook groups I'm in so I know it is a very common problem. My guess is that this is the main reason people stop homeschooling. Unfortunately, that doesn't make life easier.
How You Can Pivot
You need to remember the reasons why you wanted to homeschool! If you can't remember them, sit down and write them down now, as you may need to reference them often in the coming months. Really cement these reasons into your brain because they may be the only way you can continue on.
Next, take a step back and see if this might be a learning issue for a particular child. I've had to change methods mid-year because the materials I was using for the uncooperative child were just not working. You might also discover that they need extra help in an area, too. Changing up the materials and/or the method can make all the difference in the world.
Another reason might be that the child/children are just testing your resolve. In this case, consistent discipline for the offending child/ren is the course of action.
I was definitely weak in this area and my kids knew it.
When kids won't cooperate and do the work, come up with the consequences and then implement them every time. I cannot stress this enough. It's the consistency that is the key, more so than the actual consequence.
Each consequence might also be different for each child. I could take pleasure reading time away from one kid and they'd do anything to get it back, while another would be unfazed.
Write down the consequences for each type of uncooperative behavior and post it so everyone (yourself included) knows what will happen each time they decide to cause a problem. Then implement the consequence every time!
Catholic action you can take: Bless the offending child/children/whole school room with holy water.
Helpful articles you can read:
"An Important Homeschooling Lesson" and "Consistency is the Key to Success"
Chronic Health Issues
These can be issues that either you or one or more of your children has. No matter who has the chronic issues, you know it will wreak havoc on your schedule and plans at some time or another.
Anytime you are under the weather, chaos ensues. If one of your children has a chronic health problem, keeping them moving along in school can be a problem.
Appointments with doctors and therapists can take up an insane amount of time during the month, especially when they are not close to home!
How You Can Pivot
The key to homeschooling when you know this will be an ongoing situation is to plan a more basic schedule from the get-go.
Depending on what the problems are and how many appointments they require, you'll have to adjust your work load to fit into the time you have. It might not be ideal, but it is reality so you must deal with it.
I know that when making appointments you are often at the mercy of the doctor/therapist's schedule. If at all possible, try to condense appointments to either the afternoon or to one day a week. This would give you the morning to do your work, or four out of five days.
Again, the key is to plan your school work around your reality. Have you tried unit studies? You can cover a lot of ground with all the kids at the same time. How about workbooks? This way they can continue on with work with minimal instruction from you if you are not feeling well. They can also take them in the car easier. I mean, car schooling is a thing, so take advantage of that time!
Remember, setting up your homeschooling plan knowing your limitations in time and ability is the key to staying sane and at peace.
Catholic action you can take: Offer up this cross for your children and their education. God sees how hard you are trying and will take care of your kids. You must trust in this truth.
A helpful article you can read: Learn about how unit studies work and see if they would be a good fit for your family.
Doing Too Much
I mean this one in two different ways.
- You're trying to cover too many subjects in the amount of time you have.
- Your family is involved in too many activities outside the house.
Which one is the problem for your family? Maybe it's both, since too many activities outside the house will drastically cut down on the time you have to cover a lot of subjects!
Also, the more kids you have, the less time you will have for each of them to try to do a lot of things. Ask me how I know!
How You Can Pivot
When I started homeschooling my oldest, I was all in. I couldn't wait to teach her ALL.THE.THINGS. Pretty soon, however, I started adding more students and I realized that I wouldn't have time to teach that many things.
That's when I began to really look at how I could have them learn the most information in an efficient manner. Given our other responsibilities, I just could not see homeschooling till 5:00 every evening.
Some of the things I implemented over the years included:
- Unit studies
- Pairing kids up for subjects and teaching them both the same level. I was fortunate that that worked for multiple pairs of my children.
- Rotating through subjects - history for 1/2 the year, science for the other 1/2. We would also rotate art and music. Some years we'd only devote a quarter to each of these. You must, of course, work within your state's rules.
- Making sure there were a lot of books to read. Good historical fiction carried us a long way!
When it came time for activities outside the house, we had to be strict about everyone picking only one thing to be involved in. If I could put multiple kids in an activity, even better. There just isn't enough time to have seven kids each involved in different activities at the same time. Our sanity was not worth that chaos.
You and your husband need to decide what is most important for your family. If sports are it, then you'll need to figure out what other things will need to give. Keep this list handy and review and revise it every school year.
Catholic action you can take: Look into a volunteer activity that many of you can be involved in together. Doing things like that as a family keep you socializing and build virtue.
A helpful article you can read: 4 Steps to Making a Decision
Not Being Organized
It is amazing how much stress being disorganized can cause. I'm talking about lack of structure in your day as well as a home that is disorganized.
We all know how hard homeschooling is. One reason it's hard is because we have so much else that needs to be done. If all we had to do was teach our children and everything else was taken care of, then a lot of the stress would be gone.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for the majority of people. We still need to teach all the kids, clean the house, cook the food and do the laundry. Oh and don't forget all the emails, phone calls and appointments that need to be kept up.
With all that on our plates, I'm still not sure how people can afford not to be organized.
How You Can Pivot
The easy thing would be for me to say, "Get organized" and leave it at that. Easier said than done, right?
I have a book that will walk you through how to organize your day. Soon I will have a whole video course that will help you really dig deep and get you organized.
Being organized makes you more productive, so having a plan for your day will help you get more done in less time. This means you have more time to do other things.
If you have friends who have organized homes, go talk to them. Ask them what they do to keep it that way. Learn from others how to declutter. You'll need to find time in your day to do that, so getting your day organized is the best place to start.
I really can't stress enough how bringing some semblance of order to your day will reduce the stress in your life. This will then allow you to focus more on homeschooling, and you will enjoy it more!
Catholic action you can take: Read the beginning of the book of Genesis to see how our God is a God of order.
Helpful articles you can read: "Becoming Well Organized One Step at a Time" and "Plan Your Day for More Joy"
Housework Not Getting Done
I see two potential problems here.
- Life is so overwhelming with everything you need to do that the housework is just not getting done.
- You have never been taught how to clean, so you don't do it.
Either one of these scenarios is going to add stress to your life. Many people want to quit homeschooling so that they can keep up with the other chores and be at peace. I think you can take control of the house and still enjoy homeschooling.
How You Can Pivot
If your main problem is the first one, then you just need to focus on organizing the chores. You need to decide:
- What needs to get done
- When it needs to get done
- Who is going to do it
Enlist the help of your children. Learning household chores is a very necessary life skill and part of a good education. Even very young children can do things around the house.
Make a list of all the things you'd like to get done daily, weekly and monthly. Decide at what times of the day you'd like to do them and then assign them to people. If you need help, I have a whole chapter dedicated to organizing your chores in my book, "A Plan for Joy in the Home".
If you've never learned to clean then you need to take time to learn. Talk to a friend who you think has this down and see if she'll teach you. I've made a series of videos about how to clean the various rooms of your home and I'll link to them below.
You should strive to have your house tidy within 30 to 45 minutes so that if someone were going to stop by you wouldn't be embarrassed. Having a tidy home reduces stress in many ways.
Catholic action you can take: Invite a priest over to bless your home. If you can, consecrate your home to the Sacred Heart. The graces that come from this might inspire you to get organized and keep it clean.
Helpful articles you can read: "How and When do I Clean my House?" and "A Laundry System that Works"
Meal Planning and Prep
Sometimes I wonder why we have to eat so much! Food really takes up so much of our time, doesn't it? Three meals a day that require prep and clean up. Not to mention the planning and shopping that is required.
Shopping with small children makes the task even more daunting.
Do you get up every morning and wonder what you're cooking that night for dinner? Maybe around noon you realize that you don't have everything you need so it means a trip to the store? Are you running out for fast food or pizza far too often and killing the budget?
Any of the above practices are going to add a lot of stress to your day and take your focus off of homeschooling.
How You Can Pivot
Meal planning is essential if you are wanting to create less stress in your life. This should be done at least weekly, but you can successfully meal plan for the month if that's how you shop.
Pick a time once a week that you are going to plan out your meals for the following week. Get a blank calendar, or whatever works, and at least plan out your dinners.
If you get sale flyers in the mail, use those to plan your meals around what is on sale to help save money.
Write up a complete grocery list off of that meal plan. I also go through all of the areas in my house that have stored food (it's more than you might think!) and add items to my list that we're in need of.
Try to go shopping on the same day each week. This makes planning and executing so much easier.
Catholic action you can take: If you aren't doing it already, say meal prayers as a family before each meal. These can be any prayers you want that offer thanks to God for the food you're about to eat.
A helpful article you can read: "A List of Meal Ideas Makes Meal Planning Easy"
Little or No Support for Homeschooling
This is a tough one and can take a couple of different forms.
- You have little or no support for homeschooling from your husband.
- Support comes from your husband, but your family is always pressuring you and is not very helpful.
- Your family supports you but you don't live near them and have no homeschooling friends or help where you live.
Any of these situations makes homeschooling that much harder. Everyone needs someone to lean on when things are difficult, so I know this can be a real stress for homeschooling moms.
How You Can Pivot
Let's address each type of problem individually.
Your Husband
If your husband is not on board with you homeschooling, or is neutral at best, you really need to change this situation. Homeschooling without the support of your husband will always be difficult.
Sit down, again probably, and see what his main concerns are and then do your best to show him why they won't be a problem. Time might be the only way that you can convince him.
Having a husband who is not convicted about homeschooling also means you can't blow off steam to him when things get difficult. Any complaining you do will, unfortunately, be strength for his view point.
This is a tough road to haul and, depending on how firm his stance is, might be one of the times you have to stop homeschooling.
Your Family
Having a family who is hostile to your homeschooling is a lot easier if your husband is behind you. Also, the greater the physical distance, the less often you'll come up on their resistance.
Again, time will hopefully show them that their concerns are invalid. Showing them that your kids are learning and developing good social skills will waylay their fears a lot.
I know in our family it took a number of years before the family stopped thinking we were ruining our kids. It took even longer for them to realize they could function in the outside world. Occasionally someone will still make a comment worthy of a good eye-roll, but that I can handle.
If your family is just that difficult, putting space between you and them is about the best thing you can do. Please do not do this lightly. Family can change their mind about homeschooling with time. Distance can be very hard on everyone, but if they cannot accept your decision to homeschool and are causing major upheavel, then enforcing that distance will hopefully help them see how convicted you are.
Being Alone
Moving to a new area, away from family, can be difficult. Being a homeschooler in that situation can make it harder.
Hopefully there is a strong homeschooling presence in your new area. If so, jump in right away and get involved. A good homeschool group is a life-saving device.
What if the area is less populated with homeschoolers? Try finding a support system of at least other like-minded moms. Even if their kids are in school, if you can find other moms who think like you do, they can offer you the help and support you need.
Finding someone in real life who you can talk to is essential. Start talking to people at Mass, or ask at the parish office if they know anyone who might be a good person to get to know.
Developing friends online can help if you're having a hard time finding friends in real life. Getting involved in Facebook groups or on Instagram will at least get you a place to connect with others.
A Catholic action you can take: Pray the rosary. Having the Blessed Mother as your support person is the best person to have.
Helpful articles you can read: "Need Peace? Pray the Rosary" and "How to go to Adoration in 7 Easy Steps"
Hormones
I'm including this here because I feel very strongly that, as women, our homones have a huge impact on how our day goes.
Can I get an AMEN?
You can get up and do everything right, but if your hormones decide to have a mind of their own, there's not much you can do to reign them in.
PMS, pregnancy hormones, postpartum hormones, perimenopause hormones - ugh, there's so many to choose from. No matter how holy you are, your hormones can still get the better of you. How did the female Saints do it??
How You Can Pivot
Let's just say that if you can figure out a way to balance your hormones as much as possible then do it! Natural remedies would be my first choice. Maybe a trip to a doctor if need be. Definitely get help if you have any ongoing depression or anxiety.
The remedy I use for this is to try to speak as little as possible when my hormones are getting the better of me! Taking some time alone, if at all possible, to recharge is another good option. Reach out to a friend for help. Change up your routine for a bit. Get some exercise in - even though it's the last thing you want to do!
It's during this time that I ramp up my prayer life, even though I don't feel like doing any of it!
Consider adding in and/or doing the following as much as you can:
- Daily Mass
- Daily rosary
- Confession!!
- Adoration (you can do it online if you have no other option)
Hopefully the mood won't last too long. Remember the origin of the mood and recall what St. Ignatius said above. Don't make any big changes while you're in this negative state.
Catholic action you can take: I would definitely come up with a solid prayer routine to get you through this time. Consider the options listed above, with a heavy emphasis on confession. This usually helps me tremendously.
Helpful articles you can read: "Need Peace? Pray the Rosary" , "How to go to Adoration in 7 Easy Steps" and "Your Feelings are Valid"
Social Media
You might not think that social media can cause you to want to stop homeschooling but it definitely can.
How many times do you sit down to scroll for a few minutes and see that post from a fellow homeschooler that sends you into a tailspin?
Or you see someone's perfect looking homeschooling space and you become envious and start complaining?
Maybe you're feeling down about yourself and you follow a bunch of moms who are in shape and have tons of energy.
Things like this will definitely put you in a funk that could cause you to question your homeschooling calling.
How You Can Pivot
Here are a few things you can do if getting onto Facebook and Instagram is making you an unhappy homeschooler:
- First off, comparing yourself to other homeschooling moms can be okay if it's keeping you accountable, but not if it's making you feel bad. You must be in the right frame of mind when looking at the Instagram or Facebook posts of other homeschoolers. If you find your mood changing, get off immediately and do something positive.
- Clean up the people you follow on your accounts. If they don't make you happy when you see their posts, stop following them!
- Get out of Facebook groups that raise your blood pressure, but get into groups that help you to cope!
- Only allow yourself to use Social Media during certain blocks of time. I am so glad it wasn't a thing when my kids were little. There are enough hard things about raising kids. Being distracted by Facebook is one I'm glad I didn't have to face.
Catholic action you can take: Do a social media fast, especially during Advent and Lent.
Helpful articles you can read: "Using Technology to Pray" and "Don't Wish You Were Someone Else"
No Time for Yourself
Yikes, this one ranks right up there as a top reason to quit homeschooling. I know because I've been down this path so many times in the past 20+ years.
The overwhelming level of frustration that comes from being around the same people 24/7, coupled with the stress of all the things that need to be done can be what threatens to push you over the edge.
In the past I have definitely not handled this subject well with my husband. I'd feel like I was going to explode and assumed that he could tell (wrong). Why isn't he doing anything to relieve my stress or ask how he could help me? The fact that he isn't helping me drives my level of frustration to new heights till I can't take it anymore. With that, I yell about how no one ever helps me and storm out the door, leaving everyone wide-eyed and wondering what just happened.
Can you relate? If so, read on.
How You Can Pivot
What I learned later was that my husband was not a mind reader. Who knew? Instead of assuming he sensed my level of frustration, I should have made sure he did. LOL, that sounds harsher than it should.
Communication is the key to this situation. Don't wait until you're ready to blow to discuss your need for some alone time. In fact, have the conversation early on in your homeschooling career. Build it into your lives so that you both will have some time alone. It might be weekly or monthly, or maybe even daily!
Self-care is imperative for the homeschooling mother and that includes time to yourself to do what you want and need to do. Make sure to work this out so you can avoid meltdowns.
Go on date nights with your husband so you have time together. Have these important conversations with him about your mental-health and how you can help each other.
Make sure to also take time to relax with friends. A good moms-night-out can bring much needed relief to a stressed-out mom.
Catholic action you can take: Pray together as husband and wife. Go to Adoration together or take turns going alone.
Helpful articles you can read: "Make Sure to Take Time With Friends" and "Why Having a Tribe is So Important"
Financial Concerns
Nothing can bring the stress level up faster than financial concerns. Homeschooling makes things more difficult because it's harder for both spouses to work and teach their kids at the same time, thus cutting off one whole income.
Living on a single income in this society is very difficult. Even affording the basics can be a struggle. We shouldn't be attached to money, but having enough of it certainly makes living in this world a whole lot easier.
This is another time when you might have to stop homeschooling so you can go back to work. Don't rush into it, though, because there's a lot to consider.
How You Can Pivot
Sit down with your spouse and consider all of your options. Make sure you have paper and pencil handy so you can compare and contrast different options.
Take into consideration all of the costs of going back to work, including: child care, work clothing, car and gas expenses, school fees/tuition, money for extra eating out, etc. Then see how that compares to staying home and living on one income.
If your spouse can increase his income, great, but if not, then maybe there are ways you can cut back on spending. Google this and hopefully you'll find ways to cut back that you haven't thought of.
If you need something more structured, there is Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, but consider checking out this Catholic site if you need some help. I can't vouch for its effectiveness, but it sure looks like it could help.
Is there any way that you could make some money from home. Do you like to sew or craft? How about an entrepreneurial venture, selling something on the side? What about working with Vipkid and teaching English to Chinese students? There are so many possible ways you can use your time and talent and work from home to supplement your income.
Catholic action you can take: Pray a novena about your finances and ask for guidance about how to fix or supplement them.
A helpful article you can read: "7 Saints to Call on in Times of Financial Struggle"
Yes, Homeschooling is Hard...
But isn't everything worth doing hard, too? Sending your children to school will not be any easier. There will be demands on your time during the day that you don't have now. Homework will still need to be done and kids will still need to be nagged.
What I really want you to consider here is why you're considering quitting homeschooling and sending your kids to school. I'm certainly not saying that there aren't valid reasons for quitting. Don't get me wrong on that.
We all go through times where it all gets so overwhelming and we think that by sending our children to school, things will get better. And they may, for awhile.
But didn't you at one point feel that God was calling you to homeschool? If that is so, then you can't take that responsibility lightly. God will give you all the graces that are necessary. Really dig deep to remember why you felt that calling in the beginning.
Fr. John Hardon and Homeschooling
Servant of God Fr. John Hardon has had a lot to say about homeschooling. If you need to be re-convicted about why you should continue to homeschool, read this article he wrote.
He definitely was a champion for parents being the primary educators of their children in all things. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of that calling because we get so lost in the details of the day. We question whether God's grace is there at all and instead, focus on the difficulty of getting everything done.
Fr. Hardon Said,
"Let me be clear. I am not merely saying that home education is necessary in the modern world. This is not a conditional necessity. It is not just because the modern world has become so widely or deeply secularized that home education has become a necessity. No!
I make bold to say that one of the main contributing factors to the secularization of a once strongly Christian culture has been the neglect of
- sound
- orthodox
- authentic
- courageous
- magisterial
- historic
Catholic teaching in faith and morals by parents, in the home, from the dawn of the infancy of their children."
Your Next Step
Once you've finished reading here, take some time to do the following:
- Really pray about your call to homeschooling. Ask God to give you the grace to see what He really wants and then to carry it out.
- Have a good, long talk with your spouse about things that you think need to change. Share your frustrations and work out a plan to try to minimize them.
- Get organized in any way you can. I cannot stress how much this will help.
- If you don't have one already, put a prayer plan in place. Homeschooling is hard so you need all the heavenly help you can get.
- Come back to this post to be bolstered whenever you need it. If you want someone to help convict you to carry on, just contact me and I'll be happy to help.
God bless you on this journey. After homeschooling for this long, I can tell you there are definite seasons of difficulty and ease in this journey. Do whatever you can to strengthen your will and carry on in spite of them!