Spring Fever

When I was working as a speech pathologist in a public school, I started each August with great enthusiasm but by March was very ready for the school year to end and was counting down those last days. Even though I have been homeschooling for over 16 years, I haven’t felt that degree of burnout. Generally by spring, though, I have lost some enthusiasm. We have gotten into a routine of doing the same things each day and are doing fewer creative and hands-on activities. Ironically, as we are coasting to the end of the year, I am poring over catalogs and getting excited about NEXT year! (OK, I admit—sometimes the planning is more fun than the doing!)

But—I don’t want to coast. I want to keep up our interest and enthusiasm. Here are some ideas for breaking that daily routine and livening up your home school:

-School outside. As the weather warms up, we like to go outside on our deck to work. Something about the fresh air and hearing the birds sing cheers us up.

-Take a surprise day off. When the kids get up in the morning, announce a bike ride or morning at the park instead of school that day.

-Plan a special unit. In May, we’ll be dropping our usual science and social studies to do a Beyond Five in a Row unit. I’m also doing a couple of American Girl (Addy) activity/book study days with our homeschool group.

-Using workboxes has helped keep the interest up in our homeschool. Every day, I try to include one “fun” box—often a game. We use my Super Star games a lot because they are quick to play. Sometimes, I put in a craft activity or just-for-fun science experiment.

-Another workbox addition I have used this year is physical activity—not serious or lengthy exercise, but  something quick and fun to burn off some energy. Bear walk around the house. Run up and down the driveway. Ride your bike for 10 minutes. Do 30 jumping jacks.

What cures for “spring fever” do you have?

This post is participating in the TOS Crew Blog Cruise.