This is a guest post contributed by Stephanie Radcliffe. You can learn more about Stephanie in her bio at the bottom of her post.

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When we decided to home educate as a family, something I wrestled with and often still do, is this sometimes daunting feeling that “it is all up to me”. You know the saying ‘if mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy’? It also feels true that ‘if mama can’t get the routine ship sailing, ain’t nobody else going to go sailing that day either’. And sometimes it just feels like my rudder is stalling out.

My personality thrives on excitement and change to freshen up and bring newness to the mundane of the every day. But that can sometimes feel exhausting to continue to throw all of the balls up in the air to juggle in order to keep us all engaged and captivated by what we are learning and doing throughout our days.

Sometimes it feels like I have to reinvent the wheel every day or every week in order to keep us all grooving. It can be exhausting and if I’m not feeling it, can really make me lose steam.

Several weeks ago, I realized that I was doing just that, losing steam. For the sake of routine, I was tying myself to a very long “morning time” and my children began dreading it and so was I. I didn’t mean for it to be long, but because their attention spans weren’t up for it, it was taking longer than it should’ve. I wanted to do all the things. I wanted them to gain exposure to rich literature, poems, and biblical truths. I also wanted to make it light, fun and engaging. But no one was having fun when there was too much, and we were too tired to get to language arts and math for my 6 year old, by the time all was said and done. And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to do an interest-led unit study or a beauty loop (music and art) in the midst of all of that!

So I stopped. I just took it all out. Almost all of it. I went to a blank slate. I took the parts that were exhausting out and just sat on it for a few days.

As I observe and live our days together, I see what’s working and what’s not. I see where my children seem bored or frustrated. I see where I am bored and frustrated. I stop. I start. I reassess. And what might look on the outside like a lot of mismatched, moving parts; on the inside, our hearts are learning a rhythm that allows us to thrive together. I took a look at my curriculums I had been using, pulled out ones I had been wanting to use, and sat down to figure out a plan to switch things up. I started seeing how switching things up, to our homeschool routine, breathed life back into myself and into them and before I knew it, we were doing more than we had done before because it was light and fresh. I was slowly able to add things back in but because they were new and different, and the kids wanted more.

As I reassessed and created a new plan, I came up with a few tips to help me move forward. It was the perfect time to do so, as spring is arriving and it feels like a good “spring cleaning” to our homeschool days.

Here are 10 Tips for a good “Spring Clean” for your Homeschool:

Talk to other homeschool moms and find community. We all need one another for encouragement, wisdom, and advice! Ask them about their routines and habits and glean wisdom from them. I talked to a few homeschool moms when I felt in this rut and I took different pieces and parts of how they structure their days to experiment within our own home.
If it’s exhausting, take it out. Now, I know you can’t take everything out. You can’t just say good-bye to math and not teach it, but maybe you can take a break, find some supplemental curriculum, or shorten your lessons by picking and choosing what’s most important. I shortened our morning time to about 15-20 minutes. I began experimenting with new things such as a composer study that we hadn’t ever done before. We added more read alouds and coloring sheets (if they wanted) while I read. I saw the things my kids had mastered and cut those out. Or I saw where I could review them in other parts of the day. The books that my children weren’t into, I stopped reading from and found other books that engaged them more. The topics I saw them light up about, I ordered more books about or found more YouTube videos for them to watch.
Speaking of checklists, ditch the checklist and try game schooling! Some days I just let the ‘check list’ go. I do what’s most important or let game schooling be our lesson for the day. This morning, we played a version of Quiddler and spelled sight words together, check for our reading lesson today.
Try a unit study, a picture study, or something new! A few weeks back, we set aside any normal looking “morning time” for us and did some unit studies instead! We delved deeper into some of our nature topics such as snowflakes and sharks!
Make theme days, so you have something to look forward to and have a skeleton to build on for the week. For example, we are trying: Music Monday, Truth Tuesday, Watercolor Wednesday, Poetry Thursday, Fun Friday!
When you’re too tired, rest. Let yourself off the hook. Listen to your body, mind, and heart. You know the days I’m talking about. If you can push it, do so! But if you simply cannot, don’t underestimate the beauty, education, and richness of snuggling up with your children with a good book. Put on a movie and pop popcorn and/or build a blanket fort, make the movie choice educational and possibly about something you’re studying!
Take care of yourself! “Spring clean” yourself by adding in a workout if you don’t already, eating healthy, and doing something that brings you joy each day! Even if it’s as simple as lighting your favorite candle or snagging 10 minutes to read a book of your choice.
Get outside! There’s nothing that can help re-shift your focus when you’re stuck in a rut, than getting out in nature! In fact, it’s the perfect place to respire curiosity in yourself and your children to spice up your studies at home! Don’t be afraid to ditch the normal routine and get out to the hiking trails, beach, mountains, etc. to let nature be your classroom!
Take time to observe! Trust yourself and your children! Remember, it’s not all up to you! It’s up to your children, too! This is their education and they will lead you in the right direction. Take time to observe them. How they learn, their likes, dislikes, natural bents, strengths and areas to improve upon, and let this guide you!
Remember togetherness! Throw out any preconceived notions of what you thought homeschooling would look like or what school “should” look like. Make being together the priority and let your days flow from this!

I don’t have to fear that I am changing things up too much or that our “rhythm”is more of a mismatched puzzle than a smooth paved path, because the journey is just as important as the destination. The exposure is not lost on them and it gives me the time to observe them and our routine to continue to tweak and tinker to fine tune our days.

And it won’t ever be completely fine tuned. What works one month won’t likely work the next. I can use the curriculum as a guide and skeleton but I can also feel the freedom to go where the wind blows. I can trust my children when they’re bored and dreading something. I can use that as a sign post and a guide. That’s not to say that they can completely dictate every part of our day or curriculum, as there’s something to be said for doing required things despite not wanting to, but within reason and with careful observation, I can pay attention to these feelings. As well as my own, feelings.

And this is the beauty, freedom, and flexibility we get in home education. The privilege to suit our children best. The opportunity to shake things up, “spring clean” our days, observe our children, and know that the “mismatched” days and weeks are all a part of a beautiful mosaic being formed.

Let’s not believe the lie that ‘if mama can’t get the routine ship sailing, ain’t nobody else going to go sailing that day either’. We can trust our children, the process and the knowledge that learning is everywhere! We can have the confidence to keep breathing life back into our own sails and our children’s each and every day!

Hi. I’m Steph. Believer. Wife to Wes & Mamma to 4, ages 6 and under. Homeschool Mama. Coffer & Book Lover. Enneagram 4. Dreamer. Passionate About Authenticity. Content Creator. I love encouraging mamas to bring the Gospel into our homes in an intentional, rich, & meaningful way! I love all things learning through play, nature, & having a learning is living approach. I hope I can inspire you in your motherhood journey help you foster homes of rest, grace, & gentle learning rhythms that nurture your children’s spiritual development along the way. You can follow along with me on Instagram @storiesbeginathome.

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