Daily Stuff

 Why do we get burnt out in the first place? Fatigue and discouragement, are the prime reasons. For most of us, if we don't see results right away, we get discouraged. When we get discouraged we get fatigued.

It's sometimes much harder to see the results of our homeschooling, our work, than it is for someone working 8 to 5 and getting a paycheck for it. That paycheck, the result of their labor, keeps every employee going but what do homeschool parents have in which to motivate ourselves when we don't see the results of our teaching? That's when discouragement can set in.

If you are burnt out because you are tired, then take a week or two off of schooling! Sleep, rest, and do some fun stuff with your kids. Get the laundry and the cleaning caught up. It's amazing how strongly clutter, and those nagging unfinished jobs in back of our minds, can sap our energy. Make a dent in the stack of papers needing grading and filing. Taking some time off will not hurt the kids. The only consequence is that you will finish school a week or two later than you planned in the summer.

In order to beat this kind of burnout before it happens, we school for six weeks, then take a week off. We do this for six blocks of six weeks each, for thirty-six weeks of school, which meets my state's requirement with two weeks to spare. During our six weeks of school, we do not take off holidays such as Columbus Day or President's Day. We keep the momentum going, Monday through Friday, with our week break in the not-too-distant future as the reward for our work. The six-one ratio has worked well for us, and God used the same ratio in working for six days to create the world, then taking one day to rest.

1. Meeting the Physical Demands
We only help ourselves head off both fatigue and discouragement before it happens when we help our bodies work efficiently. We should be getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, taking a walk everyday, getting out in the sun (when it's shining), and taking our minerals and vitamins. Often as homeschoolers, we might think we can't afford the time it takes to get enough sleep or take a walk everyday.

We might think we can't afford vitamins or minerals. Really, we can't afford not to. When we