As a mother, you’re wearing a few hats: wife, mother, cook, housecleaner, CEO of the home; the list of hats we wear can be pretty darn long.
And on top of that, you homeschool!
So how do you do it all without abandoning your equilibrium and emotional well-being?
I'm going to give you 10 strategies you can use to reduce daily stress and maintain your sanity.
If you're already a highly organized person, you may already be using them. If you're anything like me, you need to do a little work to turn them into good habits.
Mastering even a few of the 10 strategies will make a big difference for you. The trick to success is to start with one strategy and make a habit out of it before you move on to the next strategy. Small, consistent steps every day will be your road to victory.
#1 Start your day off on the right foot
Decide what you need to do in the morning to get yourself in the right mindset for tackling the demands of. your day with more peace and calm.
Create a plan that is easy for you to follow. If it means getting up at 6:00 am so you can exercise, read half an hour, or meditate, then make the necessary changes you need to get your routine in place.
And stick to it like your life depends upon it because the quality of your life will depend upon it.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
#2 Have a morning routine for your children
To eliminate stressful mornings with your kids, establish a morning routine for them too. Their routine might look something like this: wake up, wash faces, brush teeth, make beds, get dressed, tidy rooms, and be ready to eat breakfast. at a certain time. Once breakfast is over and the kitchen is cleaned, the day officially begins.
When children know what you expect of them in the morning, they'll get into the habit of doing it when they're young. When they get older, you won’t have the kind of endless battles with your kids that too many parents struggle with today.
#3 Determine your homeschooling priorities for the day
Decide what your top 3 homeschooling priorities are and do them first. Once they are completed, you will feel more relaxed for the rest of the homeschooling day knowing that the most important work is done.
#4 Unless someone is dying, you are at work, period.
Nine to five employees do not take personal phone calls, run out of the office to help a friend, or waste time on social media. And neither should you! There will be exceptions to this rule, but the general rule is to treat homeschooling as if you are employed by someone else.
You have answered the noble calling of not only raising your children but of educating them too. Be your own demanding boss! Yes, you are allowed to call in sick now and then, but it should be the exception, not the norm.
If you stick to this simple rule, you will waste less precious homeschooling time and you will experience less overwhelm and stress.
#5 Keep your phone and all connections to the outside world off
This is an extension of #4 because when you work from home a strange phenomenon occurs: everyone you know seems to think you have nothing to do.
Friends and family will call to chat or to ask for favors of you, but if you think you can talk for a few minutes or do just one little thing for someone, you’ll end the day frustrated with yourself. It happened to me too many times, and it is one of the most important pieces of advice that I can give you. There will always be someone in your life with a problem, but remember that it is their problem, not yours. Don’t make it your, too.
Because five minutes is never just five minutes!
Your only solution here is to train family and friends to understand that during business hours, like them, you're at work. Be consistent in setting your boundaries and do not stretch them for anyone unless it would be inhumane not to. They will soon get the message, and extra demands on your time by family and friends will cease to be a problem.
#6. Reduce your task load
You will help your children develop good character by teaching your kids, as early as age three, to do chores. As they get older, they do more chores which means you have less to do.
School-age children can do just about anything around the house you teach them to do, even help you with meal preparation. It’s important to their development that they grow up learning how to contribute to the upkeep of the home.
#7 Plan your meals in advance and keep them simple
Time is not your best friend when you’re homeschooling, and you've got to conserve it whenever you can. Meals are one of the first to take a hit for the disorganized parent.
To avoid not having healthy meals on the table, get in the habit of shopping on the weekends for the next week’s meals. Prepare meals that will last more than one night. Casseroles like lasagne or Shepherd's pie are great for weeknight meals.
As the children get older, they can plan the weekly menu and even help you cook, all useful skills that they will need to learn.
“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.”
#8 Make sure your children do some form of active play or sports every day
Letting your kids burn off energy and have some fun after studying is guaranteed to put them in more peaceful and relaxed moods later. When the kids are peaceful, we feel less stress. My quick “go to” for burning energy is an indoor mini-trampoline. Keep it on a carpet or soft surface to protect your child from any tumbles they might have.
#9 Have an evening routine to wrap up the day and wind down the kids
Whether it's reading together or playing board games or playing music together—whatever your family enjoys, do something that involves the whole family and puts the kids into a more relaxed state.
When it comes time for bed, you can put lavender or wild orange essential oils on the soles of the children's feet and the back of their necks to help them fall asleep quicker, and then read them a bedtime story, and they will peacefully and contentedly doze off.
Once the kids are asleep, you have more time to relax and enjoy your evening which helps to keep your stress levels down.
#10 Lastly, but most importantly, take care of yourself
You are the engine that is driving this train, and you have got to stay in good shape physically and emotionally. Have at least one hobby or past time you enjoy doing once or twice a week, without your children.
It may be going out to dinner with your husband, having a coffee with friends, taking a yoga class; you decide, but make it something that reinvigorates you.
If you’re struggling to think of some things to do, as sometimes we get so consumed by motherhood that we forget the things we liked to do before we had children, you can download a free copy of 30 Things a Mother Can Do to Feel Cheerful!
“Come back!” the Caterpillar called after her. “I’ve something important to say.”
This sounded promising, certainly. Alice turned and came back again.
”Keep your temper,” said the Caterpillar. ”
Don’t miss our free download, 30 Things a Mother Can Do to Feel Cheerful!
When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework for homeschooling the "whole" child for brighter, happier, engaged kids who can get into the top-20 colleges and excel in their personal and professional lives.
Too many homeschooled kids are not reaching their full potential because parents are struggling with how to raise and educate a "whole" child—a child who is well-developed physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually—so that their children receive a first-rate education and are well prepared to blossom and succeed in their life's journey.
The Smart Homeschooler Academy, with Liz as your guide, is the answer.
Teach your child to read before sending him to school! Learn more about Elizabeth's unique course, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.
For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s original online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.
Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.
As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 22+ years of experience working in education.
Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.
Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.
"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”
—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
