Finishing Strong Part One: 6 Tips For SURVIVING the End of the School Year
Summer. It’s almost here. You can see it; you can smell it; you can feel it! You’ve worked hard for so long, and you’re ready to play. You deserve it.
But the work is not done yet. No matter whether you have stayed on track all year and are in a good place, or you’ve had to modify your lesson plans ten times, having the discipline to finish strong is a major life lesson for your children. And dare I say, it’s good for you too!
I may or may not be preaching to the choir here!
I write this blog to encourage and inspire others, but the truth is that we all need to encourage ourselves from time to time too! So here are my top 6 tips for finishing strong, no matter how your school year has gone!
#6. Take a short break to refresh and refocus.
Nothing fixes weariness like a little R&R. In order to take an unplanned long weekend at this point in the school year, I pare down the schedule to include only the subjects we HAVE to do and stack those on the first two days of the week, being careful not to overwhelm one side of the brain (more about that in a later post.) I call this our “Holiday Schedule”, and I pass it out my kids like a boss, remembering that I am, in fact, in control of the schedule in MY homeschool!
#5. Plan A Field Trip
Field trips are a great way to break up the end-of-year blues! Learning out of the classroom will help you and your kids finish the school year strong.
#4. Walk
Scheduling a ten-minute walk mid-way through the school day will help you stay on track when you’re feeling restless.
#3. Become “Unbusy”
Simplifying your family calendar so that you have ample time to have school everyday is a gamechanger for us. This means saying no to events and activities that are not completely necessary, but I promise, it makes a world of difference in our ability to focus on school.
#2. Plan a fun, end-of-year “countdown” and/or celebration!
This one is simple, yet oh, so effective! No creative energy left? I get it! Check out this list of 9 ideas to help you make the most out of the end of your school year.
#1. Reevaluate Remaining Lessons
Let’s face it. This is necessary. It is #1 on my list for a reason. This is the one thing that helps me more than anything else at this point in the school year. If you completed every single lesson you planned in the beginning of the year, put on your cape and call yourself Wonder Woman!
I have no such cape, and my name is not that cool!
The reality is that we are humans, not robots. Life happens which is precisely why homeschooling is so beautiful! Consider this your get-out-of-jail-free card and stop beating yourself up for not checking all the boxes. If you haven’t been as diligent as you would like to be, today is the day to start fresh. Make a plan to finish the school year strong, forgive yourself, sit your kids down and explain that things are going to be different for the remainder of the year. Then pass out your new schedule to the kids like a BOSS!
Blessings!
Christina