momee Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) I've been homeschooling 9 years and have experienced my fair share of burnout. I always. Every. Single. Year. want to quit due to "me" reasons. I hate that the bus looks so fun. That backpacks, lunchboxes and tennis dates with MY friends tempt to override my convictions. :) Every fall I really look at what life for MY children would be like in public school. I eagerly re-read TWTM chapters on the why's and benefits of homeschooling to remind myself. I borrow books from the library about the current state of education to remind myself. I watch movies and if they have teenagers in schools I focus on how true their experiences are (and aren't)...and then I take all that and compare it with what benefits my children are getting at home. (This applies to my family, your experience may differ) It helps too to talk to public school moms who are supportive of homeschooling. They help remind me what I might think is a pro might not be so much. (ex: teachers instead of mom - the teachers have to be better than me! type stuff) I asked my son who wanted so badly to go to ps in early high school years to tell me again why he wanted to. When I hear those reasons I think what those reasons would have done to help him now. (socially, educationally, morally, etc). Then I asked him if he thinks I should put his sisters back in and he reminded me of all the great things he learned as a home schooler. Sometimes though I still wonder at my ability to do it all and think I'm crazy for keeping them home. By spring that feeling is gone:tongue_smilie: Edited August 31, 2012 by momee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 So, I'll have to wait till spring, ugh :glare:. I'm only going into my fourth year of homeschooling and I'm feeling very much the way you describe. Roll on spring ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I forgot to add going to the presidential rally and having ice cream sure did help that first week of homeschool vs. first week of public school letdown we normally experience!!!!!! Ice cream helps, lots, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Right, ice cream. That's going at the top of my shopping list. I like your coping strategies :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Dh brought me home TWO pints of Ben and Jerry's last night. No lie. And we don't even start til Tues! I'm going thru the exact same thing as you, for the 9th year in a row. I just keep telling myself that God has called me to this and He will surely equip me. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Dh brought me home TWO pints of Ben and Jerry's last night. No lie. And we don't even start til Tues! I'm going thru the exact same thing as you, for the 9th year in a row. I just keep telling myself that God has called me to this and He will surely equip me. :grouphug: We start on Tues too! So you recommend starting the ice cream now then, in preparation. Great, I'll just pop out and get some. Two pints of Ben and Jerry's is the correct dosage? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Let me clarify. That event's ice cream was for the kids. The stash of ice cream at home is NOT for the kids :lol:. We actually have to detox from eating like summer kids. We have to learn to cut out sugar for breakfast and eliminate eating every 20 minutes as part of our back to school routine, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 :grouphug: I have been hsing for 6yrs, but don't have any in highschool yet. I second guess myself constantly, but somehow little things pop up here and there just when I need some reassurance. I don't think I will ever stop, it's a vicious cycle with me. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Two pints of Ben and Jerry's is the correct dosage? According to dh, this is correct. MUST be chocolate. NOT to be shared with the kids. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) Dh brought me home TWO pints of Ben and Jerry's last night. No lie. And we don't even start til Tues! I'm going thru the exact same thing as you, for the 9th year in a row. I just keep telling myself that God has called me to this and He will surely equip me. :grouphug: Well, now I need some Ben & Jerry's, but my Dh has always been challenged when it comes to knowing medications, dosages, etc. :tongue_smilie: I'm not even sure if we are starting on Tues. Sometime next week. We'll be slowing ramping up b/c that's about what I can handle. I did not have feelings of doubt until a few years ago. I did read in another thread a poster who said that after a few years those feelings went away, so apparently there is hope! Same things already mentioned help me deal with it--- knowing I'd still have plenty of difficulties to deal with even if they went to school, hearing about the schedules of public school families, knowing God has called me to do this and that it is only a season..........and now I have a reason to get Ben & Jerry's! My kids actually have no interest in going public school, so talking to them can be a help. Edited August 31, 2012 by shanvan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Well, now I need some Ben & Jerry's, but my Dh has always been challenged when it comes to knowing medications, dosages, etc. :tongue_smilie: Mine kept emergency pixie sticks around the house for me when I was pregnant. Sometimes when he calls home and can hear it's a bad day, he says he's bringing pizza for dinner. He's an angel in this way, but my waistline is expanding the longer I homeschool lol! I pray we all have a blessed school year. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I'm glad I'm not the only one in a funk right now. We also start Tuesday. My boys have been driving me nuts lately, and I told dh tonight that "I'm tired, and school hasn't even begun." I think part of it for me is that all of our closest homeschool friends have moved - 3 wonderful families - the moms & the kids all got along so well. I've never felt so at peace with my journey as a mom and homeschooler as when we were all together. I'm starting this year, with only 1 mom left. It feels daunting to have to go look for more friends for all of us, as if I'm completely starting over at the beginning again. It would be so much easier to plop them on a bus, have them meet peers at school, and for me to have down time and a clean house during the day... I just keep praying to God for strength. He led me to this, so he'll get me through it. I have to take it one day at a time or else I become so overwhelmed. :grouphug: to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Well, it's not just you. I was curled up in a ball crying the other night, telling my husband I didn't want to hs anymore. Fortunately the worst part of the feelings were just PMS. But I'm still burnt out. Not with the school part. I absolutely love teaching. The "school" part of homeschool is going better than it ever has. It's all the rest that's so hard -- four very strong personalities being together all day long, me as a socially-challenged mom being responsible for making sure my kids have time with friends (which for some reason means I have to do all the inviting because no one ever invites my kids anywhere :glare: ), dragging my kids to the gym only to find that childcare is full and I have to go home like a loser while my ps mom friends are working out, trying to keep my daughter on task while keeping my littles from destroying the house (and dd7 can't be in the room with them because she freaks out when they make noise while she's working). Yeah, I'm burnt out. I want so bad to send them next year to the very nice classical school that's 10 minutes from my house. But I can't justify spending $5K per year per kid while their college funds sit empty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I am always like this in February. Oh, man....I so want to shove their little butts onto the bus every Feb. September, well, We have new stuff. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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