Taking Care of Ourselves
Welcome to Day 6 of the Back to Homeschool Challenge! Last week our challenge was to work on some of the nuts and bolts of our homeschools:
- Our first challenge was just to spend a few minutes reflecting on the journey we’re on and being grateful for the opportunities we have as homeschoolers
- Then we spent time Organizing our Homeschool Work Space
- And we made sure we’re *actually* ready to homeschool in each subject. Double checking that we have the curriculum & books we need.
- We topped up on Homeschool Office and Science Supplies (without overshopping!)
- We thought about Chores and Homeschool Life – Finding a chore system that works
Today we’re going to talk about taking care of ourselves. It is absolutely essential that we are taking care of ourselves and not just giving and giving to the rest of the family. What’s your plan of action for taking care of yourself this fall (and beyond)?
Be sure when you are filling your schedule with events, co-ops, and activities for the kids, be sure you also schedule in those things that energize you.
What will you do to fill your bucket? Will you join a book club, a choir, plan a weekend getaway with a friend, read, schedule regular date nights, special coffee dates with friends?
Ask yourself, How can I make space for beauty, love, and play today?
What can I do today that will help me to be energized and happy in the long run?
How will you unwind and relax?
Make sure you’re taking time for yourself.
Speaking of scheduling things, be careful not to over-schedule your lives.
Do you remember last week when we filled out the curriculum grid to see if we were taking on too much academically? Today (and this semester) make sure you don’t over-commit yourself (and the kids).
I keep track of our activities on a paper calendar that I keep in a 3-ring notebook. That notebook comes with me to meetings and events where I might need to schedule in new activities. Our calendar is always free to download. Here is our latest one that covers July 2016 to June 2017: Free Calendar Printable
But you know how you like to keep track of life — perhaps its a mounted wall calendar, a large desk calendar, an online calendar — whatever you use, just be thoughtful about what you say yes to!
Finally, do you have an exercise program? If not, get started today! Get into the habit now before you start adding in all the school subjects. That time you spend going to the gym, going for a walk or run, jumping on the exercise bike, going for a hike or playing raquetball with friends are essential. They help you clear your head.
I still can’t go running long distances (residual problems from all the ear issues and the six surgeries I had a couple years ago – you can see the video about all that here: What in the world is semi-circular canal dehiscence? if you’re wondering about the crazy symptoms I had…. Anyway, back to exercise… So this fall, I’ll continue to go walking and have added in weight lifting. Nothing fancy, but I’m following the beginner program outlined in a book I bought this summer called Strong Curves (affiliate link). I wanted someone to outline a bunch of exercises… and I’ve been doing that twice a week now for about six weeks. It has a good combination of arms, core and legs so it suited my needs. I’d like to move that up to three times a week and add in the third beginner workout they have outlined in the book… (Hey, but at least I figured out how to do the two and am doing those regularly!). And my kids are also now old enough to play raquetball. I took them each once this summer (separately) and they *loved* it! Me too… So it looks like I might take them to play regularly. Fun!
I hope you got the gist of this post. Make sure you are finding things that keep you refreshed. We are with our kids all day long and taking that mental break and time to yourself is key to keeping from burning out!!
Often, we get our best ideas and our biggest inspiration while taking time for ourselves!
Are you getting ready for the new Homeschool Year? These posts might be helpful:
Homeschool Planning for Next Year (Free Planning Pages): Homeschool Vision Planner
I shared these free Homeschool Planning Pages that I use as I try to figure out our long-range homeschooling goals. This post shares share the process I go through as I plan out the next year… I shared the planning pages that I’ve been using the past few years. I like having colorful planning pages to work on. This isn’t really a weekly/monthly planner, but rather a homeschool vision planner. This 30+-page pdf is currently FREE to download! Let me know if it’s helpful! ~Liesl
Free Homeschool Planning Pages (Homeschool Vision Planner)
You might also be interested in these FREE Homeschool Curriculum Resource Guides:
If you are looking for more practical homeschooling tips, you might be interested in our Homeschool Planning Series with tips on Creating Your Homeschool Curriculum. We have three (of four) free resource guides available for K-1, Grades 2-3 and Grades 4-5. (The Grade 6-8 Resource Guide is mostly finished. I hope to share that early this next Fall 2017.)
Creating a Homeschool Curriculum: Kindergarten, Grade 1 This FREE 50-page Resource Guide has been created to answer some basic questions: What subjects should I cover? Where do I start? How do I know what to teach. It offers topics, units and hands-on activity ideas that might appeal to your kids.
Creating a Homeschool Curriculum Grades 2-3 FREE 30-page Resource Guide
This guide is a starting point for choosing the material you might want to cover in your homeschool. What subjects, units and topics should you cover in Grades 2 and 3? Where do I start? This resource guide will offer suggestions on what topics and hands-on activities might be engaging for your kids at this age.
Creating Your Homeschool Curriculum – Grade 4-5 FREE Resource Guide
As many of you know, we started a Homeschool Den Chat FB group last January.We take a summer break, but so I’m not posting at we’ll resume regular posting toward the end of August. This is a closed FB group to share what’s working (and what’s not) in your homeschool. It’s a place to talk about the ups and downs of homeschool life.
• Share what’s working in your homeschool.
• Get inspiration from others!
• Talk about homeschool strategies that work.
• Learn from one another.
Find out more about the Homeschool Den Chat Group here.
See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! You might also want to check out some of our resources pages above (such as our Science, Language Arts, or History Units Resource Pages) which have links to dozens of posts. You might want to join our free Homeschool Den Chat Facebook group. Don’t forget to check out Our Store as well. 
~Liesl
I’ve chosen not to use pop-up boxes at this point, but you can click here to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter! Newsletters will resume in the Fall.
Happy Homeschooling! ~Liesl
