5 Self-Care Tips for Homeschool Moms


5 Self-Care Tips for Homeschool Moms | #ihsnet

Right about now, after all holiday hustle and bustle, we may be wishing for a solo vacation!  Can you imagine such a thing as extended time alone? Particularly at this time of year, it’s important for homeschool moms to consider self-care practices.  Attending to our well-being helps us be better mothers and teachers.  For me, self-care right now will not include a solo retreat.  I am guessing it may not for you either.

So if we’re not zooming away from all responsibility, what can we do in the middle of homeschooling and homemaking?

Allow recovery from the holidays

Most of our Decembers were FULL of all kinds of goodness…and also all kinds of chaos and disorder.  There are decorations to put away, perhaps a kitchen to reorder and a bunch of other organizational tasks.

Allow extra time away from the books to regroup. Our family takes the first week of January to do just this — and we ease ourselves slowly back into the schooling routine.  Maybe this will be helpful to you!

Don’t overwhelm yourself with expectations of ‘having it all together’ by early January.

Do a mini mid-year celebration

…for YOURSELF as a teacher!  As you regroup for the remainder of the year, STOP and pat yourself on the back some.  Seriously.  Maybe you’ll write it down (fabulous idea!), or maybe you’ll just think it over.

But take some time to notice the good: curriculum choices that are working, movement forward in a subject area, or just anything you feel happy about in your homeschooling role. Celebrate the progress!  This is a great boost before planning and plotting for next  school year.

Choose ONE winter wellness practice

Decide on one single thing you will practice consistently this winter to benefit your physical wellness.  Brainstorm and think within your time and energy constraints right now.

Here are few ideas:

  • go to sleep a bit earlier
  • drink more water
  • limit social media or other media intake
  • practice 15 minutes of solitude or silence each day
  • take a daily vitamin
  • aim for more walking steps in your day

The reason I suggest a winter wellness practice is so you can renew or release this come late March.

Instead of saying “I’m going to exercise more in 2017”, offer yourself a check-in point.  “I plan to aim for 7,000 steps regularly between January and March” is more specific.  It also gives room to evaluate progress and make a NEW goal or to refresh the old one.  Win-win!

Get together with your balcony people

What are balcony people?  Those who are in the stands of your life, wildly cheering you on.

Whether another homeschooling Mom, a parenting peer or just a great friend, I hope your life includes multiple cheerleaders who want your success just as much as their own.  If so and if possible…get together with these people at least once this winter (maybe without kiddos?).

Community is so critical to our wellbeing; we were never meant to fly solo all of the time.  Check-in often and get together with those who love you and build you up.

Practice Gratitude

This one may feel like a no-brainer, but do we actually put this concept into actual practice?

Unless you and I are intentional, our minds may tend toward the negative and not-so-good going on around us — sometimes I think it’s almost second nature for Moms!  Change the tide of your thoughts by thinking of one thing daily which you feel blessed to have or experience.  Better yet, write it down somewhere.

Practicing self-care sometimes comes across as an insurmountable task — a crazy, lofty idea that real people don’t do.  I get that. I also challenge that thinking.

Choose to practice caring for your wellbeing in small, consistent ways which make you feel good. Your family will also benefit as well.

Daniele Evans

About the author

Daniele is a homeschooling Mama of five kiddos and a voracious reader of books. Passionate about her faith, home and family, she blogs about the intentional lifestyle and writes for other online and print publications. Daniele thinks life is made more enjoyable with a cup of herbal tea in hand!

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  1. Well actually, my mom and I are leaving Sunday for a mini vacation. We have done so the last few years at the beginning of January. My husband takes a week off work to stay with our boys and take over teaching duty. He’s a UPS driver and after the last several weeks, this is a vacation for him too.

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