Seeds of Wisdom --- Finding Your Motivation

As wonderful as homeschooling can be, it can sometimes be difficult to find the motivation to do it everyday.  Today, the Seeds of Wisdom panel question is "How do you motivate yourself to homeschool (particularly when you are sick/tired/busy/etc.)?"

Aurie

I have time worked into our daily schedule, so it is really routine for us right now. I've made a comittment to educate our girls, and nothing is more important than that!

Jessica

Homeschool is so much fun - I have a problem keeping myself motivated to work on other things! But seriously, it is the same for me as it is for Sam. I have the entire year planned, and I want to stay on track so we can finish. If there is something that gets rough or I begin to dread, that is my clue that something is amiss in my planning or the curriculum. I start trying to figure out what's not working and go from there. If I am sick or overwhelmed, we take the day (or maybe just part of the day) off. It's amazing how the flexibility of homeschooling can work toward fitting all those lessons in even when it feels like there isn't time for anything! We front-load our weeks in order to leave Fridays mostly open, which gives us extra catch-up time if we need it. We also like to work right up to Christmas and take a shorter summer break. It all works out in the end. Remember, you can homeschool on the weekend if you want! M-F from 7:50 - 3:30 is not the only time your children can learn.

Marla

I think about my ultimate goals for my girls and remember that daily instruction is the only way to achieve those goals.  It also helps that Abigail gets up in the morning and almost immediately asks to "do school" - how can I say no!  

Nessa

Knowing that the path to their futures lay in my hands motivates me to get up and give them everything I've got everyday ♥

Sam

I remember that I have all of our weeks planned for the year, and if I mess up a week, I have to redo all of that work. We do a 4 day week, so I give us the option every week of either taking Monday or Friday off. We end up taking Monday more than Friday, as Sunday is the busiest day for a minister's family. It is nice to have that flexibility built in.

Tracy

Routine and having the lessons already planned are key for me. Also, I think it's important to know yourself. For instance, if I start making too many exceptions or becoming too flexible within a given week, it's hard for me to stay motivated. I have to be rather rigid with our schedule simply because I know myself. So if flexibility motivates you, allow yourself room for flexibility. If routine is your motivator, than allow for that. If fun crafts and activities motivate, plan for them. Sometimes, just the fact that I need something to blog about is accountability to put the extra work into it. Find what works for you!

How do you motivate yourself?