As a homeschool mom, I’ve been there. The overwhelm can be palatable at times. And as a homeschooling enrichment director, I see the “deer in the headlights” look of moms all the time who pass my booth at vendor fairs. So many choices, so many questions when you set foot on this journey and wonder how to find a homeschool routine that works.
Yes, stress can get to us as homeschool moms. We wonder if we’re doing a good enough job or if we are short changing our children. Now my son has graduated, but there will be times even now where I ask him if I really messed him up. He always emphatically says no I didn’t.
But I can remember those days when I’d try a curriculum and it wouldn’t work. Or I would have trouble getting my son, who is high functioning Autistic, to understand a concept. Or I had to homeschool while balancing taking care of the home and also running my business.
For us, though, the stress was highest when the Great Recession happened. My husband’s hours were cut back and at the time we had a vacation rental property that sat empty for months. We were struggling to pay two mortgages and life was out of control.
That’s when I learned about the power of gratitude. It was discovering how to transform stress into blessings that made all the difference for my family and I. That’s what brought our family blessings and peace.
The Power of Gratitude in Everyday Life
What is gratitude anyway? It is an attitude of thankfulness. It’s thinking about silver linings when all the storm clouds make everything seem gloomy and dark. Coming up with these silver linings makes a big difference in our outlook on life, especially when it comes to homeschooling.
One of my favorite stories about gratefulness is Corrie ten Boom, who along with her sister was sent to Nazi concentration camps after they were caught rescuing Jews. There was an instance where Corrie and her sister Betsy were going into a new barrack, which were full of lice or something awful like that. Betsy told Corrie that she had to be thankful. Corrie didn’t understand and proclaimed she could never be happy for it. Well it turned out that she DID become thankful because the guards would not enter the barracks due to the pests being present. This gave Corrie and Betsy free reign to share the gospel! That changed Corrie’s whole outlook on the situation.
We can’t forget Scripture itself when talking about gratitude. Philippians especially has a lot to say on the subject. Paul writes that we need to stop being anxious and instead present our requests to God, with thanksgiving. The payoff is huge—the peace of God will guard are hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Common Homeschool Challenges that Lead to Overwhelm
Of course, being a homeschool mom comes with a unique set of challenges. One of those is juggling multiple roles. I mean, we have to be mothers, teachers, homemakers, wives, daughters, and other roles especially if you have an outside job or you run a business.
Another stress, as I mentioned, is dealing with finding the right curriculum. After all, there are so many choices, how could we possibly pick the right one? And then what if it doesn’t work? Another high stress point is dealing with the pressure of meeting educational standards. It’s easy to always wonder if we’re doing enough or if our child is behind.
Then there’s handling sibling dynamics if you have multiple children. Being the youngest of five, I can remember how difficult that was for my own parents! But then there’s probably the hardest of all problems to deal with—behavior problems. That can drain us as moms and leave us exhausted and burned out. Of course, as mothers it’s easy to feel isolated and unsupported. I definitely dealt with that as a mother to an Autistic child and at that time there really was not much help or awareness.
Let me assure you, though—feeling overwhelmed as I described is natural. You’re not going crazy! What will help? A perspective shift.
How Gratitude Can Change Your Homeschool Routine
You’re probably wondering how you can get that perspective shift. Here’s another story that I love, from Soul Surfer, about Bethany Hamilton. It was her youth group leader, played by Carrie Underwood. She showed a picture of a closeup of a walnut and asked the kids what they saw. From that distance, it looked like a brain! But when you looked at it from far away, you realized what it is!
This requires a mindset shift. For instance, seeing your messy house and realizing it’s a sign of creativity and a house full of love, not that you’re a failure. Realize every day is a learning opportunity even if things don’t go as you plan.
Being intentionally grateful will also improve patience and positivity. You will be better equipped to respond to tough situations with less frustration and more calmness.
Gratefulness can also bring your family together and build stronger family relationships. That’s why teaching your children the value of gratitude can bring peace into your home and foster a loving environment.
After all, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about. No, it’s not all about the turkey!
Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Worry. Believe me, I do plenty of it. But when you focus on what’s going well instead of everything that’s wrong, you will experience better stewardship of time because you’re less likely to waste time on unproductive worrying.
Practical Ways to Incorporate Gratitude into Your Homeschool
So how can you practice this gratitude in your homeschool and indeed your life? Well, first and foremost by incorporating gratitude into your morning homeschool routine with Scripture and prayer. As a matter of fact, I start out each day with a Psalm as I drink my first cup of coffee. After I read the Psalm I pray in response and praise and thanksgiving are the first items that I am talking to God about. I do that again at night before I go to bed.
Another way to incorporate gratitude is to journal and to encourage your kids to journal. Listing out what you are grateful about is a good practice to get into on the daily and having your children do that will go along way to keep their attitudes positive and cooperative.
But what do you do when stress arises, as it inevitably does? Take a gratitude break! Shift your focus back to blessings.
And as I said, end your day by reflecting on your blessings that day, no matter how small. Read the next Psalm that night, repeat it in the morning, and then do the next Psalm that night. I’ve been doing this for years and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the Psalms! It is a rewarding, easy practice to get into and one that will bring you much joy and growth.
Teaching Gratitude to Your Children
While this is important for you to practice, it is important for you to model this attitude of gratitude to your children. This kind of “gratitude culture” can make all the difference with your family.
How can you have this culture? Start with some simple rituals, like sharing something you’re thankful for at meals, or having a blessings jar where your children write down their blessings. Then once a week you read through them as a family.
Of course you can incorporate gratefulness during your schooling. You can use Bible verses on gratefulness for handwriting or make a poster of a tree and then have your kids write what they’re thankful for on leaves made of construction paper that you or your kids cut up. This is a great craft for Thanksgiving time!
Lastly, you can encourage your kids to practice gratitude by putting it into action. How? By encouraging acts of kindness so they can show gratitude in action. This could be helping serve meals at a homeless shelter or picking up trash on a hiking trail or writing a thank you card to grandparents.
Real-Life Examples of Gratitude Transforming Homeschool Routine
Well, since I know our journey the best, I’ll talk about our experiences. I pulled my son to homeschool after a disastrous first grade experience in a private Christian school. I realized that my son had learning differences and that I needed to teach him according to his learning style. That’s why I chose to do unit studies.
From the moment I made the decision to homeschool, I decided that I was not going to bring school home, that I was going to approach education differently. In fact, that I was going to see teaching my son as a blessing. And it was! Sure it wasn’t always easy. But now that he’s almost 24 I can definitely say that I’m very grateful for our time together and that the learning never stops!
Gratitude is indeed an important attitude! Scripture is full of commands about this. One of the most important ones, besides not being anxious, is to think about whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, from Philippians 4:8. It’s really important to guard our thoughts because thoughts become feelings and that can become stress.
Conclusion
So remember that while it’s normal to be overwhelmed, especially about homeschooling, the power of gratitude can lift you above that. Gratitude can change your homeschool routine for the good and help you with those “deer in the headlights” feelings.
There are many practical ways you can incorporate gratitude into your homeschool which is important because teaching your children about gratitude is going to help them (and you) tremendously.
And lastly, you can find many helps about gratefulness in the Bible. Start with the Psalms!
That is indeed a small way to start! Remember it’s the small steps that’s going to make a difference.
Don’t think of climbing a mountain all at once. Just put one foot in front of the other! Before you know it you’ll be at the top.
Because small improvements lead to big changes!
Want to make more improvements? Download my free Blessings and Gratitude Bundle. In this bundle you get a gratitude journal I made for homeschool moms and their children which includes a five day thankfulness challenge for Thanksgiving and gratitude prompts for you and your kids. The other part of the bundle is a blessings journal which includes a fun worksheet to record your blessings, some blessings cards, and a devotional plan on the words bless, blessed, and blessing.
You can get the Free Blessings and Gratitude Bundle by leaving your name & email. We’ll zip it on over to your inbox.
Dana Susan Beasley is a passionate homeschool mom, entrepreneur, and author with a heart for helping Christian families build strong, faith-centered lives. Drawing from her experience as a homeschooling mother of a neurodivergent child, Dana understands the unique challenges that moms face and is dedicated to providing resources that nurture spiritual growth and family unity. She is the creator of the 31 Day Blessings Journey, a devotional designed to transform stress into blessings through the power of Scripture. Dana is also the founder of the Christian Homeschool Family Entrepreneurs community, where she shares practical advice, inspiration, and encouragement for families pursuing their own God-given missions. Follow her on Facebook.
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