How to Reset When Your Homeschool Day Turns Ugly

When homeschooling you are going to have good days and bad days just like with anything else. When you have a day that you feel like a failure or your kids won’t listen or do their work, please don’t give up on homeschooling. Know that every single homeschooling parent has days like these. I have had to text daddy at work several different times because one of my kids was refusing to do what I asked them to do. Our kids are people like us and can be in bad moods just like adults can be. If your day starts going in a bad direction, here are some things to try and get it back on track.

• Work on a different subject and come back to the subject that’s causing an issue.
• Read aloud from a book they enjoy.
• Offer them a snack. It’s hard to work when you’re hungry.
• Get them moving around. Have them do some jumping jacks, stretches, or run in place. Kids have a hard time sitting for long periods of time.
• Play some background music
• Make it a game. For instance, ” Let’s see how fast you can finish this!”
• Offer incentives. For example, if they do their work for so many days without complaining in a row, you can go to the children’s museum, park, or movie.
• Do a reset. Have them go to their room for few minutes, put on clothes if they are still in pajamas (Which mine normally are), and come back to the school room and start the day over.

If none of these things work, you may need to have a talk with the other parent and both of you come up with a discipline plan. Decide if they are having an obedience problem. Do they obey other times, or is this just something that happens during school? I have had to take away TV privileges or going to a fun activity. Remind your children that if they were going to public school they would have to do the work they were given at school and then have an hour of homework when they got home. They are so lucky!

What has worked for you when your children have a meltdown and don’t want to do their work? What is the subject that your child is the most reluctant to do? Share with me what helps your family in the comments or if anything listed above has helped.