It's time of year again for many homeschoolers who start in September. Burn-out kicks in around mid-March. You start wondering, why did I start homeschooling in the first place? Am I ruining my kids? Manu such doubts enter the stratosphere of your thinking and the horizon, the end of the year, seems cloudy. Some ideas to get a kick in the pants:

- Slow down your routine
- Spend more time outdoors (whether it's reading or math on the grass, it will do your children good)
- Take a field trip or two
- Read why other homeschoolers homeschool (check out blogs such as this) and be reminded of your goals and values in the first place. Next year you can be proactive and write out in September or October why you're homeschooling and a letter to yourself that you know it's going to get tough, but it's important to you to stick to it. Read the letter when burn-out strikes.
- Schedule a family vacation. The children will learn through your travels anyway.
- Make sure the essentials are covered, such as reading, writing and math, and take it easy on the rest
- Schedule a visit with a local specialist, be it a dentist, craftsman, florist, jeweler, construction worker, farmer or artist and learn about what kind of work they do


Good luck getting through the slump! For those of you who are not homeschooling with the traditional school year, like me, it may hit you at a different time. Since we're homeschooling from January to November (with breaks in between), burnout will likely hit us in early Summer.. June or so. Perfect time to hit the beach, pool or take a vacation in a slightly cooler place (yes, you read that right.. cooler. We live in South Florida, and it gets very hot and humid here in the Summer!).

So take it easy, one day at a time. Make sure you recharge your batteries so you can be extra fresh to teach your children.