13 New Year's Resolutions for Homeschool Moms ( That Are Realistic and doable)

How can a homeschool mom come up with new year’s resolutions she can keep?

For many homeschool moms, coming up with new year’s resolutions that are realistic and doable can seem challenging. No wonder a good number of them don’t even bother after years of trying and failing.

This is how the story usually goes.

At the start of the year, we are full of energy, determination and lots of lofty aspirations.

We’re ready to conquer our homeschool struggles and make the year our best homeschool year ever.

Usually, our earnestness only lasts until mid-January (or end of January for some) before reality hits. Suddenly, those goals and resolutions we were so pumped about start looking like pipe dreams.

By the end of January, we are ready to give up and just go with the flow. This is usually the point we switch from “Thriving mode” to “Survival mode.”

At this point, you’re ready for the year to be done already!

You moms know what I am talking about. We’ve all been there.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. It doesn’t have to be this hard. All we need is to be more intentional, realistic and to have a plan.

Your homeschool resolutions mean squat if you don’t have a plan to make those resolutions stick.

Part of the reason many of us struggle with our resolutions is because we don’t have a plan.

Another reason is because, making new year’s resolutions is just something we do since everyone is doing it (or because it’s expected)

But, you can actually make this year different. You can make this year the year you make and stick to your resolutions.

You can do it if you really wanted to.

So if your plan is to improve your homeschool this year, I am going to offer you some homeschool resolutions that I believe you can shoot for and likely achieve.

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HOW TO MAKE HOMESCHOOLING RESOLUTIONS THIS NEW YEAR

The first step to making resolutions is to make a list of the areas of your homeschool you’d like to improve.

What are your biggest struggles? Where do you need help the most?

Once you have done that, you can clearly see where and what you need to focus your time and energy on.

Now without much ado, let me give you some homeschooling resolutions you can shoot for.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR HOMESCHOOL MOMS

1.GET ORGANIZED

I have spoken a lot about the importance of getting organized so I am not going to rehash everything here.

I really do believe that getting organized this year is something to strive for if you want a stress free homeschool this year.

I have two kids and still struggle to get everything done. I think getting organized is even more important when you have more kids.

If you are interested in getting organized, here are 5 simple strategies for disorganized homeschool moms that will surely help.

2. ADD MORE BEAUTY/RICHES TO YOUR HOMESCHOOL

Are you feeling a bit burned out in your homeschool?

You need to add some beauty and riches to spice things up. I know when things get hard, it’s easy to cut out all the fun extras and things that enrich our lives and homeschool.

This year, try spicing things up by adding more music, nature walks, composer study, artist/picture study or anything that adds beauty to your lives.

This applies even if your kids are big kids or teenagers, they need some beauty too to go with the disciplinary subjects.

3. SPEND MORE TIME OUTDOORS

This is one is a bit tricky during the winter months. Thankfully, spring will be here before you know it.

This year, resolve to spend more time outdoors. Get active and breathe in some fresh air.

My kids get a little bit antsy when they are cooped up indoors for a long time, that’s why this year I am going to spend a little bit more time outdoors.

One of my goals for the year is to lose some weight and get more healthy. One way to do this is to incorporate more walks into our lives.

I will use every chance I get to go for a walk and take the kids with me so they can burn off some energy too.

In the spring and summer, I plan to get involved in some more outdoor activities with the children.

You don’t have to go anywhere fancy or far from home. If you have a fenced backyard, your kids can play there as long as you keep a watchful eye on them.

4. MAKE SOME SUBJECTS COME ALIVE

Nothing beats experiential knowledge. This year, add some more field trips, visits to museums,art galleries, farms or some historical sights.

This is a good way to make history come alive for your children. If you can afford it, add some travel to some important/historical places you have read about.

You can also make science and history come alive by adding more hands-on experiments or switching from text books to living books.

There are so many ways you can make your homeschool subjects come alive and make homeschooling more enjoyable.

5. HAVE REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS

This is a good idea for all those people in your life who think you’re available anytime.

Let them know that you’re unavailable during certain hours and you should not be disturbed unless there’s an emergency.

Choose the hours that work best for you and stick to them. It will help you to stay focused and consistent.

If you have been doing homeschooling haphazardly, this year you can resolve to be more consistent and regular.

6. LISTEN MORE

I believe in listening to my kids and asking them for feedback.

This year, resolve to listen more to your kids. Are your kids easily distracted? Are they defiant? Are they struggling with a particular subject or not getting their school work done?

Listening to them will help you get to the heart of the problem.

I always ask my kids questions about how they feel our homeschool is doing, questions about their progress and if they have suggestions for making things better.

I don’t always implement their suggestions, but I know they like it when they feel they are been heard and their opinions matter.

7. CHANGE WHAT ISN’T WORKING

Do you keep doing the same thing even when they are not working? One of the best and easiest new year’s resolution for homeschool moms is to change what isn’t working.

Change is scary and it’s more comfortable to stick to what you are familiar with.

But, there comes a time when the only way to be successful as a homeschool mom is to make changes.

If you have been holding back from making some changes to your homeschool, let this year be the year you do that.

It can be anything from curriculum changes to when you go to bed or your homeschool method.

Whatever it is, be willing to change anything that’s holding you back.

8. READ MORE BOOKS

I have talked a little bit about the importance of self-education and learning.

If we want to grow readers and kids who love to learn, we must lead the way and model the behavior for our kids.

When you’re a busy homeschool mom, finding the time to read is a challenge, but we can’t ignore the importance of reading.

What you can do is carve out some time in your day for reading. It doesn’t matter whether it is fifteen, twenty or thirteen minutes.

I have always loved reading but I noticed in the last few years I haven’t been reading as much as I used to.

This year, I am going to incorporate more reading into my life. This including prereading my children’s books, and reading for my own pleasure and growth.

One easy way to start reading is to make reading aloud part of your homeschool routine. This is a great way to bond with your kids and to relax.

You can do this during a meal, as part of your circle time or last thing at night before bedtime.

My teen still enjoys read alouds and so does my tween.

Some of our favorite read alouds from previous years include:

Charlotte’s Web

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Anne of Green Gables

Alice Adventures in Wonderland

A Little Princess

Heidi

I will share more read alouds as we complete them during the year.

9. LEARN A NEW SKILL

Do you need to learn a new skill that will make you a better homeschool mom or homemaker?

One thing you can do to improve your homeschool is to learn a particular skill to help you become better.

There are lots of courses and online classes you can take to learn a new skill (the skill doesn’t have to be homeschool related).

Maybe you’re trying to start a business or you want to learn how to do or make something.

I would really like to learn coding so I can do some technical work on my site. That’s one of the skills I’d like to learn this year.

Is there a skill that you need but you keep putting things off because you can’t find the time or because you’re just a little bit lazy?

This year, resolve and commit to actually learning that skill so you can improve your life or achieve a specific goal.

10. REVISIT YOUR OBJECTIVES

Are you struggling with homeschooling or feel like you’re failing at homeschooling?

One thing you can do is to revisit your objectives. What’s your purpose for homeschooling? What motivates you?

Why is this important? It’s important because it’s easy to lose track of the reasons we homeschool. In the midst of so much busyness you can easily lose your joy and perspective.

Revisiting your purpose would serve as a reminder for why you started this homeschooling journey.

Hopefully, you can draw new inspiration and motivation so you can keep pressing on.

11. USE DAILY TO-DO LISTS

If you struggle to stay on track and get things done, a daily to-do lists can be helpful.

Each day write everything you expect to get done and cross them out of your list. You can also give your older kids a to-do list or an assignment sheet so the know what’s expected from them

While this isn’t necessary, you may find it helpful if you are easily distracted or dissatisfied with how much you accomplish each day.

I have used to-do lists and I find them to be really useful for staying on top of my work and not spending too much time on one activity or task.

It’s also a helpful way to prioritize your tasks.

12. DELEGATE

As a busy homeschooling mom, there’s only so much you can do.

Instead of getting overwhelmed and burned out, delegate or outsource some things.

I like to be in control of things so I tend to struggle when it comes to delegating.

I feel the only way things can get done the way I like is for me to do it myself. What tends to happen is, I start feeling overwhelmed and grumpy because I am trying to do so much all by myself.

It’s okay to let go of some things to ease the pressure and free up some of your time.

Start by making a list of tasks you can delegate to your kids, husband or outsource to someone else.

You can start with simple tasks and move on from there until you feel more comfortable with bigger projects.

My son is at a stage where I need to get him some help for his math. I am looking at different options but I know it’s something I need to do.

Take a good look at your homeschool and ask yourself if there are some things you need to outsource because you lack the skillset to do a very good job.

Be honest with yourself,and don’t feel like you’re a failure. It’s called knowing your limits.

13. GO BACK TO BEING A MOM

Many of us fall into the trap of becoming too much of a teacher and less of a mom when we start homeschooling.

I have been guilty of this too. If you don’t watch it, you can strain or destroy your relationships with your kids.

If this is an issue for you, ask for forgiveness and begin to mend your relationships.

I will put my kids in school before I destroy my relationship with them.

This year, resolve to be more attentive and present for your kids. When things get out of hand, remind yourself that you’re a mom first.

Give the kids and yourself grace and don’t stop loving them and being their mom.

Spend quality time with your kids outside regular school hours. Don’t make everything about homeschooling.

Go back to being a happy and fun mom and relax a little bit.

HOMESCHOOL RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR

It’s great that you have plans to do amazing things this year but the question is will you still have these feelings by the middle of the year?

Will you take action or keep putting things off?

Do you know that if you haven’t taken any significant first steps to implement your new year’s resolutions within a week or two after January 1 chances are you’ll never achieve it and most likely will abandon it?

I really hope some of these resolutions can be helpful to you and that you will stick with them until the end of the year!

To recap: