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This is What You Need to Know To Beat the November Slump

Alright homeschool moms, are you feeling the November homeschool slump like I am right now? Slumpy? Unmotivated to do school? A little more apt to let the kids get out of their math lessons?

Are your kids constantly nit-picking at each other–even more than usual?

Is your kids’ work suffering a bit? Things they were doing great at is suddenly sub-par?

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Yep. I get it. It’s hitting our house too. The November Slump is a real thing, folks.

We want to quit.

We want to throw in the towel and get our kids on the next yellow school bus that drives by.

Think about it though, we’ve been going hard for 9 or 10 weeks already! We are weary! There’s no doubt our kids are weary too.

We can overcome this though, there are only a few weeks left till Christmas break and January always brings a sense of renewal.

I’ve got your back, mama. I’ve been there SO many times over the last 12 years of homeschooling.

Here are a few SOLID ways you can overcome November Homeschool Slump:

The November slump is coming, homeschool mamas! Let's get ready together and ward off the "blahs" and burnout by keeping it fresh--here are lots of ideas!

Five ways to beat November Homeschool Slump

1. Take a little break

Sometimes we just need a few days off to put things in perspective. We just took a mini-break, because I just knew we needed it.

You don’t have to take a whole week if you don’t want to–but just a couple days aren’t going to hurt anything. Take some time to spend an extra hour at the library.

Use your zoo passes.

Read books.

Watch movies.

Snuggle.

Do nothing.

Rest.

2. Change it up

If you are sick of the grammar book, you can be SURE your kids are too. Pull out some new curriculum from the closet–you know it’s in there–and shelf the old stuff for a while.

Switch up your daily routine a little bit.

If you do school in the morning, maybe try doing it in the afternoon. This is a great time of year to shelf the regular history curriculum to study Native Americans and/or early explorers. I recommend THIS study!

It’s the perfect time for it and we need a little change in our daily grind.

More Ideas for Changing things up:

  • Take a whole week off regular math lessons and play math games instead each day. HERE is a huge list of our favorite math games!
  • We have been using Key To workbooks for math supplements for several years now. I love how simple they are. These would be a great thing to work through instead of your regular curriculum.
  • Do lots of art! Do a whole week of autumnal art lessons! Chalk Pastel Art has OODLES of lessons you can choose from for fall!
  • Start your mornings with some fall picture books instead of diving right into your regular work.
  • Focus on nature–all the changing outdoors is a great thing to study! I am REALLY looking forward to these new video-based nature classes. These lessons are FULL of ideas to get you out of a slump.
  • CuriosityStream! If you’re not using this resource, you’re missing out! It’s only $3/month in exchange for hundreds of documentaries! This is a great way to change up your regular school day and learn through documentaries!

3. Streamline EVERYTHING!

We make SO many decisions every day. I would venture to say we make 1,000 decisions before lunch! We need to give our brains a break. Streamline your schedule, your extracurricular activities.

Reschedule the dental appointments for January.

Clear your calendar.

Make your meals super simple.

Create a capsule wardrobe so you don’t ever have to sort through clothes to figure out what to wear–make it easy!

Clump your errands according to your other weekly activities. Run errands near the gym when you’re going to gymnastics. Do them all at once so you’re not running around too much.

Let’s beat the November Homeschool Slump by simplifying! Here’s my book on it:

4. Take a Teacher Planning Day

We homeschool mamas get super excited when we plan–we eat that up! Maybe if we took a day to plan, we could reignite that fire we had in August about homeschooling.

>>>CLICK HERE if you need a new homeschool planner<<<

Pick a day to break from school during the week. See above for ideas on keeping kids busy, stock up on snacks and other activities your kids can do without your help, and plan to order pizza for dinner.

Use this day to do some of the following:

  • clean the schoolroom
  • rearrange your bookshelves
  • clear clutter off your desk
  • plan the next few weeks of school
  • make copies
  • laminate things that need laminating
  • read some homeschool encouragement

5. Embrace the Season

Friends, Christmas is crazy. We lose our minds sometimes, but seriously–this is the MOST wonderful time of the year for our kids!

Let’s not fight it with math and grammar–let’s embrace it and make it amazing!

Make handmade gifts, have a tree decorating party, make a thankful tree, have your kids make place cards for the Thanksgiving table.

Simplify your school routine–maybe just cut down everything to bare bones until January. Clear your calendar.

Start planning early and gathering supplies of things you’ll need.

Make this season magical for your kids! It doesn’t have to be perfect to make this one amazing.

The November slump is coming, homeschool mamas! Let's get ready together and ward off the "blahs" and burnout by keeping it fresh--here are lots of ideas!

You can Beat the November Homeschool Slump, Mama!!

We can do this, mamas! We can kick this stagnant, gloomy time in our homeschool year and turn it on its head.

Our kids feed so much off of our enthusiasm–or lack of enthusiasm, so much of the vibe in our home is dictated by us.

Nothing like pressure, huh? Just get down to bare bones and remember why you love homeschooling.

List them if you have to. Don’t miss out on the beauty that’s there for us right now.

The November slump is coming, homeschool mamas! Let's get ready together and ward off the "blahs" and burnout by keeping it fresh--here are lots of ideas!

WARNING: This same slump is probably going to hit again in February…but let’s worry about that later…or better yet, PIN this post for later!

5 Comments

  1. HI Alicia,

    There was no link for the history curriculum. Could you let us know what you recommend? (“THIS”)

    Thank you!
    Erin

  2. Good advice. We are at week 16 right now and only have two more to go until we take a 5 week break. I can't wait. I am trying so hard to get all of our subjects to a good stopping place. We feel a bit crazy over here right now.
    Blessings, Dawn

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