Stop Starting Over Every Spring

EP249: Spring often brings a quiet wave of homeschool doubt. Parents start noticing unfinished curriculum, lower energy, and the pull to be outside — and suddenly it feels like the whole year is falling apart. In this episode of the Art of Homeschooling Podcast, Jean explains why homeschoolers often feel behind in March and April and how to stop starting over every spring. You'll hear practical ways to simplify your homeschool rhythm, ease spring burnout, and redefine what “enough” learning really looks like this time of year. 

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Find the Show Notes here  https://artofhomeschooling.com/episode249/

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Transcript

Welcome And Episode Setup

SPEAKER_00 1:01

You're listening to the Art of Homeschooling podcast, where we help parents cultivate creativity and connection at home. I'm your host, Jean Miller, and here on this podcast, you'll find stories and inspiration to bring you the confidence you need to make homeschooling work for your family. Let's begin. March and April are when many homeschoolers quietly panic. You might not say it out loud, but suddenly you start thinking things like, we're so far behind. There's no way we're finishing this curriculum. Maybe I should just start over with something new. And before you know it, you're halfway down a rabbit hole researching next year's curriculum while the school year you're in right now still has some time left. If that's happening to you, I want you to know something. You are not doing anything wrong. You're just hitting the very normal spring wobble or spring slump as some like to call it. Today I want to talk to you about why this happens and how to stop starting over every spring. So listen up because I have five tips for you. First of all, there are a few reasons why this time of year can feel especially wobbly. Spring fever is very real. The weather is changing, the light is different. Everyone wants to be outside again. Here in Ohio, we've gone from 70 degree weather down to 20 degrees and back up into the 50s. All in a matter of just a few days. It's such a tease. We're right around the spring equinox as I'm recording this episode, and everybody is ready for spring to arrive. And this time of year, after months of winter rhythm, sitting down to do lessons can suddenly feel harder. Our motivation to hunker down with a good book or lessons around the table begins to wane this time of year. And honestly, that's not failure. That's nature. That's the natural cycle of the seasons. The second thing happening is that we can see the end of the year on the horizon. When the finish line appears, it's very easy to start doing that homeschool math in your head. You start counting pages, counting lessons, counting chapters, and suddenly the thought appears, there's no way we're finishing all of this. And then the panicky question arrives: do we need to homeschool all summer? And then, of course, there's burnout and fatigue. By spring, most homeschooling parents have been carrying a lot for months. Planning, teaching, directing everyone, supporting emotional ups and downs, managing the household. Even when homeschooling is going well, this is simply the season when energy for lessons often begins to break down. For me, I'm ready to turn my attention and energy to tending seedlings for the garden and bird watching season. For my kiddos, they always wanted to just go outside and play. And the last thing I want to mention of why spring creates this sense of panic in homeschoolers is the comparison trap. Spring is when you start hearing things like, wow, we finished our curriculum already. Or someone posts their stack of completed main lesson books online or some examples of main lesson books that they've done this year. Or you just imagine that everyone else is much farther along than you are. And suddenly you start wondering if you're the only one who feels behind. Spoiler alert, you definitely are not. Please do not compare your home school to what you see on Instagram or Pinterest. Here's the pattern I see over and over again. Spring arrives, things feel messy or behind. So parents start looking for a new solution, a new curriculum, a new plan, a fresh start. But the truth is you do not need to start over. What you usually need is to simplify and adjust for the season you're actually in. Spring homeschooling simply looks different than October homeschooling. And that's okay. That plan you made last summer or over winter break, it just needs a little tweaking. Instead of starting over, here are five ways to shift your homeschooling this time of year. First, simplify. If you've listened to the podcast for any length of time, you know I'm a big believer in simplifying. Spring is not the moment to add more structure or more curriculum or completely revamp your daily rhythm. It's the moment to ask, what are the few things that matter most right now? Maybe that's reading, math practice, and one specific block topic to finish before the end of the year. Believe me when I say everything else can soften a little. If you've never heard my podcast episode about the minimum viable homeschooling day, be sure to check out episode 208, your permission slip for simple. I'll put a link in the show notes to that episode, and you can find the show notes for this episode at artofomeschooling.com/slash episode 248. Second tip, go on more field trips. Spring is a wonderful time to learn outside the house, at museums, nature centers, historic sites, farms. Sometimes a field trip does more for learning than pushing through another workbook page or main lesson book drawing. Let someone else, like a museum docent, do the teaching. And then you can come home and build some other learning activities around that. I often say the experience before the explanation. And field trips are great for someone else designing that initial experience. Third tip: read aloud more and teach less. One of my favorite spring strategies is leaning heavily on read alouds. You can still explore your topics that you had in mind for this time of year, but in a lighter way. Listen to the stories. Read books connected to your block topic. Have lots of conversations around the table or over tea. Not every lesson needs to be a full-blown main lesson production this time of year. Check out our book hearth guides. These are hands-on literature guides built around one great read aloud for the whole family. I'll link to those in the show notes as well. Fourth tip: meet friends outside. Some of the richest homeschooling moments happen on hikes in the woods, creek walks, park days, connecting with friends. Children visit with each other, observe, explore, and play in ways that support their development deeply. And homeschooling parents get a chance to visit with each other as well. Remember, learning doesn't only happen around the table. And finally, tip number five, redefine what enough looks like. Progress doesn't always look like completed work or main lesson book pages. Sometimes progress looks like a child understanding something for the first time, a great conversation about a story, a discovery made outdoors. Learning is happening even when it doesn't look tidy. And honestly, this moment in the year is exactly why I host the Taproot Teacher Training for Homeschoolers every summer. Because what most homeschooling parents need isn't more curriculum. You need the confidence and the guidance to use what you already have to learn to design your own lessons and engaging learning activities for your children. At Taproot, we spend the weekend learning how to design and adapt engaging lessons, work with child development, bring core subjects alive with stories, art, music, the lively arts, as we call them, and make curriculum truly fit your family. Taproot is immersive, creative, and incredibly encouraging. You will learn from an entire team of experienced homeschooling parents who will bring their own flavor of hands-on holistic learning to you at the Taproot Teacher Training. If you want to take advantage of Early Bird Pricing, which is$70 off the full price, make sure you get on the interest list now. You can find that linked in the show notes at artofomeschooling.com/slash episode 249. So if spring has you wondering whether your homeschool is falling apart, remember this. This season does not mean you're failing. It means you're homeschooling through real life. And instead of starting over, try asking a different question. How can we make this season lighter? A little more time outside, a little more reading, a little less pressure. Because homeschooling is not about finishing every single page. It's about looking at the children in front of you and bringing them what they need, nurturing a life of learning together. And spring might just be the perfect time to remember that. That's all for today, my friend. But here's what I want you to remember. Rather than perfection, let's focus on connection. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast.