Turning Around a Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Homeschool Day

Bad homeschool days happen to everyone. Whether you’re in your first week of homeschooling or your fifteenth year, you’re going to hit a day where everything feels off.  In this week's little coffee break, Carrie is tackling a topic that hits home for every homeschool parent: those days when nothing goes right. You know the ones—where you feel like you’re living in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.   In this week's episode, Carrie shares five simple tricks to turn around those bad homeschool days, whether you’re a newbie or a veteran.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up, and join Carrie for a little heart-to-heart talk.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hi y'all, Carrie D here. Welcome to the Coffee with Carrie Homeschool Podcast. Join me every Thursday for some much needed encouragement, coffee, and conversation. It's my prayer that this podcast will help you homeschool one step at a time, one day at a time, and one cup of coffee at a time. If you're blessed each week by my podcast, make sure you check out my book, Just Breathe and Take a Sip of Coffee. Homeschool Simply and Enjoyably. And my latest book, Homeschool High School, a handbook for Christian education. Then share a podcast with some of your homeschooling friends who might need a little encouragement this week. Even better, let's get together for a coffee date. I meet with moms all over the world to help them tailor their home education to meet their needs, their budgets, and their homeschooling style. You can find me at my website, coffeewithcary.org, or on Instagram at Coffee with Carrie Consultant. So stick around, pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up, and take a little coffee break with me. Let's get started. You know the ones where you feel like you're living in Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day book. Poor Alexander had gum in his hair, no dessert in his lunch, and he even had to go to the dentist. We've all had homeschool days that just feel as chaotic, where the kids are grumpy, the lessons are a mess, and you're ready to move to Australia like Alexander. But don't book that flight just yet. Today I'm sharing five simple tricks to turn around those bad homeschool days, whether you're a newbie or a veteran. So grab your coffee, get comfy, and let's dive into how to save a rough day and maybe even make it a great day. Now, bad days are normal. Let's get real. Bad homeschool days happen to everyone. Whether you're in your first week of homeschooling or your 15th year of homeschooling, you're gonna hit a day where everything just feels off. Maybe your kids are bickering or you're stressed out and snapping at everyone. In our homeschool, we had plenty of those days, and I've learned that the key is having a plan to turn things around. Now, one thing that helps us reset is stopping to pray together. It's a moment to pause, to seek peace, to take a deep breath, and to ask for patience and guidance. It centers us and reminds us why we're doing this in the first place. Now, today I'm going to share five strategies that worked for us when the days started spiraling. My hope is that these ideas will give you some practical tools to rescue your own very bad, horrible homeschool days. And don't worry, you're not alone in this. We're all in this homeschooling journey together, and I've got your back. Now, let's jump into the first tip. First, take time to evaluate and regroup. When a homeschool day starts going downhill, the first thing I did was I hit the pause button and I began to play detective. Why is this day so tough? What's going wrong? Is my kid overtired from a late bedtime? Are they frustrated because of a really tricky concept? Or let's be honest, am I the one bringing the cranky energy? Taking a moment to figure out the root cause is crucial. For example, one morning my son was dragging his feet through our reading lesson and I was getting quite irritated. I stopped and I realized he woke up way too early, and I didn't give him time to hit a few baseballs before we started our lessons. So I adjusted. We took a short break, I gave him time to chill and to hit a few baseballs. If I'm the one in the bad mood, I'll pick tasks that let my kids work independently for a while, like play a game or to draw, so that I can just sip my coffee, pray a little bit, and reset. The point is to try and identify the problem and then tweak your approach for the rest of the day. It's not about forcing the day to go as planned. It's about being flexible to meet everyone's needs that day. Next up, one of my favorite ways to hit the reset button is reading aloud. There's something about curling up with a good book that can shift the entire mood of the day. Now in our house, we loved clever authors like Jules Lester and silly authors like Lewis Sacker and Ronald Dahl, books like James and the Giant Peach, Wayside Stories from Wayside School, and The Phantom Toll Booth. I remember one awful homeschooling morning when my daughter was in tears over fractions. So I put the fractions aside and I grabbed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After reading about the Oompa Loompas and Grandpa Joe for about 15 minutes, we were giggling and the day was back on track. But you don't need Ronald Dahl to make this work. Any book your family loves will do. Picture books, chapter books, even some silly comic books. Pick something, snuggle up, and then read aloud together. It's a little escape that helps everyone to reconnect and it lightens the mood.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

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SPEAKER_01 6:23

Now you probably already know my third tip, and that's play a game together. This one was always a lifesaver in our house. We loved board games, and our go-tos were phase 10, nurts, or others call it Blitz, and Dragonwood. They're fun and fast paced, which was perfect for turning around a bad day. One time we were having a terrible afternoon. Everyone was grumpy, including myself, and we were getting nowhere with our science lesson. So I put the science away and I pulled out an oldie but goody clue. I let the kids team up against me too, because there's nothing like a little competition and teamwork to save the day. We spent 20 minutes laughing and chasing the clues. By the end, we were smiling and our moods were lifted. Now, if games aren't your family's thing, that's totally fine. Then do something that includes family bonding time or something that requires some teamwork. Anything that feels fun and brings you closer. That's what you're gonna do. You know your family best, so pick what works for you. Now, tip number four is all about shaking things up with a change of scenery. Sometimes a bad homeschool day just needs a new setting to feel fresh. If you can, take your schoolwork outside to the backyard, head to the library, or even set up at a coffee shop. For us, there's nothing better than doing lessons outside in our backyard under our favorite tree. It's like a mini adventure. One day when we were all feeling stuck, we packed up our books and we went to the park. The fresh air and new environment worked wonders. If leaving the house isn't an option, even a short walk around the block can recharge everyone's batteries. The key is to break the routine and give everyone a chance to reset. Try it next time your day feels off. It's amazing how much a little change of scenery can help. And finally, tip number five. Sometimes you just need to stop. Yes, I'm giving you permission to scrap the day. Take a ditch day if you have to. We've all had those homeschooling days where pushing through just leads to yelling or tears or hurt feelings. When that happens, it's okay to just call it quits for the day. You're a parent first, not just a teacher. So your relationship with your kids matter more than checking off every worksheet. Always choose relationships over academics and always choose connections over curriculum. Let's be honest. If everyone is feeling tired or cranky, pushing them to finish just is wasting everybody's time. If your kids are in fight, flight, or freeze mode, then whatever you're trying to teach them is just going in one ear and out the other. It really is a time saver, a sanity saver, and a relationship saver if you just stop for the day and try it again tomorrow when everyone is fresh and ready to learn again. So, what do you do instead? Well, the possibilities are endless. Take a break, go for a walk, try a nature scavenger hunt while you're outside or hike to explore the outdoors. Grab some paper for drawing or coloring or writing in your journal. Press flowers or maybe write a letter to a friend or a thank you card. Get your hands dirty with some gardening and have fun building a solar oven out in outside with a pizza box. Then make homemade pizza together or reorganize the kitchen cabinets and drawers for a fresh start. Head outside to watercolor or paint or giggle over doing a few mad libs. Visit the library or a local bookstore for inspiration or make lemonade and set up a little stand and sell it. Get creative with knitting or sewing or crocheting or macrame, whatever is your passion. Take time to just play with Legos or to play with play-doh or slime or hey, pop some popcorn and just watch a fun movie or documentary for the rest of the day. Get moving with some exercise, draw with chalk on the driveway, or have a pillow fight or water fight to get all the aggression out. Do chores together as a family. It's amazing how teamwork and manual labor can shift someone's mood. You can even call grandma or a friend for a play date or make a cup of your favorite coffee or tea and just chill for a while. In our house, we've ditched lessons to dig into our subscription boxes that I kept for rough days just like that, or to snuggle up with hot cocoa and a nature documentary. The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility. So use it to bring joy and connection. So there you have it, y'all. Five ways to turn around a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad homeschool day. First, don't forget, stop and pray. Then evaluate what's going on and regroup. Then try some read aloud. Then try playing a game together. Then try and change the scenery and know when to stop. Now, if you would like my list of 50 ways to save a homeschooling day, make sure you subscribe to my website, coffeewithcary.org. This week's email newsletter will have a link to that list. Y'all, bad days happen, but they don't have to define your homeschool journey. Try these tricks and tips next time things go off the rails. And then let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear your tips for saving a bad homeschool day. So drop me an email or a direct message on Instagram. And if you're having a lot of bad days, then let's meet for a one-on-one coffee date. We can meet on Zoom, and I can help you figure out the trouble spots and how to eliminate the chaos and the confusion, and then to give you the confidence that you need and want to educate your family at home. So go to my website, coffeewithcary.org, click on the coaching tab, and then pick a day and time that works best for you. Let's meet for a coffee date soon. Thank you for hanging out with me and for joining me for this little coffee break. It's our prayer. Our website, homeschooling consulting services, podcasts, and books, will help you homeschool one step at a time, one day at a time, and one cup of coffee at a time. We're praying for you. Stay healthy. God bless, and see you next time.