Homeschooling isn’t always snuggling around a couch, reading a lovely book, or gathering around a table engaged in education. Often, it’s dirty laundry, refereeing fights between kids, keeping the preschooler busy so she doesn’t color on siblings’ spelling work, and other not-so-fun tasks that go along with living in the real world. Sometimes, it’s not the kids feeling less-than-excited about another day of learning adventures; sometimes, it’s me! Here’s a list of things that help me when I’m feeling meh about the task ahead. Re-Reading My Favorite Homeschooling Books The first thing I do when I’m feeling “meh” is revisit the three books that have influenced me the most regarding…

Last year was pretty much the worst year ever for my family. We lost my father-in-law in February, and my mother-in-law went into assisted living memory care. Then, my dad died quite unexpectedly in early September. My brother began a series of health emergencies, and I flew out to California to be there with him in October. Then, when he was starting to do okay, my mother-in-law suddenly took a turn and passed away Christmas morning. Despite all the grief and worrying, homeschooling still had to happen. Girl Scouts meetings still had to be planned, and parents still needed to parent some emotionally distraught kids while being emotionally distraught ourselves.…

It’s been a minute. In December 2021, I was overwhelmed with responsibilities and adjusting to what “normal” would look like after the pandemic’s acute phase. I had a new baby and ailing parents and in-laws. I decided to set this blog aside for a bit and focus on other things, with the idea that I would wrap the posts from this blog under Well-Caffeinated Mom. It didn’t help that a blog transfer went sideways, and I lost a large chunk of my posts. I was frustrated, burnt out, and plain tired. However, moving the blog never felt quite right to me. While I speak to a similar audience at Well-Caffeinated…