I haven’t blogged much through the holidays and while I could make the usual homeschool excuses – holiday baking, Christmas crafts, sewing costumes for the live nativity we put on in our backyard every year, etc – I know I should just be honest. I haven’t blogged much because I haven’t had much, if anything, useful to say. Why? Because homeschooling in the winter is hard. Our house is plagued by late-risers (of which I am the worst), laggy brains, low-energy and a general lack of desire. Have you ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? It’s a form of depression caused by seasonal changes, such as a lack of daylight and sunshine. In Minnesota we don’t scoff because it. is. real. And, I think there may be a mutated strain that hits cold-weather homeschoolers particularly hard.

We’ve been back to school for two weeks now following our Christmas break, but I feel like we’re still struggling to get back into the swing of things. We are behind on our curriculum and need to majorly step on the gas to meet our typical schedule of ending before Memorial Day. I’m worried that my kindergartener isn’t learning as much as my previous kindergarteners because our curriculum is fun, but light. I’m concerned that my older two are majorly missing out on science because our curriculum incorporates very limited topics. We’re usually much further along in math by this time of year. Attitudes are generally in the toilet and I spend at least as much time coaxing people to dig in and do their work as I do actually teaching.

I knew this year would be different because it’s my first time teaching three, but I don’t think that’s a significant contributing factor. If you take out the environmental triggers of a long Minnesota winter, I fear the biggest culprit may just be a lack of scheduling and control on my part. Ouch.

Do you feel like the winter blahs have grabbed hold of your homeschool? What can we do to get things back on course for success? As homeschoolers we frequently lament our kids lacking attitudes, but what do we do when our attitudes are just as bad? Here are a few ideas I’m hoping to implement (right after my afternoon nap):

• Mom has to wake-up earlier to set the day’s tone (Give. Me. Strength.)
• Pick a school start time and stick with it.
• Don’t skip entire sections of curriculum; it’s a slippery slope.
• Don’t let “light” or “catch up” days turn into “no school” days.
• Identify a few good winter field trips that make you feel like you’ve still educated your children, but also gotten everybody out of the house.
• Plan a short vacation. If finances won’t allow a traditional vacation, aim for a day-cation. Bagged lunches and “homeschool day” deals can make a day-cation very affordable.

These ideas aren’t magic bullets, but are simple, small steps we can take to help us feel more in control of our homeschool days. Winter homeschooling is often about digging in, plugging along and just gettin’ ‘er done. It’s not glamorous, inspired, or some days even particularly enjoyable, but it’s necessary, good and honorable. Scratching out progress now will reap benefits come April when we don’t think twice about spending the first 60-degree day entirely outside. Dig in, friends. We’ll get through this together.

How about you? What are your tips for breathing new life into your January homeschool routine?