Everyone has a bad day every once in awhile, even homeschool families. Find ways to recharge a bad homeschool day into a family bonding experience.
You stumble into the kitchen, half asleep, to grab some coffee after being up most of the night with a teething baby.
Your preschooler has decided today is a perfect day to pull out every item in every cabinet throughout the house and make one large pile in the family room.
Your fourth grader, wiping away tears of frustration, refuses to do math ever again.
A certain teenager may have whiplash from rolling her eyes at your every word this morning.
Before you race back to your room to disappear under your covers for the rest of the day, recharge your bad homeschool day to make it a family bonding experience instead.
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Do you ever have a day when everyone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed? A day when everyone is whining, fighting and complaining, and no one wants to do schoolwork, including the teacher?
So what do you do? Do you just continue on with the day and ignore the groans? Throw in the towel and say forget school today?
Instead of either of those choices, recharge your bad homeschool day and have a fun day of bonding with your kids instead.
5 Activities to Help Recharge a Bad Homeschool Day–that still count as school!
1. Make a fun snack with your kids.
If your kids are anything like mine, food is always on their mind! So begin your recharge in the kitchen. Bake some cookies, chocolate chip muffins, or a treat you don’t make often. Let your kids help and sneak in some math! It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you are gathered together in the kitchen with the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafting from the oven.
2. Choose a fun read aloud (or several).
As your snack is baking, find a fun book or two from the bookshelf. Then grab your snacks and cuddle together on the couch for a read aloud of a family favorite or a book they haven’t heard yet. If the snacks haven’t pushed the grumpies away, have your kids find some quiet hands-on activities to use while you read.
3. Add in time to study nature.
When we’re fighting bad attitudes in our house, we head outside for a nature walk. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re out studying nature. You could step out to your backyard, take a walk around your neighborhood, or drive to a local park or nature reserve for a short hike. Where you go doesn’t matter as much as getting outside to let the fresh air and sounds of nature battle those grumpy attitudes.
If you’re forced to stay indoors due to weather, grab a nature book and enjoy the pictures or learn about something new. Kids love learning about insects, flowers, or outer space. Park next to a window and count the birds you see outside. Nature just has a way of putting things in perspective and giving adults and kids alike a chance to sit and think as they observe the world around them.
4. Gather everyone for an art project.
I’d take a guess that your kids probably enjoy art as much as mine do! My kids love to paint with watercolors or color with chalk pastels. So grab some computer paper and an art medium you enjoy, and gather everyone around the kitchen table to relax and create! You can have a focused lesson or just allow your kids to draw or paint whatever comes to mind. Make sure you join in on the fun too!
You could even join your art to your nature study. Have your kids draw what they observed outside. Look through those nature books for ideas too. If your kids enjoy playdough, grab or make a batch and create 3D images of your nature finds. Add an additional sense and listen to soothing or upbeat music while you create your art. I dare you to stay in a bad mood after that!
5. End the school day with a game or movie.
Games and movies can definitely count as learning experiences. We love to watch movies that are based off of books we’ve read. It’s fun to compare and contrast the book and movie. You can choose a movie you haven’t seen yet. Or watch a family favorite that you know will put everyone in a good mood. What better way to end your homeschool day than cuddled up on the couch together. Don’t forget the popcorn!
We also enjoy playing games as a family. Games like Farkle and Yahtzee work on important math skills. A new favorite game for our family is Risk, which helps develop problem solving and criticial thinking skills. My middle boys also enjoy creating their own games. Creating a game is a great activity to take minds off of grumpiness and focus on something fun.
Bonus Activity: Dance Party!
If all of those above activities fail to chase away the grumpies, then you must put on some upbeat music and have a dance party! It is impossible to stay in a bad mood when you are dancing to a great song. We enjoy dance parties so much that we start each homeschool day with one. I chose a 4 minute song at the beginning of the school year, and each morning we gather and dance. It’s puts everyone in a fantastic mood, even Mom, and then we’re together and ready for a great day.
It’ll be hard to stay in a bad mood for long when you and your kids enjoy the fun activities above. Tasty treats while listening to a great book will calm everyone down. Then a nature walk energizes the family as you get out in the fresh air. Continue by bringing out your artistic nature in a fun project. Then relax with a game or movie. You and your family will recharge your bad homeschool day into a wonderful bonding experience. Those tears from math frustration will have to be wiped away to another day, though there’s no guarantee you won’t see a teenage eyeroll or two, especially as you bust a move or two during your dance party.