Do’s and Don’ts for a Mid-Year Reboot

Overview: We’re halfway through the year. Need to make a change? If so, be sure you check out these tips for a mid-year reboot so you avoid some common mistakes!

We’ve made it through Christmas break and all the December craziness and most of us have a few full weeks of schooling under our belts this year. Do you feel energized?

Or are you concerned that you haven’t gotten enough accomplished so far this year?

Do's and Don'ts for a Mid-Year Reboot

Since many of us are reaching the midpoints of our year, this is the perfect time to look back and decide what is going well and what we could revamp. Are you completely thrilled with how everything is going, or would you like to reboot and make a few changes?

If you want to make some changes, be careful. There’s a good way to do it and a dangerous way to do it.

Here are some Do’s and the Don’t for a Mid-Year Reboot:

Do’s

Be encouraged by the good

It’s important that we hang onto the good things that are happening in our homeschools. What kind of progress are your kiddos making? 

Be sure to consider academic subjects as well as character issues, maturity, relationships, etc. Remember, there’s so much more going on than just reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Record what is going well.

Be realistic about the bad

It’s highly unlikely that everything is wrong with your homeschool. Be honest about the areas where you’d like to improve.

If you’re reading through a book that’s just plain boring and doesn’t have the value you hoped it would, ditch the book.

If your child is struggling to understand the way a certain curriculum presents information, consider making a change.

Talk to your kids

Ask your kids how they feel things are going. Talk to them about where they feel they’re struggling. 

Ask them what they really like about this year so far. Ask them if there are any changes you could make which would help them learn even better.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Boys

I have one son who told me he’d rather read a book about a topic he isn’t as interested in than to watch a video about it. He said he’s much more likely to tune out and not pay attention to the video… while he’s quicker to notice if he’s zoning out while reading and can get his head back into the game before continuing on.

I wouldn’t have known that information without talking to him!

→ Related Content: Are You Stressed Out, Homeschool Mom?

Discuss with your spouse

It’s important to keep our spouses informed about what’s going on in our homeschools so that we can benefit from their knowledge as well.

Ask them what they’re noticing. Are there any changes they feel we should make at this point in the year?

Pray before you make any changes

This is the most important DO of all. If we pray over our homeschools and our kids regularly, God will give us a push in the right direction when we need to make changes.

Don’ts

Compare your child

Remember, all of our kids are unique. God has all of them here for different reasons.

Don’t compare your children to each other to decide whether or not they are behind. Don’t compare them to the publicly-schooled neighbor down the street. 

And don’t compare them to other homeschooled kids, either.

Get frustrated

When we leave our happy place, it is very unproductive. Ninety percent of our problems are caused by our own thoughts.

If you need to make a change, make it. Try to make non-emotional decisions. And try to keep things in perspective. 

Remember that even if you feel a child is behind in a certain area, it isn’t the end of the world. And who decides how much progress our kids should make each year, anyway?

That should be us – not some “expert” who doesn’t even know our child.

Get too radical

The last thing you want to do is to throw it all out and start over. Be realistic about what needs to change and let the rest remain as it is for now.

Sometimes it’s best to stick with something for the rest of this school year and make a change the following year, even if isn’t everything you had hoped.

Evaluating our progress is a good thing; however, we need to be careful that we aren’t too harsh in our judgments. Remember that our goal shouldn’t be to copy the local public school.

Our goal should be to help our kids have a great relationship with God – and to prepare them for whatever He has in store for them in this life.

Question: Are you where you’d like to be in your homeschool progress? If not, what kinds of mid-year changes are you planning to make? Please leave a comment below.

Do's and Don'ts for a Mid-Year Reboot
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7 thoughts on “Do’s and Don’ts for a Mid-Year Reboot”

    1. Michelle Caskey

      Thanks, Erin. Yeah, I think lots of us feel a bit off this time of year. I know that having more cold, cloudy days always makes me feel less energetic. Take care and thanks for stopping by!

  1. January is always a time to re-boot, isn’t it? Thanks for the wonderful advice. I especially like your point about talking to the kiddos. I keep my little ones involved in nearly every step of the planning process; that way none us is in for any big surprises.

    1. Michelle Caskey

      Yes, January is a good time to reboot with homeschooling and with lots of other areas in our lives as well. Sounds like you’re starting out well if you’re keeping your kids involved in the process. Good job! Have a great weekend – and thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  2. I love the focus on the positive–what’s working. By mid-year it is easy to feel overwhelmed or discouraged. Now is the time to see the great things that were accomplished so you can be inspired to keep learning happily-together.

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