Getting Back to the Homeschooling Rhythm after Vacation

 

 

You come back from a fun vacation and you are faced with the challenging reality of getting back into routine. When you are back, you have to immediately play catch up with the daunting laundry and the forever- going home duties. Do we even have to mention returning to work? You know you don’t even want to face what awaits for you. Reality hits, and you have a hard time adjusting. Now you know how you feel. Imagine your kids feelings of facing their own reality with school and their chores. What do you do?

Two things that has helped me ease the transition from vacation mode to homeschooling and working mode are:

One, say NO to last minute commitments.

It is a fact, you already have plans (or at least ideas), for how you want your first week to go. You plan in which days you will do what and you get a call for a last minute invitation to a birthday lunch, or outing with friends who want to catch up after your trip. It will be difficult, but in order to get back to your rythm you will need to say no and to avoid any additional stresses to your week. If you try to please everyone, you will be upset and will feel like you are getting behind because you won’t have enough time to do schooling with your children.

Two, you want to take it easy.

The kids, just like you, will not be in the mood to get back to school, so a light start to the returning week, and gradually adding more things to do each day will ease with this transition. On the first day, try doing something fun, like a lap book, an art project, or simply do a few subjects outside on a picnic blanket. You can also cover one of the main subjects (Math, Writing, Spelling, Reading) plus a fun activity like the ones mentioned above for a good start. You then add another subject the next day, and a bit more each day during that first week, until the routine comes back into place. You would have comfortably eased into the homeschool rhythm again, and you and your children will be more accepting and less stressed about it.

What do you do when you come back from vacation? Do you go straight to the routine, or do you ease into it? Would love for you to share in the comments!