3 Tips to Beat Homeschool Winter Boredom

When I was a homeschooled student, February seemed to drag on forever. It was cold and snowy (I lived in Illinois). There weren’t many opportunities to get out of the house and winter boredom hit hard. The routine of homeschooling seemed dull, and I was ready to be done.

Now I’m the homeschool mom instead of the homeschool student. I live in the South where the winters are milder, but I have still found the winter months to be a challenging time to homeschool. By the time February rolls around, I (and my kids) just want to be done homeschooling for the year. But we can’t just quit. We have to stick with it to the very end. Here’s a few ideas to help you and your homeschool crew make it past those “winter doldrums.”

1. Make sure you and your kids are getting enough physical activity.

If your children are having trouble focusing on their schoolwork, it’s a good time to get their bodies moving. My children’s brains focus much better when they have had some kind of physical exercise. Check out the blog post “7 Energy-Busting Activities for Your Homeschool” for ideas for physical activities that you can do all year long, regardless of the weather.

2. Go on a spontaneous field trip to beat winter boredom.

When I was a homeschool student, my mom would grant my brothers and me a “spontaneous day off” sometime in February. We would decide at breakfast to take the day off. Usually it would be a true day off and not counted as a school day. Sometimes we would drive to a different city and spend the day shopping. Sometimes we would go snow tubing or ice skating. It didn’t really matter what we did—just having a break in routine was helpful.

As much as I love true days off, I’ve found that a spontaneous field trip can give my family a much-needed refresher and advance my kids’ learning at the same time. As I wrote in the post “Reasons to Take a Spontaneous Field Trip,” field trips can fuel interest in learning and help boost comprehension. We always have a lot of fun and come back energized to learn again.

3. Change up your homeschool space or homeschool routine.

You don’t have to wait until the start of a semester to change up your homeschool space or homeschool routine—you can do it whenever you want to. (Homeschool win!)  If your kids are feeling bored with their space, let them be creative and craft some decorations. One of my daughters loves to make things for her desk and regularly makes new pencil holders, notebook covers, bookends, and whatever else strikes her fancy. She loves being at her desk because it is “her” space.

If your kids are feeling bored with the school routine in general, it might be time for a homeschool refresh. Maybe it’s time to learn a new skill or work together on a family project. Maybe you need to incorporate more hands-on activities to fuel interest. Small changes can make a big difference!

I love the flexibility of homeschooling. I also appreciate the power that I have as a homeschool mom—when I see that my children are bored and struggling with our homeschooling routine, I have the power to do something about it. Hopefully, these ideas will help you and your homeschool crew through these tough days and that you will truly experience happy homeschooling.

Looking for some specific winter activities? Check out “Snow Day Activities: Choosing Joy in Winter“!