Are you feeling drained in your homeschool journey? Discover how to renew your homeschooling purpose by reconnecting with your “why,” setting meaningful goals, and embracing the unique joys of teaching your children at home. In this episode of the Vintage Homeschool Moms Podcast, host Felice Gerwitz shares personal insights and encouragement to help you thrive as a homeschool mom.

Finding your purpose—the reason you homeschool and what makes your homeschool unique is not always easy! In fact, it changes depending on what is happening that day. For those of us who may be drama queens (me during different seasons of homeschooling), it can change even quicker than that. Do you know how many times I threatened to send my kids to “real” school if they didn’t complete their assignments? My kids loved homeschooling, especially the part about staying home, but not doing any of the schoolwork. Okay, I’m exaggerating here, but I pray this podcast is encouraging to you, that you can find your “Why,” set some goals, and have hope that your homeschool journey will bear good fruit. In fact, I would bet on it!

Have you tried to drink a shot of wheatgrass? Yes, you know that stuff that tastes like you imagine fresh cut grass tastes like. Well, for some reason, people love the stuff, say it has great nutritional properties we need, and my co-author, Jill Whitlock (Creation Science Series), used to love it and bring me fresh, processed wheatgrass in frozen cubes when she couldn’t convince me to make my own from scratch.

It gave me energy and worked, but it was hard to get down, hence the shot-glass size. For some reason, I decided to revisit the wheat grass idea and purchased three packages (the just-add-water type). I must have seen an ad for it on Instagram and believed what the lady was selling. Hence, three packages. Have I tried it yet? No. However, I am confident it will work when I do.

Does this happen to you? You get distracted by that shiny thing, the latest, or what other people are doing in the homeschool world that looks like boatloads of more fun than anything you are doing. And you are absolutely sure that none of their kids whine or complain about doing their schoolwork.

How does this relate to renewing your homeschooling purpose? Sometimes we need a shot of wheatgrass in the form of a podcast or a friend who stops by with some frozen cubes to help you get healthy. Most of us—most of you who listen to my podcast—are not the ones I’d find getting manicures and pedicures every week, taking extended vacations without your kids, or going out to lunch with friends multiple times a week.

Nor would I find you playing rounds of golf, tennis, or even pickleball weekly (unless it includes your kids and you are calling it PE). No, you are the ones in the thick of things, managing a home, kids, and a spouse, and still finding time to donate to church or co-ops, or to arrange homeschool field trips. So, no wonder you need that boost of wheatgrass.

For more on managing time effectively in your homeschool, check out this related episode: Time Management For Kids (Special Replay).

Listen, half the things posted on Instagram aren’t the whole story. You see the good, not the difficult or the courageous, and what you do daily is courageous. I heard a talk recently that heaven is filled with saintly women, and many of them were moms, because moms have the right attitude about what matters in this life and in life in general.

Don’t let something you see on Instagram make you think you are not doing enough or that someone else could homeschool your kids better, because that is not true. No one cares about your kids the way you do. Will you know how to teach every subject? Of course not, but there is always help. In fact, you have way too many resources to choose from. Being there for your kids is the best thing you can do each day. You show up. Maybe you have a bad day, or they have one, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it!

If you’re dealing with burnout, explore Homeschoolers Overcoming Burnout for practical strategies to recharge. Also, Overcoming Homeschool Overwhelm offers prayer-based tips to shift from stress to joy.

Homeschooling is messy; it is days of unfolded laundry and unfinished chores. Yet on those days, I found that the most learning took place. My children loved to ask me questions to get me “side-tracked,” which meant I might not require them to complete a math assignment or reading lesson because we were delving into ancient civilizations or figuring out how far it was from Italy to Florida. (My parents were born in different parts of Sicily.) It was before Siri, but even then I didn’t allow them to jump on the internet and find the answers. They had to guestimate and later we’d look it up.

The kids may have started with side-tracking me, but then they, too, got excited about what we were learning, and if it wasn’t on our check-off list for the day or even the week, that was okay. One time, a fulcrum-and-lever assignment turned into a major outdoor project, using large pieces of lumber and cement blocks left over from one of my husband’s building projects. I recorded a video and added it to the list of unassigned projects that the kids self-assigned.

If you can instill a love of learning, that is a start. And maybe that is your homeschool-why. Giving kids time to think, as in a recent podcast on this channel featuring an interview I did, is a good place to start. How can kids get excited about learning if they do not have time to think? Time to think does not include electronics or screens. It means paper and pencil, maybe sitting outdoors, and in some way exploring a list of interests. If your child has no interests, it is time to start cultivating a list.

Listen to the full episode on Teaching Kids to Think for Themselves: A Conversation with Felice Gerwitz for more on fostering critical thinking and independence. For fun ways to build skills, try Games That Teach (Part 1): Brain Training Games for Homeschool Learning + Special Needs Support.

Homeschooling sometimes means leaving home. We took our children on various short field trips on weekends. Not far from home. I found a book titled “Day Trips” that focused on places to visit in our state. I’m sure a quick search online will bring up a list of places, many of which are free, and offer things you can do to explore your state and local area. This can spark a child’s imagination. Include a sketch book or notebook. Again, get them away from electronics.

I’m not against electronics; they can save significant time. But if you want to instill a love of learning, distractions need to be removed. I can’t tell you how many science museums and zoos we visited when the children were in Elementary and Middle school. Lots. But the exhibits were engaging, and they sparked ideas that came through in their writing and projects.

For scheduling tips, including field trips, see Best Homeschool Scheduling Advice | Replay.

If you have younger children, now is the time to explore off-the-beaten-track options. Textbooks and workbooks have a place, but not in the younger years—this is a time of exploration and discovery. If your child is older, it is time to begin exploring what lies ahead. What does the future hold? No one knows, but the best way to prepare your child for the future is a strong faith in God (not just because you say) and the ability to think for themselves. That doesn’t mean adopt false thinking that says your parents are wrong about everything.

Be vigilant about what your kids watch online or who they talk to. While I find AI useful for research (did you know it is great for recipes), it does not have a place in communication with you or your children. It is a tool—a useful tool, but one that can be abused.

You are doing a great job, even if everything I’ve said does not resonate with you—why are you homeschooling? What is your why? Figure this out, make a plan, and begin with a goal and small steps each day. I pray for your success and that of your children!