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There are many resources available for parents who are homeschooling their children. Some options include planners, curricula, apps, books, and educational websites.
Additionally, there are many virtual homeschool communities and support groups that can provide guidance and advice (I’ve got one too).
But do you know what there isn’t enough? Customized homeschool help for parents. Help to get personalized, one-on-one support.
A life coach can offer individualized support, guidance, and gentle accountability to empower homeschool parents to navigate challenges, cultivate well-being practices, and implement positive changes in their homeschooling journey and change their lives.
Let me introduce you to Valerie, a homeschool mom who pursued meaningful homeschool help for parents through a life coach.
Valerie is a competent, clever, organized, creative, homeschool mama who has been doing this homeschool thing for more than a decade.
Someone might call her a veteran homeschool mom.
Valerie is no longer worried about choosing the “right” curriculum (she probably owns a little bit of everything anyway), she’s not concerned that she can’t plan her homeschool lessons well (she has learned how to do them on the fly), and she’s no longer concerned what other people think about her homeschool or life choices (she’s had enough practice with that challenge and learned to let that go a long time ago).
However, Valerie is challenged by…
- A mountain of things to do,
- Unrealistic expectations of what she can do in a day, or even a week,
- Trying to fit it all in,
- Aware of her perfectionistic tendencies,
- Feeling burned out,
- Feeling scattered & overwhelmed post-pandemic,
- Motivated primarily by finishing her to-do list,
- Feeling stuck in life,
- Occasional surges of overwhelm & emotional outbursts (hers, and also the kids),
- Guilt about not being the same homeschool parent to her younger kids as she was to her older kids.
When Valerie & I met, she didn’t know what homeschool help for parents I offered. When we met for the first time, I asked a variety of questions to begin our quest for her clarity:
- Tell me more about your challenges.
- Who are the key players in your challenges and why do they matter?
- How is your relationship with yourself influencing your expectations of yourself?
- Tell me about your relationship with your most important people.
- And if you could wave a magic wand, what would you like to see for yourself and your kids in five years?
This is what Valerie and I learned about her present homeschool mom life challenges:
Expectations, Overwhelm, & Guilt: Valerie struggles with unrealistic expectations of what she can accomplish, which leads to overwhelm and guilt. This pressure seems to stem from buying into the cultural pressure that “more activity makes for a more meaningful life” and that doing everything perfectly makes her a “good homeschool mom”.
Feeling Burned Out: Valerie is experiencing burnout, likely due to the constant pressure she puts on herself to meet these unrealistic expectations over a very long time. (We also chat about her boredom at the same ole same ole routine).
Scattered & Overwhelmed Post-Pandemic: The intentional framework of life that she and her partner chose at the beginning of the pandemic reinforced that she’s homeschooling and doing family life alone, and though she and her partner created meaningful activities post-pandemic, the way she’s engaging those activities no longer seem relevant, and she now feels like she’s on an overwhelmed hamster wheel by herself.
And where did Valerie’s motivation lie?
Motivated by To-Do List: Valerie finds motivation in her to-do list but she recognizes that it’s contributing to her overwhelm rather than helping her feel accomplished and meaningful. Also, her To-Do List never gets done and it feels neverending, sometimes meaningless, yet it still compels her to wake up each morning, but she’s not satisfied or present as she does it.
Guilt About Parenting: Valerie feels guilty about not parenting her younger children as she did her older children, adding to her emotional burden. And she doesn’t particularly enjoy homeschooling much anymore (though she’d never share that on Instagram; in fact, she has a wildly popular IG account), but she knows theoretically why it’s the best thing since sliced bread and argue it till the cows come home).
Early in our coaching program, I helped Valerie clarify what she wanted. “If she could wave that magic wand, what would she want for her and her kids”, I ask her.
Though her goals are likely to be clarified over our coaching program, she establishes her intentions presently:
- Feel good from day-to-day: feel refreshed and energized: emotional well-being.
- Live slower: decrease overwhelm & rush in her daily life.
- Burnout prevention plan so she doesn’t find herself back here.
- Include the same activities she’s living, but wants to feel different doing them: live authentically & presently.
We work together to make that happen. I am her gentle accountability partner, her cheerleader, her clarifier, and also her challenger. She puts the strategies into place, experiments with them, learns why they sometimes don’t, then tries again–then she connects with me via email through the week, and joins me for another coaching conversation.
Real homeschool help for parents means we have conversations around these kinds of things:
- When you’re not deeply satisfied with your to-do list, why are you doing these activities? (We all do what we do because it’s working for us in some way.)
- What if you could transform your To-Do list into a To-Live list?
- Are you in the F.L.O.W. (feeling light open and whole): why not and how could you create F.L.O.W?
- How do you get time away and have a few moments of quiet mental space?
- When you feel the surge of overwhelm, what can you do so you don’t engage in your commonly practiced and guilt-inducing ways?
- How is the stuckness you’ve been experiencing working for you? And what would tell you that you’re unstuck?
- How can you create margins in your life so you feel less stress? And how do your unrealistic expectations relate to this discussion?
- When did you become your own inner critic (aka when did Ms. Perfectionism make her entrance into your life?)
- Do you have a Burnout Prevention Plan?
- What is on your Homeschool Mama Wellness Plan?
- What is your Friendship Action Plan (for your kids and yourself)?
- Where do you get to be the real you?
- Have you considered that false guilt might be related to not trusting your intuition?
- What are the self-awareness practices you’ve learned so you can learn to be your own compassionate friend and nurturer?
We engage all these questions organically over 12 sessions. These questions are not the same for each homeschool mom, because each homeschool mom is as unique as the fingerprints on their hands.
Every homeschool mom has many stories, many plots throughout their 30 to 55-year-old years (ps if you’re 29 or 56, you’re invited to chat with me too;). And I am deeply honoured to be part of your story, if you choose.
I hold your hard stories with you.
I hear the common stories: losing your marbles with the kids, wanting to do right by your kids, but not sure you are, and wondering if you and your homeschool choices are good enough (NOTE: I just said those are common stories because they are. Your’e uncommon if you’re not experiencing them).
And I hold the fun, freedom-filled moments in your life too: the ones where we celebrate the beautiful moments happening in your home, the ones where you experience lightbulb moments that shift how you’re relating to a child, or the moments when you’ve had a life-shifting perspective that shifted how you felt about yourself and your life.
It’s not that unusual
When everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle todayThe sky knows when it’s time to snow
Don’t need to teach a seed to grow
It’s just another ordinary miracle todayLife is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your ownIsn’t it remarkable?
Like every time a rain drop falls
It’s just another ordinary miracle todayBirds in winter have their fling
But always make it home by spring
It’s just another ordinary miracle todayWhen you wake up everyday
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
‘Cause we’re all a part
Of the ordinary miracle” —Sarah McLachlan
You should know that I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we meet (when I have the opportunity to meet you).
I believe we were meant to meet.
I had to live my challenging stories, I had to begin my journey to unravel my challenging stories, and I had to be here in Studio C (where I record my podcast), and in my home in the Kootenay Mountains of British Columbia, to be available to share in my challenging stories so I could meet to connect with yours.
Throughout our time together, we don’t just clarify the challenges, we also create actionable plans to address them.
My goal as a Certified Life Coach & homeschool mentor is to help you implement positive changes in your lives, to create an A.C.T.I.O.N. plan:
A = Assessment:
Assess the current situation and identify areas for improvement or change. This involves reflecting on challenges, strengths, and goals to determine the most effective course of action.
C = Clarity:
Gain clarity on the desired outcomes and objectives of your action plan.
T = Tools and Resources:
Identify the tools, resources, support systems, and perspective shifts needed to implement your action plan consistently.
I = Implementation:
Develop a step-by-step plan for implementing in your action plan.
O = Ongoing Accountability:
Continually monitor progress towards goals and objectives, making adjustments as needed. Regular check-ins help track progress, identify challenges, and celebrate successes along the way.
O = Optimization:
Optimize the action plan by refining strategies, leveraging strengths, and addressing obstacles that arise.
N = Nurturing:
Provide ongoing support, encouragement, and accountability to nurture your implementation process.
Actionable homeschool help for parents: together we create the A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan like Valerie and I did…
Valerie created this A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan…
Reevaluate Motivations: Valerie needs to examine why she’s motivated by her to-do list and whether it aligns with her overall well-being.
Explore Values: How do your values align with your current lifestyle?
Prioritize Living List: She should consider creating a “To-Live List” alongside her to-do list, focusing on experiences and moments rather than tasks.
Assess Mental State: Valerie can practice being in the F.L.O.W. (Feeling Light, Open, and Whole) to gauge her mental state and adjust accordingly.
Take Breaks: Valerie needs to schedule regular breaks and time away from her responsibilities to recharge.
Address Overwhelm: When she feels overwhelmed, Valerie should pause, acknowledge her feelings, and explore the root causes.
Self-Compassion: Valerie needs to be kinder to herself and embrace her authenticity rather than striving for perfection. She needs to incorporate mindfulness & journaling practices.
All these A.C.T.I.O.N. Plan ideas don’t arise in the first or second session, sometimes she discovers them along the way.
Family Connection: Building a Friendship Action Plan can help foster stronger relationships with her teens and herself, creating a support network.
Create Margins: Valerie should give herself more breathing room by creating margins in her schedule, allowing for unexpected events or relaxation.
Wellness Activities: Engaging in physical activities like jumping on the trampoline or running with her kids can promote physical and emotional well-being.
Nature Therapy: Spending time outdoors can help alleviate stress and overwhelm, providing a refreshing break from indoor pressures.
Address False Guilt: Valerie should recognize where her false guilt stems from.
Exploring Passions: What activities bring you joy and how could you incorporate them?
Self-Awareness Practices: Journaling, positive self-talk, and self-reflection can help Valerie become more self-aware and less critical of herself.
This is the kind of homeschool help for parents I offer. So if you identify with Valerie’s challenges, book a no-obligation conversation with Teresa to clarify your challenges and craft your A.C.T.I.O.N. plan.
Teresa Wiedrick
I help homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.
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