How does your day run? Chances are if you are a homeschooling family your focus is completely on your children throughout the day. A homeschooling mom can make a lesson out of anything and usually does all day long. A homeschooling house often looks more like a classroom than a home. If you enter a homeschooler’s house, and please do not do so without ample warning, you are likely to find an array of textbooks, school supplies, art projects all nestled in with laundry, lunch dishes, and mail that has yet to be opened. What does this atmosphere say? It says that main focus on the home is the education of the children. That is not a bad focus especially for a homeschool family. However, sometimes in the midst of causing a chemical reaction in science class the chemical reaction between mom and dad is hard to find.
Often the primary homeschooling parent is so busy and exhausted with the business of homeschooling that there is no energy for anything else. The other parent often feels neglected or lost in the shuffle. This can lead to feelings of resentment, confusion, and being alone. Both parties will be headed for a burn out and neither will have the energy to be the shoulder for the other. It is very important to not forget about the couple part of your family. It is imperative that mom and dad maintain a loving relationship in order for the home to run successfully.
So how do you keep the spark going and keep your spouse from feeling lost in the midst of spelling tests and art projects? Here are some ideas:
*Get up with your spouse and spend a few minutes alone eating breakfast or talking.
*Make your spouse’s favorite dinner and celebrate him or her that night. No talk about school or work!
*Plan a couple’s weekend vacation.
*Plan a date night once a month. Again no talking about the kids or work!
*When your spouse gets home from work, if your children are old enough, go for a walk alone as a couple.
*Put the kids to bed a bit early on a Friday night and have a movie night alone with your spouse.
*Find a hobby you both enjoy.
*Make a special dessert for just you and your spouse to have after the kids go to bed.
*Write your spouse little notes and put in his or her lunch box or brief case.
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