What To Do When You Have a Bad School Day

Whether you homeschool or go to school, bad school days happen. Maybe not so much bad but rough days. Those days where your child just wants to throw their hands up in the air and quit. They have tears running down their cheeks or sniffles going and aren't sure what they should do. We had one of those days yesterday.

They happen to all of us and sometimes you gotta take a step back. For me, I get frustrated wondering what the problem is. It's something he has done a hundred times. Why is it so hard this time??? So here's what you do:

- Stop and breathe. Both of you. Take a minute to hug your child and just breathe deeply together. Let those great endorphins that kick in when you hug take over for a second. And relax.

- Ask them what's going on. Maybe there's something outside bothering them. A headache. Not feeling well. Can't focus. You get the idea. Talk with them to see what's going on.

- Redirect them. If math is the issue, take a break and work on spelling or do some quiet reading. Take time away from the problem and come back when you are both refreshed and ready to tackle it again.

- Realize it will be there tomorrow. Just because your calendar says today is the day doesn't mean it will be. Give grace in your schedule to your child and to yourself. Somethings take longer than you might have planned and that's okay!

- Try a different approach. Learning styles of each child are extremely different. Even in your own family they are like daylight and dark sometimes. Maybe the way the material is presented in this lesson doesn't work for your visual or auditory learner. It's okay! Improvise an try something new. It might just help it click.

So yes. Rough days do come. They can be varying in degrees of roughness but they do eventually leave too. Take a breath and let yourself relax. Enjoy this time as you'll blink and your child will be in college.

How do you guys get through rough homeschool days? What are some tips you can share?