Episode 173: CEO Hacks for Homeschool Success
For the Busy Mommas…
Gains (02:45)
Expenses (5:00)
Losses (08:10)
Net (11:35)
It's January, give yourself a high five...we've made it this far mommas!
It's funny when you become an entrepreneur as a mom because it's amazing how much overlap there is between being the CEO of a business AND being the CEO of your home, family, and in our case our homeschools as well.
We are always looking at how we can learn from these overlaps and how good practices in one can serve in the others.
In this case, we were looking at how annual reports and statements could actually be really powerful in our homeschools as well.
It's the halfway mark...and there are probably a few of us (or maybe all of us) are wondering, "What on earth have we accomplished in our homeschools this year?" Or worse...feeling guilt over everything we HAVEN'T accomplished.
We *know* we've spent HOURS on math, language arts, and ALL the activities, field trips, and projects, but it's still completely normal to *feel* like we haven't done enough...
Enter the profit and loss statement...
Traditionally, a profit and loss statement includes a business's total revenue, expenses, gains, and losses, arriving at net income for a specific accounting period.
But put your teacher glasses on and it really makes sense to do the same for our homeschools.
Gains (02:45)
What are the gains, the wins, the paydays, the wins, the successes, the best yesses…
For Britt, changing the math curriculum for her three oldest kids made a HUGE difference!
For my family, we’ve made the choice to read a book each month this school year, and it’s been great for us!
Another choice that made a difference for Britt’s family was visiting the library.
The whole idea here is noticing where your wins are, so you can repeat them in the future. You’re much more likely to repeat these things if you make a note of them (because, let’s face it…we forget).
Having these observations, these wins, on a list…will help you prioritize and plan for when you’re just. done.
Expenses (5:00)
The expenses are the things that cost you capacity, sanity, and even money! These are the things we want to minimize and eliminate.
We all want homeschools that are beautiful, and life-giving, and it requires us to take a few minutes and see what’s NOT working.
In Britt’s homeschool, outside activities got a bit out of hand and were costing everyone too much time and capacity. They were gone every day and she was losing her mind.
In my home, trying to fit in all the subjects each day was just too much. So we’ve cut back and picked a focus for the month (like Mathvember) it REALLY helped us accomplish more.
Losses (08:10)
These are the things that fell off the bandwagon, were a bad fit, or the actual “no’s” we DID say. How did they work out?
Did saying “no” to tae-kwon-do actually help? Or was it a good outlet and now you’re dealing with behavior issues?
In my house, we’ve tried to do Gather Round for SO many years. I love everything about it, but I just couldn’t make it work for my family. I have tried for 3 years, and just couldn’t make it work. But I did take the unit study idea and applied it to our Language Arts, and it worked really well!
Brittany also had to say “no” to Gather Round. She also loved everything about it, but just couldn’t get it to work for her family.
It’s ok for some things to not work out, this is how we know what works for OUR families and what doesn’t.
Net (11:35)
Your net is where you are right now. After looking at the gains, expenses, and losses, we can zoom in and see the net.
We use the student and momma narratives to do this (it’s an idea we learned from Julie Bogart). These are available in our Homeschool Plan Like a Mother Guide, or you could just grab a sheet of paper and make some notes!
We LOVE story, and that’s really what a narrative is. It helps us to be students of our individual children, in order to help them become the best versions of themselves.
A few questions from the child narrative…
Question 1…where is your child spending his or her time? Crocheting? Youtube? Computer building? These are all clues to what your child values.
Question 2…what environments does your child respond the best to? Does your child like being around the rest of the family to do work? Or, do they prefer the quiet of being alone?
Question 3…what currently motivates your child? Rewards? Themselves? Sometimes it can seem like nothing!
Question 4…what is your upcoming area of focus? Math? Science? Handwriting? This could be child or even whole-family specific! It could be an area where a child needs help or where they really shine! This can help battle that feeling of not doing “enough” as a mom.
In all these questions, it’s important to remember that we’re not homeschooling to raise geniuses, we’re homeschooling to grow WHOLE children.
Some things to think of from the momma narrative…
Question 1…where are you? Emotionally? Spiritually? Emotionally? Exhausted? Excited? Consider where you’re at right now, and write it down.
Question 2…how have you paused or coped? No sugar coating! Breathing techniques. Prayer. Meditation. Oils. Exercising. Yelling. Binge on reels or food. Unloading on your husband. Come face to face with how you’ve been showing up, and you can make choices that serve you,
Question 3…what is 1 thing you most want to prioritize for YOU going forward? Walks. Sleep. Rest (that isn’t sleep).
Asking these questions will help you to move forward in a positive way. The effects of learning about yourself and your homeschool will waterfall into so many areas of your family and life.
The Homeschool Plan Like a Mother Guide is FULL of questions like these that will help you. Start with these narratives (you don’t have to fill in the whole thing, JUST do the narratives).
Finally, share this with a friend (and fill out the narratives together!) Let us know how it goes! (You can tell us in DMs, email, comments!)
Never forget sweet momma…
You are doing beautiful work!
