The winter months are upon us. For those of you in warmer climates, let me just say that I am jealous at this point. You can still send your kids out to play without taking a 1/2 hour to get them ready.

Now, in the past, I have suffered severe burnout in homeschooling at this time of year. Basically, I failed to plan ahead for the cabin fever that always comes during the transition from fall to winter. Crazy, I know, since where I live, winter makes up almost half of the year.

This year, I have a plan. Some of these things may work for you, some may not. Or they will spark other ideas for you.

1. Make sure that everyone gets exercise, including your children.
There are many moms who dedicate lots of time for exercising themselves, but they forget that their kids need it to. Kids are just like us, albeit shorter and at times messier. They need to run, play, and burn off energy. If you have a treadmill at home, consider letting your older children use it with your supervision. If not, try mall walking in the afternoons, or going to a play land at a fast food joint. Yes, you need to be a customer, but buying one soda and splitting it will count you as a customer. Use the time that they are playing to catch up on reading, or just relaxing for yourself. Or call another homeschooler and get a play date going.

2. Keep an especially watchful eye on sugar intake. All those holiday cookies that get “sneaked”, in addition to all the “warm-you-up” hot chocolate after playing out in the snow can add up to sugar crashes and meltdowns. We experienced a fair amount of sugar crashed induced frustrations until I stopped giving them hot chocolate every time they went to play, and substituted it for hot tea with honey.

3. Don’t be afraid to try something different for a while. If you are normally a “stick to your schedule” kinda mom, then try skipping that one day a week and cuddling up and reading aloud instead. If you are more text book free, try a day where the kids do worksheets that you can print off the internet. Try serving dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. The point is to mix it up a little and have some fun.

4. Take field trips that you normally wouldn’t go to. Go check out your local Dairy Queen and see how they make a Dilly Bar. Maybe take in an afternoon matinee at the dollar theater, or volunteer at an animal shelter for a day. Who knows, you might spark a new interest in your child!

5. Most of all, don’t go it alone. Winter time seems to be hibernation time for all animals, including humans. A lot of homeschoolers will “hole up” in their cozy houses, and not get out very often. It is essential that you still get out with other homeschooling moms and have a little down time. Find someone who can share with you any trials that you are facing because of cabin fever. Share together, pray together.

6. Enjoy the fact that winter is going to be over in 5 short months. No matter how long it seems, Spring comes. It always does, every year. You will once again be able to send the kids out to play, and it won’t take you three times longer to get them ready for it!

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Her articles are a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom. Visit her blog at Titus 2 Woman.