Counting down your remaining school days can be motivating and fun!
We love this time of year! The homeschool year is winding down, and it just feels so good to be where we are! About this time we are nearing the end of our Heart of Dakota guides, and we are at a place where we know just what to do each day. The kids have become so good at their guides, that we can just enjoy the remaining days we have left. I have found this is a great time to make a countdown! I’m so proud of the boys and the hard work they have done all year. The end is in sight, and it is worth counting down the days in anticipation of the finish line being at hand. I like to hand make a countdown and hang it on our fridge. Every time we finish another day, we put a sticker over the number, counting down the days one by one!
Counting down the days keeps everyone motivated!
As winter makes its way out, and spring ushers herself in, I find counting down the days keeps everyone motivated! Summer is just around the corner, and it happens to be some of the best weather for being outside where we live. As winter gives its last gasp with a few more snowfalls, and spring brings her rainy days, our countdown reminds us summer weather awaits at the end of our counting down. The boys are motivated, and so am I! There is just such a sense of purpose in completing our guides.
Counting down works for the end of the school year even if you’re not at the end of a guide!
Are you in the middle of your guide(s), but at a stopping place for the homeschool year? Counting down still works! Just make your countdown for the number of days of school you have as a goal to complete until you take your long break. For example, one of my sons used to start his guide in January and finish in Dec. He still enjoyed counting down the days along with his brothers until our summer break! Whether you’re in the middle of your guides and heading toward a longer break, or at the end of your guides and ending your school year, making a countdown is motivating. Counting down celebrates the progress that has been made and signals hard work has earned a break!
At the end of counting down, do something fun!
At the end of our countdown, we try to do something fun! When our children were young, we went to Chuck E Cheese. As they got older, we raced go-carts, mini-golfed, or jumped at Skyzone. This year, due to the pandemic, we will do something fun at home. I am actually having quite a lot of fun thinking of ideas! Maybe we’ll do a ‘picnic’ on the living room floor or a treasure hunt with a new board game at the end. Or, maybe we’ll do a ‘make your own sundae or own pizza’ buffet! Food is ALWAYS a hit with boys. If it’s nice, maybe we’ll get one of those outdoor movie-projectors. We do have a white garage door, so maybe that could work! Or a hermit crab for each son? Or new kittens? Hmmm. That last one might be more for ME.
In Closing
If you have 30 days or less left until your next ‘break,’ consider counting down the days with a visual countdown! If you have more than 30 days left, it might not be a good idea to make a countdown. Counting down a large number of days tends to feel more overwhelming than motivating. In that case, counting ‘up’ might be fun! However, we’ve never actually counted ‘up.’ There is just so much anticipation and excitement at the start of each guide/year with HOD! That is usually motivation enough! I hope this gives you some ideas for counting down the days you have left before your next well-earned break! Having end goals and working toward them together as a family gives everyone a united sense of purpose. Not to mention, celebrating together gives such joy! Give your own countdown a try – maybe you’ll like it as much we do!
In Christ,
Julie
