A few years ago I went through burnout. I realized during that time our weekends were so busy I did not have space for downtime, projects, or rest. I big piece of my healing was creating margin and making space for Sabbath.
But even after I had slowed down on the weekends there was still a piece missing.
Then I stumbled upon this wild idea of having a Sabbath-like, slow, at-home day in the middle of the week. Three-day weekends throw me off and make my next week feel longer somehow. I enjoy the extra time but usually, I take on too much or end up wasting time on things that do not matter to me. So I knew that having extra space on Friday or Monday would not work for me. Then I thought about our Tuesdays. This is the day that we did not have any outside commitments or scheduled activities. I get to stay home and create the schedule that I want.
So why not take one day off for a “project day”?
Our Mondays tend to be highly productive with our schoolwork. We get everything organized and make progress. I do group and individual lessons with the kids, weekly check-ins with my teens, and we get into our school routine. My kids would rather work hard and get time off on Tuesday than stretch out the work into two days. So that year we choose Tuesday as our Project Day.
(read more about Sabbath here = The Overachiever’s Practical Guide to Sabbath: Why, How, & When).
How we make space for “Project Day”
When I am planning our school year, I plan the weeks we will do school and when we will take breaks. I also plan out our calendar so that we do schoolwork only 4 days per week. So we take a week’s worth of lessons and squish them into 4 days instead of 5. Because my kids are ages 8 to 17 this works for us. When they were younger I had to adjust our school weeks to be a bit longer. I also cut out lessons that are repetitive or extra work.
Homeschooling is an efficient form of education. We can get several lessons done in the same amount of time it takes a classroom teacher to teach one lesson. (I experienced this teaching 5th grade for a few years in the Mesa Public Schools system.) Because our number ratios are low we can provide individualized instruction. We can meet each kid where they are and help them move forward. Even the most distracted homeschool mom is more efficient than a skilled classroom teacher.
So, making space is not really an academic problem it is simply a scheduling issue that we have to solve. If you want more ideas for homeschool scheduling check out my other homeschooling planning articles. (and the many more to come)
Why We Have a “Project Day”
We have seen the benefit of having time to work on interest lead learning, reading library books, and crafting art projects from recycled materials. My kids have developed interests that they didn’t have time for during the weekend. They have discovered things about themselves that take time and extra space on the calendar.
I have had alone time to finish loads of laundry and sort the pantry with a podcast in my earbuds. I have gotten caught up on grading, planning, reading, and I have taken long walks. My writing hobby (and this blog) came out of space that I created on our Project Days. It is not just for the kids.🙂
We have had slow mornings sitting out on the front porch with hot tea and books. We enjoy taking time to do deep dives on specific topics the kids find interesting. We actually read the library books before they are due. It is a beautiful gift of space during our week to do the things we love. To catch up on the chores that we don’t like. And sometimes, to work on a specific projects with an end goal in mind.
Here is an excellent resource: https://lesliemartino.com/project-time-at-home/
Here is a great example of how project time has expanded into a specialized interest: We Didn’t “Just” Get a Dog
How to do a “Project Day”
I learned quickly that we needed a simple theme for the day to guide them to do something different than free time on the weekends. The younger the kids the more guidance and check-ins they will need.
Here are some themes that we use regularly:
- Project day at home –
- Everyone gets to do their own projects and have alone time.
- The kids can play, do art projects, get out board games, make a race track down the hall way…
- Sometimes I set up something like these ideas to keep them busy: Pinterest Board – Summer Fun Ideas
- Mom gets to work on her own stuff without interruption (or at least that is the goal🙂 )
- This obviously works better with older kids, but even younger ones can get extra movie time for one day.
- Messy Art day –
- Get out some art supplies and let the kids go crazy.
- Give them limits, materials, ideas, or don’t. It can be as big or as small as you want it to be.
- See my Pinterest board for ideas: Afternoon Art Activities
- or this one: Cardboard Creations
- Household chore day –
- We all have cleaning that needs to be done. Make it something that everyone does together. Team up as a family against the mess and grime. Turn on some dance party music and make it fun.
- See this article for help in this area: Household Chores & Cleaning the Home
- Reading Day –
- Yes!! This is my favorite!! I am a total book worm in case you have not noticed yet…🙂
- This reminds me of when I was in school and we would have D.E.A.R. & pajama days!
- Here is a series that you might find helpful: Summer Reading – Tips & Ideas
The day before we pick a theme based on what we need that week and then we brainstorm what our Project Day will look like. It is a small amount of planning and forethought but it makes a huge difference.
Ways to make this work –
- Choose one part of the day to change. Block Scheduling is awesome!
- We only change the way we do things in the mornings. The day typically has a rhythm that we follow.
- We change up the morning block but keep most of our afternoon blocks the same.
- Or you could change just the afternoon block and keep the mornings the same.
- Here is my favorite YouTube resource for Block Scheduling for Moms
- Have bucket lists ready
- Have those decisions already made for each type of theme day that sounds fun for you kids and for you.
- When I have a list to choose from then I can make decisions quickly and do things that we have already spent time thinking about.
- It is a lot of work to get out the door with everything that is needed for whatever we are doing that morning. Any thinking I can do ahead of time is helpful to me for sure!
- Pinterest is an awesome resource for coming up with ideas that work for you and your family! Here is my Pinterest board where I have some bucket lists I use: Pinterest Board – Summer Fun Ideas
Strewing – The Magic of Availability
Strewing is defined as laying out items on a tabletop or living room coffee table that invite your kids to create or learn. What they do with the crafts, toys, or books is unstructured learning that is led by the child. This came from the interest lead homeschooling community (un-schoolers and Waldorf) as a way to subtly encourage learning. The relaxed atmosphere of home is the best place to learn and experiment with materials.
My job is to lay out suggestions and ideas. To encourage them towards a variety of activities but not planning it for them. I set out the materials and then walked away. I am not focused on outcomes or specific results. They get to decide what is done with the materials and how they are used. My job is over. I just need to give them some time to do something with it.
“Put simply, strewing is leaving something out for the kids to discover, piquing their interest. Putting things in the path of your kids — spreading a feast, so to speak, and letting the kids take from it what they will.”
– Colleen Kessler: https://raisinglifelonglearners.com/strewing/
I have an article I am working on about the topic of Strewing: check here for more info
Reflection Questions
-What day of the week could you claim a morning or an afternoon for interest lead activities?
-If you had a free day off, what would you do? What would you enjoy?
-How can you gather some items for strewing and encouraging interest lead learning?
-Do you have space in your calendar?
I am confident that this idea of Project Day could make a positive difference in your homeschool day. We are not called to go at full speed all the time. We can all benefit from taking days off to move at a slower pace and be led by wonder and learning. Even if it is just 2 days a month it will make a difference in your home.
Please try it out and then let me know what worked for you. Share your tips and ideas. I would love to hear from you!