The Best Thing I'm Doing for Next Year's Homeschool Has Nothing to Do With Curriculum

Hey everybody, welcome to the law doc way. I'm Jessica and today's video is going to be all about professional development for the homeschool mom. Each and every summer we as homeschool moms start preparing for the next homeschool year. We're researching curriculum, we're picking out books, we're buying resources, we're making a plan, we're scheduling, we're color coding, we're doing all of the things that we think are going to set our homeschool up to be as successful as possible. And the thing is we 100% leave ourselves off the list and we forget about us. And the person leading the homeschool is probably more important than even the curriculum because if we're cranky or grumpy or burnt out, nothing in our homeschool is going to matter. It's not going to matter that you found a great curriculum or amazing read alouds or the most fun games ever. If you are burnt out, it's just not going to matter. Like it's going to have been all for nothing. So I propose that we start spending our summers also doing some professional development. So spending some time on us this summer is the perfect time to do this because our loads are a little lighter, right? Even if we homeschool year round, for example, like I homeschool year round, we still do a lighter take on homeschool in the summer, which means a little bit more time and flexibility on my hands. It also means that if you start setting yourself up for success now in the summer with maybe some habits that you're hoping to keep when you go into the homeschool year, you're more likely to keep them because we've already kind of put them into play. So the summer is the perfect time for that. So that's kind of what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about professional development for the homeschool mom and what I'm personally going to be doing this summer and what I'm hoping you will do along with me. The first thing that I will be prioritizing this summer for professional development is reading. Now I read all the time anyway, but I'm talking about reading outside of just fiction. I want to be reading some nonfiction that's going to help me grow as a person. And the thing that I have realized thus far in our homeschool career is that while I absolutely love homeschool books, most of the books that have helped me grow as a person and in kind as a homeschool mom have not even been homeschool related. So I'm going to share with you the top 10 books that I think every homeschool mom should read. Maybe you could pick one or two of these this summer to be reading as part of your professional development. More than a mom, homeschooling can easily become your entire identity if you're not careful. This book encourages mothers to remember that while motherhood is important, it's not the only thing that defines them. The compound effect. Success rarely comes from one big breakthrough. This book demonstrates how small consistent actions can add up over time, making it a great reminder for homeschool moms that little efforts truly matter. Grit. Why do some people stick with difficult goals while others quit? This book is going to explore the power of perseverance, consistency, and long-term commitment, qualities that homeschool moms rely on every single day. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This classic book focuses on responsibility, priorities, relationships, and long-term thinking. It helps homeschool moms become more intentional with their time and decisions while building habits that support both family life and personal growth. All It Takes is a Goal. If you've ever set huge goals only to abandon them a few weeks later, this book is for you. John Acuff's humorous and practical approach helps homeschool moms make meaningful progress without perfectionism getting in the way. Soundtracks. Many homeschool moms carry around negative mental scripts like I'm not doing enough or everyone else's homeschool looks better than mine. This book teaches you how recognize those unhelpful thoughts and replace them with ones that are actually going to move you forward. The Five Second Rule. This book is all about taking action before overthinking gets in the way. Whether you're trying to start exercising, tackle a project, or simply stop procrastinating, Mel Robbin provides a simple tool that can help you build confidence and momentum, including in your homeschool. The Book of Boundaries. If you've ever struggled to say no without feeling guilty, this book offers practical scripts and real-world examples. It's especially helpful for homeschool moms that are balancing family, friendships, activities, commitments, and their own needs. Atomic Habits. If you've ever struggled to be consistent with reading, exercising, homemaking, or homeschooling routines, this book is a game-changer. James Clear shows how tiny habits compound over time, helping homeschool moms build systems that make life easier instead of relying on motivation. They'll Let Them Dairy. Homeschool moms spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think. This book is a powerful reminder that you don't need everyone's approval to make the best decisions for your family. Now, while I've read all 10 of those and really enjoyed them, and I really do think that they helped shape me as a person and a homeschool mom, I do have five books that I will be reading this summer. One of which is a homeschool book because I read it each and every summer, and that is Teaching from Rest. I really like to read this one because it does, in fact, remind me that that's what I want is to be teaching from a place of rest. So what I want in our homeschool is for it to be peaceful and not overwhelming. And this just kind of helps me remember to not overload us with curriculum or pick too many things or put too many things on the calendar and just remember that I do want peace and joy in our homeschool. I've also decided that I'm going to be reading through The Four Agreements. This is one that's been on my to-be-read list for a while because of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. So I'm hoping that this will again also bring me joy in my life and in return in our homeschool. A Walk with Weight by Michael Easter. I have absolutely loved everything I've read by him. So this is his newest one that's all about rucking. So I'm hoping that this will just remind me why I like to ruck, why it's one of my favorite exercises, and also kind of keep reminding me to move my body. Imperfecto, The Gift of Imperfection. This is one that I really just want to read because I am a perfectionist and I'm raising a perfectionist. And so I just kind of thought that this would be really, really helpful for me as a person, but then also hopefully also as a homeschool mom because I really, really struggle when like I have something planned and it doesn't go according to plan. I'm hoping this is one that will just remind me that it doesn't matter if it's imperfect, it's still okay. The Essentialism. This is one that I'm hoping is going to just kind of remind me what's essential to everyday life, but it's going to help me find the meaning not only in life, but in homeschooling and parenting and all of the things. And then the last one I have is probably more for my sanity as well as the sanity of those that are living in the house with me. And it is the new menopause. It's one that I've been reading through slowly, but surely, because there's a lot of information in here. And this is just me trying to learn to cope with the hormones and the changes and the things that my body are going through to the best of my ability, which is probably going to make our homeschool way more successful once I figure that out. The second thing that I will be prioritizing this summer is going to be movement or moving my body. This does not mean I'm going to be doing anything crazy. I just haven't been as consistent as I would like to have been with moving my body. So I really want to spend this summer making it a habit so that when I go into the new homeschool year, when things are busy and really kicking off again, that habit is already laid down. So my goal is to move my body every day. This doesn't have to be anything big. I'm hoping for three full body strength training workouts a week. And then I'm hoping to also do things like rebounding, rucking, just going for walks, swimming, paddleboarding because it's the summer. And one of the things I want to try my hand out is Pilates. So I have, um, move with Nicole and Pilates with Izzy as like options that I might be exploring over the summer to just try to learn something new. The third thing that I will be prioritizing this summer from our professional development is nourishment. And I don't necessarily just mean nourishment as water and food. Although those obviously are very big. I want to make sure that I'm drinking enough water, especially this summer. Uh, it gets really, really hot here in Florida. So I'm going to be drinking enough water on the beginning of my electrolytes. I want to be prioritizing protein because you guys, that is a daily struggle for me. It doesn't matter how long I've been on this journey. Protein will always be a struggle. And in the summer, I find it even harder because it's hot. And the last thing I want is to eat protein. Like I want fruit. That's it. So I'm going to make a goal to try to prioritize protein at each and every meal and snack of some kind. Um, and also nourishing. Like for example, I just talked about the fact that I spent almost 40 years of my life not taking care of my skin, honestly, not really taking care of my hair, um, not doing those things that I should be doing. So I want to be prioritizing skincare. The routines that I have are right now, I have an AM and a PM routine. I want to keep those up consistently and not just fall off the wagon with them when life gets busy or like whatever. Um, same thing with hair care. I want to be keeping up with that. I want to be using products and things to protect my hair and my skin and nourishing my body. So like all of me, I also want to be making a point to get dressed every day. If I get dressed, I don't mean like crazy amounts of clothes. I just mean something that's not like pajamas or workout clothes. Even though I love my workout clothes, I want to be getting dressed every day. I personally find that I am much more productive if I have clothes on, even more productive if I put shoes on sometimes. So I want to be prioritizing like getting dressed, doing some sort of simple makeup, even if it's just like tinted moisturizer, doing my hair, uh, skincare, eating, you know, protein and nourishing food and drinking enough water and getting in supplements. And, uh, my electrolytes, like I said, just like really nourishing my body again, because if I can spend this little bit of extra time I have now in the summer, setting these things up as habits and laying that foundation, hopefully I will keep it up and it'll make it even easier when we go into the homeschool year. And then the fourth thing that I want to be prioritizing this summer is exploration. And I don't just mean like traveling to new places, although that absolutely counts as exploration. And I do hope that we get to travel to a few new places this summer, but I also mean like exploring new things. I mean, trying new hobbies, um, learning a new skill. For example, I said Pilates with something I've never done before taking a new class. Like maybe I get into Pilates and I take a Pilates class somewhere. Um, I know that some of the things I want to try are book crafts with Emily. I've had them on my list for forever. We want to bedazzle a book cover and try our hand at some like sprayed edges on a book cover. Um, we're going to the lake with my dad's family and I want to go tubing. I have not tubed since I was probably Emily's age. So in over 20 years, so that's trying something new. Uh, I just want to like explore new things in new places, try new foods, try new recipes, uh, learn new things. I don't know, maybe read a new genre of books, like not necessarily just nonfiction. That's going to better my mind, but maybe I try my hand at a genre. That's not typically something I would read or read a book. Somebody recommends that I maybe would have turned my nose up at otherwise. I just kind of want to keep exploring because I think that's how we raise curious kids. It's hard to raise a kid by saying like, do as I say, not as I do, but I think it's so much easier if we demonstrate, right? So like if I try a new craft nine times out of 10, Emily will come join me because she probably never would have done it otherwise. I mean, maybe it's a laid everything out and shrewd in a really gorgeous way. She might've tried it, but I promise it's way more likely if I sit down to do it, that she'll join me or that I'll have done one. And she'll be like, Oh, that's really cool. How did you do that? So I want to demonstrate for her that like learning and exploring new things doesn't end just when you graduate homeschool. And so that's one of the things I really want to prioritize this summer is to keep exploring, trying new things, exploring new skills, learning new things, like really embracing that. This is my time to develop myself as a person. So those are the four things that I'm going to be focusing on this summer, reading, moving, nourishing, and exploring. And not because I'm trying to be like the perfect homeschool mom and not even because I'm trying to reinvent myself, because honestly, I really kind of love who I am and who I've become in the last few years. But mainly just because I want to keep becoming a better version of myself and keep showing up in the best way possible for me, for Emily, for Kevin and for our homeschool. And I think that this is a really great way to do that. I also think it's a really great way to set some like basic foundational habits that hopefully will carry over into the homeschool year. That will keep me showing up as the best version of myself when things get busy and stressed and hopefully keep me from burning out. I would love to know if you are going to be spending some time this summer, preparing yourself for the upcoming homeschool year. And if so, what are you planning to do? Let me know down in the comments. And if you weren't planning to spend some time preparing yourself, I hope that this video has encouraged you to do that because I absolutely love for you to join me, come along and read with me, move with me, nourish with me and explore with me. And just let's do this together. Let's make ourselves a priority. And remember that honestly, we're one of the most important parts of our homeschool.