Navigating Home Ed Slumps: Real-Life Strategies for Getting Back on Track (and Giving Yourself Grace)
The BIG Home Ed ConversationsShow Notes
Feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or just a bit “meh” about home education right now? You’re not alone! In this honest episode, Kelly and Ashley dive deep into the reality of home ed slumps—those periods when motivation dips, life gets in the way, and routines seem impossible to maintain.
We chat about:
Why home ed slumps happen (burnout, big life events, travel, illness, family stress, or just plain old exhaustion)
The emotional rollercoaster of home educating—especially for neurodivergent families and parents juggling work, home, and learning
How “real life” IS learning: from moving house to camping trips, grief, or just catching up on laundry, your kids are still growing and learning every day
Guilt, comparison, and the myth of “falling behind”—and why schools aren’t as non-stop as you might think!
Practical strategies for easing back into routines: starting small, building momentum, and letting go of perfection
The power of noticing the little wins (and a little hack for noticing the positives!)
When to switch things up: changing subjects, trying new approaches, or simply giving everyone a break
Plus:
Why home education doesn’t have to look like school at home
The importance of self-compassion, flexibility, and adjusting your expectations (for yourself and your kids)
How to use “real life” as curriculum, and why every conversation, walk, or pancake breakfast counts
Listener shout-out: If you’ve been binge-listening or found our chats helpful, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it really helps us reach more home ed families! And if you’re climbing out of a slump (or still deep in one), let us know what’s helped you—or if you badly need some help right now - send us a message on Instagram or TikTok @bighomeedpodcast, or drop us a line for a bit of solidarity.
More from The BIG Home Ed Conversations
Whether you came to home ed after your child burnt out of school, or you're the parent running on empty right now, burnout is something so many of us know far too well. In this Season 6 episode of our series on the tricky bits of home education, Kelly and Ashley get honest about home ed burnout: what parent burnout actually looks like, why it creeps up on us, and how to find our way back, for our kids and for ourselves.
Consistency is one of those words that can make home educating parents feel a bit twitchy. Some weeks your home ed routine flows beautifully, and some weeks the maths book hasn't been opened and someone's still in their pyjamas at 2pm. In this Season 6 episode on the tricky bits of home ed, Kelly and Ashley unpick what consistency really means in home education. Do you need a strict homeschool schedule, or is a gentler rhythm (showing up, keeping the curiosity going and coming back to things after a break) enough?
Welcome to season six of The BIG Home Ed Conversations Podcast, where we're digging into the tricky bits of home education. Not the sunshine-and-nature-walks highlight reel, but the real, unglamorous moments that every home educating family knows too well.
In this final episode of the season, we’re doing something a bit different. (Please note, no explicit details are mentioned, but use caution if you listen with children as we do discuss things they may be exposed to as they start to use the internet more widely.) We originally planned an episode focused on internet safety and online security… and then real life happened. We were away at our annual home ed camp, the world took over, and we decided to lean into the learning that was already happening right in front of us. So this becomes a wider conversation about:
In this bonus episode of The BIG Home Ed Conversations, Kelly Rigg is joined by Dr. Chris Bagley — educational psychologist, musician, author, and co-founder of States of Mind (with B. Herbert).