{"id":9243,"date":"2016-11-18T14:04:08","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T14:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2016\/11\/18\/tips-for-avoiding-the-mid-year-slump\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T14:04:08","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T14:04:08","slug":"tips-for-avoiding-the-mid-year-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2016\/11\/18\/tips-for-avoiding-the-mid-year-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Avoiding the Mid-Year Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<em>By Cassie Espich, Off-Campus Program Advisor<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Here in Michigan, the leaves are falling from the trees, the days are getting shorter, and the air is brisk. Autumn has arrived, which only means that winter is not too far away! December will be here in a few short weeks, and with it usually comes freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and the prospect of months indoors.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you don\u2019t live in a climate that has winter like we do, many homeschooling families find themselves falling into a mid-year slump around this time; they\u2019ve gotten into a good routine with their school work and studies, but the routine has begun to seem boring.<\/p>\n<p>Have you played all the games, done all the activities, or gone on all the field trips that are in your regular bag of tricks, and are now finding that your students are getting restless? Whether you\u2019re stuck inside because of weather or stuck in a routine that needs some spice, the following tips can help you make it through the next few months.<\/p>\n<h3>Tip #1: Get out of the house and into a museum.<\/h3>\n<p>You might have thought you\u2019ve gone and seen and done it all, but there still might be a museum, gallery, or fun place that you have yet to discover. Finding a museum or similar indoor activity can be great on days when you just don\u2019t want to be out in the rain or cold (or heat!). Check out these links to find museums near you:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 40px;padding-bottom: 10px\">\n<li>Museum.com lets you <a href=\"http:\/\/www.museum.com\/jb\/start\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">search for museums around the world<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/greatmuseums.org\/find_a_museum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Find a Museum<\/a>\u201d section of the Great Museums Television website provides a list of U.S. museums by state and location.<\/li>\n<li>MuseumsUSA.org includes a search box to help you <a href=\"http:\/\/www.museumsusa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">find local museums anywhere in the United States<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Tip #2: Expand your network.<\/h3>\n<p>Remember, you\u2019re not alone! There might be other families near you who are also looking for things to do. As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hslda.org\/docs\/news\/2016\/201611150.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">homeschooling becomes more popular<\/a>, families are coming together to form local homeschooling groups and co-ops. Many of these groups have classes for students, but many more are for the sole purpose of getting out of the house to meet and play with other kids. Use these links to find a group near you:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 40px;padding-bottom: 10px\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.home-school.com\/groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Homeschool Organizations and Support Groups<\/a> from Homeschool World<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hslda.org\/orgs\/Default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Homeschool Organizations<\/a> from HSLDA<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehomeschoolmom.com\/local-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Local Homeschooling Resources<\/a> from The Home School Mom, which is a great resource for learning more about homeschooling in your area.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/localhs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Local HS<\/a>, which provides links to different types of support like tutors and mentors as well as groups and co-ops.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.secularhomeschool.com\/content\/203-secular-homeschool-support-groups-country-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Secular Homeschool Support Groups by Country and State<\/a> (Note: Although this list shows secular-only groups, you shouldn\u2019t feel deterred from joining a group if it has a religious affiliation. Many religious-based groups love to have any family join, regardless of the family\u2019s beliefs.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/a2zhomeschooling.com\/support_groups\/support_groups_homeschool_worldwide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Homeschool Support Groups<\/a>, a comprehensive list from Ann Zeise that includes groups around the world, not just the United States!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Tip #3: Go outside anyway!<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s commonly known now that playing outside in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/weather-news\/children-winter-cold-health-safety\/40982792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">winter is good for kids<\/a> in many ways. Letting kids play outside in the winter helps build their immune system, gives them much needed exercise, and also allows them to absorb plenty of vitamin D. The following resources offer a number\u00a0of ideas to keep you busy:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 40px;padding-bottom: 10px\">\n<li>Peak Fitness outlines the <a href=\"http:\/\/fitness.mercola.com\/sites\/fitness\/archive\/2015\/03\/06\/spending-time-outdoors.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reasons why it\u2019s beneficial to get outside<\/a> (for everyone, not just kids!), and provides tips on how to prepare for being in harsh weather and knowing when it might be too cold.<\/li>\n<li>The National Wildlife Foundation has created a document to help parents\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nwf.org\/pdf\/Be Out There\/BOT_WeatherReport_3d_forWeb2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feel confident with playing outdoors (PDF)<\/a>\u00a0no matter the weather. The NWF also has a searchable site that helps you <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nwf.org\/activity-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">find activities by keyword<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>NAEYC shares\u00a0many good ideas for <a href=\"http:\/\/families.naeyc.org\/learning-and-development\/music-math-more\/explore-great-outdoors-your-child\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to engage your child in outdoor play<\/a>. This group mainly provides resources for younger children, but many of the ideas are applicable to all ages.<\/li>\n<li>The Natural Learning Initiative, from North Carolina State University, has created a list of <a href=\"https:\/\/naturalearning.org\/winter-play\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">activities to do in different types of weather<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Does your family live in a cold-winter climate (in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere) that makes you feel like you\u2019d rather stay inside? Or do you find your student falling into the mid-year slump?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Please share your ideas of what you do to keep things interesting at this time of year.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Cassie Espich, Off-Campus Program Advisor Here in Michigan, the leaves are falling from the trees, the days are getting shorter, and the air is brisk. Autumn has arrived, which only means that winter is not too far away! December will be here in a few short weeks, and with it usually comes freezing temperatures, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}