Interest-Led Homeschooling When You Lack Motivation

Interest-led homeschooling is great, but what do you do when you lack the motivation and don’t feel inspired or creative? Sometimes lacking motivation as a homeschool mom is very normal. As interest-led homeschoolers, we’ve found ways to follow our child’s interests even when we’re not feeling super into it. 

I’m excited to share my favorite tips and tricks for sticking to an interest-led learning plan when you really lack the motivation to keep going. These tips can help you get started this school year with an engaging interest-led plan your kids will love! 

Plus, these ideas are perfect for those times of the year when you’re just over it. Keep reading to discover how my interest-led unit studies and resources can help you stick to the plan in your homeschool. 

Lacking Motivation As A Homeschool Mom

There are times when homeschooling isn’t fun, times when it can be really challenging. So what can we do when homeschooling feels difficult and we don’t feel motivated? 

There are definitely seasons of life where homeschooling is more challenging than normal. If you’re in one of those seasons, I want to encourage you to stick it out and give yourself lots of grace. 

But maybe you’re just feeling uninspired about the upcoming homeschool year. If that’s the case, don’t worry. We all have those seasons. 

If you’re just feeling less inspired than normal, that’s ok too. The good news is that we can homeschool successfully and take an interest-led approach to learning even when we don’t feel like playing super mom. In fact, the super hero parent thing is a myth anyway.

Interest-Led Homeschooling: The Myth Of The Super Hero Parent

We love interest-led homeschooling! Following Emily’s interests has led us to learn and discover new things together, finding new passions, and developing a deeper connection with each other. 

Fortunately for us, adopting an interest-led approach to learning hasn’t meant that we’re constantly running around like a crazy parent. Instead, we have found ways to incorporate Emily’s interests that work for our whole family. 

There are lots of myths about homeschooling. The myth of the super hero parent is definitely a big one! Being interest-led homeschoolers doesn’t mean we’ve got it all figured out and it certainly doesn’t mean we’re superheroes. 

If you’re wondering how we do it and thinking you’d never be able to find the motivation to plan lessons, especially homeschool lessons that your kids are excited about and interested in learning all year, keep reading. You don’t want to miss my tips for interest-led homeschooling when you lack motivation.

Tips For Interest-Led Homeschooling When You Lack Motivation

I’m so grateful for all the little homeschooling life hacks we’ve discovered along the way! Interest-led homeschooling has been a wonderful experience for us, but it isn’t always easy. Fortunately, these tips and tricks make it easy to stick with an interest-led approach when you lack the motivation.

Give Strewing a Try

Strewing is all about providing opportunities for learning through creative exploration for our kids. It’s a great way to encourage independent learning in your homeschool. 

Plus, you can use strewing to discover what your kids are passionate about and incorporate their interests into every day of learning this year! Then, build lessons that match up with their interests. 

Curious about how to use strewing in your homeschool this year? Discover everything you need to know to get starte strewing in your homeschool this year. We love strewing art projects because Emily really enjoys art and it’s something I’m not really into.

Strewing is perfect for when you’re not feeling motivated. In fact, we often use strewing activities in the mornings when Emily is ready to get started and I’m still trying to get a cup of coffee. If I set up a strewing activity the night before, Emily can explore independently all morning.

Embrace Technology

One tip I really want to share with you is to embrace technology and all the amazing educational benefits that screens can offer our kids. I know we get a lot of mixed messages about technology as moms, but there are some wonderful things that can come from incorporating tech into your homeschool lessons.

Activities like learning lunches where Emily occupies herself with a new documentary or educational playlist while I get a little time to myself have saved my sanity! Plus, Emily learns all kinds of really cool new things in the process. 

Screens have the ability to engage our kids in a way that books can’t always do. Discover how to let go of your fear of technology and embrace screens in your homeschool. When you aren’t feeling motivated to follow your child’s interests in elaborate science projects, messy crafts, and complicated STEM projects, a great YouTube video experiment can save the day!

Find a Great Unit Study

Finally, consider adopting unit studies. Homeschool unit studies make interest-led learning easy! Finding a great unit study that includes lots of great resources can save the day and make planning your homeschool lessons so much easier. 

All our unit studies here at The Waldock Way incorporate fantastic book lists for further reading, printable games you can play right away and board game suggestions, and curated Pinterest boards with projects for every subject! 

Plus, all these unit studies are interest-led so you’re sure to find a topic that’s interesting for your child no matter what they’re into! Discover my guide to homeschool unit studies for more tips on how to capture your child’s attention with interest-led unit studies in your homeschool. 

Unit Studies To Consider For Easy Interest-Led Homeschooling

I’ve got so many amazing unit studies for you to explore as you plan your interest-led homeschool year! Plus, each of these unit studies comes with tons of resources ready to go so you can rock this homeschool year even if you don’t feel motivated.

Literature Based Unit Studies

My literature based unit studies are all built around great books! These interest-led unit studies incorporate history, geography, science, and more with fun topics from your favorite books. Don’t miss Wizards and Wands based on the popular Harry Potter books or Passport to Adventures based on the Magic Treehouse book series. 

Geography & History Studies

My geography and history unit studies cover historic events, places, and natural history. Your homeschoolers can use Traveling the Parks to learn more about America’s National Parks or Travel the World to learn about landmarks all over the planet!

Nature & Science Unit Studies

Do your kids love space? Are they curious about how to survive in the wild? Then you’ll love our interest-led nature and science unit studies! Homeschoolers can learn how to survive an avalanche with Bear Grylls in the Survival Unit Study or learn all about Earth’s natural satellite in The Moon Unit Study.

I hope these tips and our comprehensive unit studies have helped you feel more motivated about homeschooling with an interest-led approach this year. What are you most excited about doing this year in your homeschool? Tell me all about it in the comments!