Don’t Shelter Them: 4 Ways to Teach Your Homeschooler to Handle Change

Andddd we’re back! After taking a long intermission from writing blog posts, we’re excited to be back in session. We focused heavily on our Freedom 15 course, and it launched on Monday, so we’ve completed that project… for now!

As we approach fall, the weather changes and the leaves fall off the trees. Time slows down, and the sky darkens more rapidly. Change is a part of life, whether we wish for it or not. Change can “buffalo” us humans and cause inner turmoil.

How can we teach our children to become resilient to change? Although it’s a daily process, we can train our children to handle change.

• Start with emotional regulation. 
• Write down important truths. 
• Lean into strong values. 
• Rest in grace. 

The Process of Working through Change

Start with emotional regulation. Teach your child to take a deep breath and pause. When change happens, encourage your child to take a moment. Talk about the power of pausing. Then ask your child to name their feelings and find the positives in the situation. 

If the situation is tragic (such as a family member’s death), positivity is likely misplaced. Instead, encourage your children to say something like “I accept my feelings of sadness. They’re valid and okay.” Sometimes, there isn’t a positive in a situation. That’s okay!

Next, write down important truths with your homeschooler. Ask them to write confidence-building statements, such as “I can handle this. I am brave. I am strong. These feelings will pass. I am not alone.” These statements are all true. 

Lean into strong values with your homeschooler. If you have family values or beliefs, lean into these core foundations. For me, I lean into my faith (or try to, even when it is very hard to have faith). For your family, you may lean into your faith or core values. Encourage your child to do this and talk about how you can lean into these values as a family. 

Lastly, rest in grace with your homeschooler. Encourage your homeschooler that there is grace for all their feelings. It’s okay to feel big emotions sometimes. This is a part of the human experience. There is grace for that. Your homeschooler can rest in grace!

Conclusion

In conclusion, change happens. We can teach our homeschoolers how to handle it and perhaps even learn a few things along the way. At the end of the day, we can have faith and hope that things will work out. In the end, there is always hope. You can teach your child to start with emotional regulation, write down important truths, lean into strong values, and rest in grace. Change is hard, but we can teach our children to stand strong. There is always hope. 

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- NxtEra

Written by Bethany (@thebookwormgirl_bethany)