Asalamu’alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu ladies,
How was your E’id? I hope you had a super joyous time with your loved ones. We had a beautiful time with close friends and delicious food from around the globe, Alhamdulillah (Malaysian food is SO yum!). This post is a little late but I thought it would be still useful for mothers out there still transitioning back to homeschooling ( which is also the reason this blog post is a little late to get published!) I know that post E’id feeling where everyones feeling tired (especially us mothers), still adjusting to routine after Ramadan and overall just getting back into typical routines. It can feel a little slow, and let’s be honest, quite overwhelming. We’re already feeling tired, and the thought of even opening the books, restarting the lessons and opening our planners can just feel exhausting. So here’s 5 simple tips to restart homeschooling after Ramadan.
We can take small steps to ease back into it all – without feeling pressured. And soon enough, things will be in full swing in sha Allah.
Start with core subjects
Even after homeschooling for so many years, and simplifying our focuses, I still find it difficult to get back into it ALL after a break, or after Ramadan, where it’s not so much a break as it is a change of focus. Because I myself need time to adjust, it’s hard then to get the kids to readjust and start on all their work righ away to. So instead, I’ve come to accept that it’s fine if the first week we just dive into our core subjects and gradually start other things. There are some core things you would have been doing throughout Ramadan anyway, such as Qur’an and Islamic studies. So post Ei’d, it isn’t too difficult to keep going with these cores. Take your first week back as a ‘buffer week’, focusing on your core subjects.
Declutter your space
Post E’id, its safe to say that the house can feel a little cluttered. There’s only so much you can get the house feeling organised, since Ramadan is so busy. So I like to take a couple of days to focus on getting our space decluttered, freshened up, and put away things that we no longer need. Especially when all the kids are fasting, and you want to everyone to keep busy, all the crafts, artwork and DIY projects can accumulate. So get the kids on board, and get your space freshened up. Getting the kids involved helps them to also prepare for usual homeschool routines and overall helps everyone transition nicely.
Establish usual waking/sleeping routines
It might seem like an obvious one, but really, if you only manage to restart or continue a couple of cores, and don’t manage to declutter a thing or manage much else, get your usual waking and sleeping routines back in order. During Ramadan, especially the last ten days, where we try to exert ourselves even more so, our usual routines, including routines for the kids, can change. So post E’id, focus on establishing your usual waking and sleeping routines. You might find its easier to establish bed time first, since you might be sleeping in a little to catch up on rest but thats fine. Get bedtime established and wakeup time will follow in sha Allah.
Simply Meal Plan
I don’t know about you sis, but post E’id I find it just as challenging readjusting to the kitchen as I do readjusting to homeschool. And again like learning, it isn’t because we didn’t cook during Ramadan! It’s just because cooking was confined to a certain time (and I keep things ultra simple in Ramadan), and so time spent in the kitchen is less and not quite the same in terms of time as it is outside of Ramadan. So take a little time to get some simple meal planning in to make that transition easier. I tried a new homemade pizza recipe to get me encouraged!
Remind yourself
Remember here ladies, we didn’t take time ‘off’ to begin with., instead we took advantange of the fact that we homeschool to prioritise our ibaadah in Ramadan; it wasn’t a holiday. So remind yourself that it’s fine if you’re feeling a little tired, and not energetic enough to jump back into it all. You’re leaving Ramadan with a new sense of focus and getting that focus into practicality can take some time to adjust because there are changes to be made that need to be maintained and established in your overall routine. Start slow, and gradually build this new routine.
Because it isn’t about jumping back into life before Ramadan, it’s about leaving Ramadan with some positive habits and continuing them, changing things where you can improve, and still striving, so keep going sis.
