I've been a homeschool mom for 14 years. In my early years of homeschooling, I wanted to quit every February. Every single one. I’d start calling public schools about enrollment, setting up tours at the private schools and doing the math to see if it would fit our budget. I’d never really make a decision, and somehow, we’d hobble through until spring. Then every May, I’d start thinking about the next school year and be really excited about homeschooling again!

After a few years of this, I realized it was not a sustainable pattern. I couldn’t keep losing relational ground with my kids mid-winter because we just weren’t feeling the “schooling” part of homeschooling. But I didn’t know what to do about it.

By chance, we had an opportunity to take a mini vacation one February. We spent the time from the holiday break until our trip in anticipation, planning, and learning about all the things we could see and do. The time flew by, and before I knew it, it was April, and I hadn’t remembered wanting to quit at all that year! We were all getting along better, and never lost our flow before being excited to do it all again.

I excitedly shared my transformation with other homeschoolers in my community, and heard about their February struggles and the strategies for getting through it. I realized that I was not alone in this pattern, and I realized that I needed to be proactive about the doldrums of the long, dreary winter days that affected all of us. Our family traveled when we could, but as my kids got older and dual-enrollment classes and dance competitions limited our freedom, I had to find other ways to “flip the script” on the February slump!

Thus, the Flip Your February Challenge was born!