Homeschool Burnout Got You Down? – Safe Haven News November

I hope your family is doing well. How is homeschooling going for you?

Are you feeling some signs of burnout setting in?

I have an encouraging message for you today.

🕯️ When the Days Get Darker: Fighting Burnout with Light and Truth

Dear Homeschool Mama,

As November rolls in and the days grow shorter, something happens in the hearts of many homeschool moms.

At first, we think we’re just tired. We tell ourselves, “I need to go to bed earlier,” or “I just need to get more organized.” But deep down, something heavier lingers. The early fall energy fades. The schoolbooks lose their shine. The to-do lists get longer while our joy feels smaller.

This, dear friend, is what we often call burnout—and you’re not alone if you’re feeling it.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
—Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

🌒 The Signs of Burnout

Sometimes burnout creeps in quietly:

• You dread starting the homeschool day.
• You feel resentful of your responsibilities.
• You question your ability to keep going.
• You’re constantly exhausted—even when you’ve had sleep.
• You feel like you’re failing, even though you’re doing your best.

But here’s the truth: burnout is not failure. It’s a signal. A holy whisper saying, “Slow down. Come back to Me. Let there be light again.”

🕯️ Light in the Darkness

When your homeschool days feel dark, remember: you were not meant to be the light. You were meant to walk in the light—guided by the One who never grows weary.

Here are a few ways to bring light back into your homeschool heart:

1. Start your day with the Word, not the worry.

Even five minutes in Scripture can reset your soul.

2. Simplify wherever you can.

What can you pause, drop, or adjust? This is your homeschool—you have permission to pivot.

3. Invite beauty back in.

Play worship music. Light a candle. Read poetry. Take a nature walk. These small things restore weary hearts.

4. Talk to someone who gets it.

Another homeschool mom, a mentor, or your spouse—don’t carry the heaviness alone.

5. Let grace lead.

God doesn’t measure your homeschool by output. He sees the love you pour in.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
—John 1:5 (NIV)

💡 Light-Filled Encouragements for This Month:

• Write down one thing that’s going well each day.
• Choose one verse to meditate on this week.
• Ask God, “Where do I need more light?”—and listen.
• Remind yourself: burnout is not the end; it’s an invitation to rest and realign.

You don’t have to do everything. You only need to walk with the One who carries everything.
Let this November be a time of returning to the Light—and watching the darkness lose its grip.

Here is a free printable of Scriptures for Weary Homeschool Moms.

Another thing you can do to bring back the light is to make homeschool FUN!!! And I have some exciting ways you can do that right HERE as you’re homeschooling through November and celebrating Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving season, you might want to get this Gratitude Journal for your older students. This is a Gratitude and Listening Prayer Journal.

Keeping a gratitude journal is a good way to reduce stress. Counting your blessings and writing them down increases positivity. Keeping a journal is a very personal activity and allows you to be present with your own achievements. Showing gratitude has been proven to reduce social comparisons, and by expressing what you are thankful for, you are less likely to be resentful towards others. This packet also includes pages for writing your thoughts while you are doing listening prayer. There is an explanation of how to do this if you are unfamiliar with it. This is a great way to get students writing for a purpose while producing good mental health effects for them.

Something you may not know about autism

I read an article about autism by the dad of a young autistic man named Jamie. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

What Jamie Taught Me

Through spelling on a letterboard, my profoundly autistic, non-speaking son revealed the truth that destroys the neurodiversity movement’s narrative.

Jamie is intellectually intact. He’s been aware of everything his entire life but trapped inside a body that won’t obey him. His hand-flapping, his repetitive behaviors, his inability to make eye contact—none of that is his choice. His motor system is damaged.

Jamie doesn’t want his autism celebrated. He describes it as torture—being locked in a prison he can’t escape. He wants to be treated, not accepted. He remembers developing normally as a toddler before autism took over. He knows he was injured.

The neurodiversity movement serves a specific purpose for the pharmaceutical industry: it reframes vaccine injury as genetic variation. If autism is natural human diversity that’s always existed, it can’t be an epidemic and can’t be caused by vaccines. But kids like Jamie who regressed after vaccination prove autism is acquired injury, not innate identity.

Jamie didn’t write about being “blessed” with autism. He wrote: “I want to be free of this prison.”  ~

You can read the rest of this article on Substack HERE.

The dad, J.B. Handley, also helped make a movie called Spellers: The Movie. This movie explains how nonverbal autistic people can communicate through letterboards and the shockingly profound things they say when they get the chance to make their voices heard. Make sure you have your tissues handy as you watch it!
Read his Substack article about how spelling-to-communicate changed his son’s life and the whole family’s life.

Freebie Corner!

🦃 A list of my Favorite Books about Gratitude (with age ranges)

🦃 Teaching Children to Be Thankful – All ages

🐿️ Discussion for parents and teens – Raising a Thankful Leader

🐿️ 30 Days of Fall Activities

🦃 Fall Scattergories Printable Game

🦃 Free when you subscribe to her site – Fall Handprint and Thumbprint Art printable pack

🐿️ Free when you subscribe – Puritans and First Thanksgiving Mini-unit and lapbook

🐿️ This is not free but it’s only $2.95 – “I Remember” Thanksgiving cards – Use these to get Thanksgiving memories flowing!

Here’s something that will cheer everyone up!

Turkey Cookies!All you need to make them is:

Fudge Stripe Cookies

Bon Bons

Chocolate chips

Candy Corn

How to put them together:

1. We melt the chocolate chips to use as glue. We glue the bon bons (the body of the turkey) to the Fudge Stripe cookies with the stripes going up and down so they look like feathers.

2. Then we glue the candy corn to the front of the bon bon to look like the head of the turkey.

3. Then we use toothpicks to dot eyes on the top of the candy corn with the melted chocolate chips.

4. Then we set them up together to make it look like we have a whole flock of turkeys!

Very easy to make and they taste delicious. No baking necessary!

If there’s anything I can help you with, just reach out to me. If you’re fighting burnout or depression, I’m here for you. I can pray with you and help you to overcome whatever is trying to steal your joy and energy.

To book a 15 minute call with me just go to:
https://calendly.com/safehavenhomeschool

 If you have a friend who would like to read this newsletter, please pass it on!

Please come back next month when we’ll be talking about Letting Go of the Public School Mindset (Again).

With light and love,
Penney Douglas
Safe Haven Homeschooling

My books on Amazon

Curriculum I’ve created with a Charlotte Mason twist plus other conventional types of curriculum

E-course I created – The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling

Coaching Course I created – Also called The Basics of Learning and Homeschooling – I take you through the course and do a coaching call with you each month

My shop for homeschool merch, t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, phone covers, and much more!

linktr.ee/penneydouglas – All the places you can find me!

Changed By Love – My original Blog about Homeschooling, Family, Faith, and Alternative News

My YouTube Channel – Safe Haven Homeschooling Channel – Homeschool Encouragement for Newbies and Burnt-out veterans, Family projects, Relationship Building, and Interviews with Homeschool Experts

My Substack – Where I share posts with a rich blend of educational insight, spiritual encouragement, and practical wisdom to help families embrace homeschooling as a lifestyle—not just a school alternative.

Interview about Homeschooling with Ramona Trevino of Blossoms of My Life Radio

Interview about my book Refined by Fire with Ramona Trevino of Blossoms of My Life Radio