Welcome to our New Year Homeschool Restart Series! If you are just joining us, here’s what you’ve missed so far:

• HOMESCHOOLING GOT DERAILED BY THE HOLIDAYS? Let’s get Back On Track together!
• Overcoming the AFTER-CHRISTMAS-COMA before the Homeschool Restart!
• Printable FILL-IN-THE-BLANK, COLOR-ME THANK YOU NOTES!
• ~KIDS’ CALENDAR of Verses to Navigate a Volatile World~

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The holidays can really wreak some havoc on the Homeschool day . . . and mornings may fare worst of all. Just like those extra holiday pounds, we may have also allowed some sticky holiday habits to really settle in and seep into our Homeschool routine this New Year. Join us this week as we set to work tackling five major morning trouble spots that are bound and determined to unravel the entire Homeschool day!

First up . . .

Let’s End the Pajama War!

“Do I have to get dressed, mom? Ugggg, why?” Sound familiar? If it were up to our son, every day would be pajama day. I can’t say I blame him. To be honest, I often join him. But letting our kids (and ourselves) wear jammies each and every day isn’t ideal for Homeschooling. For one thing, it’s a slippery slope. PJs are cozy and cuddly and they don’t inspire a whole lot of productivity. Pajama pants in particular seem determined to plant themselves on the couch. And the whole ensemble breeds a lot of familiarity with the remote control.

For another thing (if you care about this sort of thing), pajamas don’t communicate a lot of productivity either. . . you know, to your nosy neighbor, or the UPS man, or your public-school-is-the-only-way-to-go Auntie Dorothy. I tend not to care very much on these points, but I think they at least deserve to be mentioned in a discussion of the Homeschool pajama predicament.

Lastly, when our kids wear pajamas day in and day out, they tend to forget what . . . you know . . . real clothes actually are. This has been the case at our house since the holidays. Our son will head out to the car in his pajamas or expect he can wear them over to the neighbors because to him they have become legitimate daytime attire. Whoops.

Ok . . . so no more PJs on weekdays . . . is that right? That is certainly one way to approach things . . . but it’s not the way we have chosen. For starters, I believe that our Homeschool is first and foremost a HOME and secondarily a SCHOOL. There are perks to being a Homeschool kid (and parent) and PJs are certainly one of them (getting to use your own blessed toilet is another)! In the end, I want to be a mama first, and a teacher second. And I don’t want to be so strict that our kids never get to have a cozy day at home here and there and reap some of the rewards of being Homeschool kids! Secondly, I don’t want to swear off pajamas every day myself! After all, not having to get “dressed” for work is one of my favorite perks of Homeschooling, too.

So, if you are in a pajama predicament like we are, here are a few creative ideas we have come up with to help rein in the pjs parade:

1. Set a weekly “Dress Down Day”: Mondays or Fridays are an obvious choice. Tell your kids that pajama day is on Monday, Friday, or whichever day of the week you choose, and stick to that.
2. Categorize your “Cozies”: our son loves being cozy. Uncomfortable clothes actually make him resent whatever activity has required that attire. To be fair, don’t we all feel a little bit that way? I certainly don’t want our Homeschool to be be seen as a drag or killjoy. So at our house, we have two categories of “cozy clothes”; one is actual pajama sets (you know, with trains, or unicorns, or dragon prints) and the other is clothes that feel similar to pajamas in their level of comfort; like sweats, long sleeve cotton shirts, and hoodies (an everyday favorite at our house). These “cozies” as we call them are our dress code for the Homeschool day. No, they are not fancy. No, they are not picture-perfect. But we are comfy and happy and loving learning at home together. And hey, they aren’t technically PJs, so I call it good. (Jeans, slacks, and button down shirts are designated for going out or having guests over.)
3. The Pajama Day Voucher: If you would like to offer more free choice and control to your child for choosing pajama day, I offer to you our Pajama Day Voucher. I have added this PJ voucher which was included in our Christmas Coupon post to our ongoing Movie Ticket System which kills two birds with one stone. First, it limits our son to no more than one PJ day each week, and secondly, it cuts down our son’s receipt of movie tickets by 1/5 (he has the opportunity to earn 1 movie ticket each school day for the week which now rotates every fifth reward with a PJ voucher instead. In other words, instead of getting to watch up to five movies (including documentaries, musicals, and family movies) each week, he now can watch up to four total titles each week).

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Cheers to being both COZY & CONSTRUCTIVE in our Homeschools!

Thanks for reading!

Love, ~Our Holistic Homeschool~