Self-Compassion for the Homeschool Mama

You will be equipped with practical strategies to address your big emotions, create space for you, and instill activities to nurture the nurturer.

Is this you?

• You know you're reacting in ways you don't want to with our kids, but you don't know a better way.
• You can't point a finger on it, but there's too many things going on & everything feels "too much. 
• You want to show up as your best self, rather than with your tried & true (but not useful) patterns. 
  
• You've truly tried all the things, but nothing feels like it's getting to the heart of this.
  
• You understand that more is caught than taught in how you engage your kids, and that concerns you.
  
• You don't feel supported to learn a new way of engaging.
  

Imagine if...

• You were practiced in the "pause" before you reacted to your child?
  
• You knew for certain you were honouring your child as a separate person?
  
• You had a plan to address your big emotions.
  
• You felt you were enough, and you could do this homeschool thing with confidence.
  
• You felt supported. 
  
• You were super clear when to include self-compassion strategies and how they'd actually benefit you.
  
• You knew you were teaching your child self-compassion strategies, emotional regulation & heathy communication too.
  
• You knew how to respond, not react to your child(ren)?
  
• You knew for certain you were honouring your child as a separate person?
  
• You had energy for each homeschool day.
  
• You knew you were modeling an approach to dealing with your big emotions that you were proud your children were learning.
  

“With self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness and care we’d give to a good friend," Kristin Neff says.

I often share with homeschool mamas that if they’re particularly heated with their kids, they should head to the bathroom mirror.

Stand in front of the mirror.

See that sad, exasperated, angry face?

What would you say that sad, exasperated, angry face if it were your friend?

You might say:

• I’m sorry you’re frustrated.
• I care about you.
• I’ve been there, done that. (Even maybe this morning).
• You’re a good mom; I see how you engage most of the time and you care about your kiddo.

What you wouldn’t say is this:

• You’re a horrible mother.
• You should never have had a child.
• You’re such a screw up.
• You will never learn how to parent with kindness/gentleness/self-control/you-fill-in-the-blank.

Nope, words you’d never utter to a friend.

So why are you doing that to yourself?

(FYI we all speak more harshly to ourselves than we do to others.)

How do you want to speak to your friends?

Look back to your face in the mirror: speak to that “friend” in the mirror.

And lest you think I’m sharing this clever approach, but don’t regularly try it. Turns out, I do try it.

In fact, I use it regularly.

I came by it on a day when I couldn’t access my husband by text. And not my good friend either.

So, who else was I going to talk with? Myself. In the mirror.

And I have since discovered that is a useful, though odd, approach to calming myself down.

And when I’m calm? I can decide how to intentionally respond to my anger/anxiety/sadness/other intense emotion AND head back to my homeschooled kiddos and engage intentionally.

Self-compassion begins with treating ourselves like our own best friend.

See what others are saying:

Maria says, 

"I wanted to share a small moment with you. One thing that I have done for myself since we talked is to set two alarms on my phone-one in the morning and one in the afternoon. When they go (a soft beautiful musical sound) off I pause, put my hand in my heart, and take a few deep breaths. The kids have occasionally been doing this too when they are with me and it goes off. The other day we were all in the kitchen when the alarm went off. All three of us stopped to put our hands on her hearts in complete silence and took deep breaths together. It was a beautiful moment. Thank you!"

Britt says,

"Teresa is a gift with the best humour. I am so blown away by the care you take to really get to know who you are mentoring/talking with. It's so rare these days." 

Carla says,

“Teresa is the real deal! An experienced homeschool Mom who’s been there and can help others get out of overwhelm. Her ability to hold space for silence and difficult feelings makes her “no small talk” approach so effective. I trust her. Her retreat, resources and support meetings have served me tremendously. I’m so glad she’s in my corner! 

Pat says,

"Ugh, the anger story brought back those memories for me - I am a "recovering" angry woman. Maybe a better way to phrase that is a "healing, work-in-process, ex-angry" woman...

I love that question about when kids disobey, "what would my best self do?" Never thought about it that way...

That's a great approach to "befriend" yourself in the mirror...I'm being very intentional about positive affirmations this year, but TELLING them to myself in the mirror sounds like a great extra step to take...

You're doing great work for homeschool mamas..."

Sonia says,

"My greatest insight is that taking care of me does not mean I’m being selfish or ignoring my kids’ needs, quite the opposite actually. The more I treat myself with kindness, listen to my needs and try to address them, the more at ease I will be and the more at ease my whole family will be. It’s all about energy. Using mine wisely to be there more energetically for everyone else."

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I access the journaling notebook?

There are downloadable PDFs at the end of many lessons. None of them may be recopied for other uses but your own.

Will I have access to the entire course all at once?

You'll receive each module once a week so it's manageable and not overwhelming.

What if I decide I want to join one-on-one coaching even though I've not signed up?

Email me to ask when we might include one-on-one coaching too.

What is a coaching course?

A coaching course is the opportunity to consume this self-directed course at your pace (though there'll be just one module per week). And as you comment and share within the course, I'll interact with you there, cheerleading you, helping you clarify your thoughts and challenging you to think outside your mental box.

When will you engage me in discussion in the comments section?

Each morning I'll check in the coaching course to see what you've shared and I will engage with you then.

If I'm a part of the paid Homeschool Mama Support Group, will I receive a discount?

Yes, indeed! Find the coupon code in our Patreon community.

Will I have permanent access to the self-directed course once the coaching program is complete?

You betcha! It's yours AND it's regularly updated too.

Can I purchase coaching sessions beyond this course?

Absolutely! If you want to continue coaching, I'd be delighted to continue. Connect with me here: [email protected]