Somewhere along the path of the homeschooling journey, you move from being the newbie to the veteran. I know it was a shock to me when it happened!

As we enter into our 13th year of homeschooling I’d like to share 12 things I’ve learned over the past 12 years.

  1. First and foremost, God’s touch is necessary on our homeschool – not only to figure out the coming year, but EVERYDAY!
  2. What works for one child, won’t always work for another, no matter the amount of tweaking and retweaking! Most times the same workbook  that is “fun” for my straight forward book learner, is nothing but “toil and drudgery” for my kinesthetic learner.
  3. Teach children to make eye contact and express themselves effectively with words both written and spoken even if they aren’t going to be writers or public speakers.  This definitely sets them apart from their schooled peers.
  4. Don’t like this season of learning?  Don’t worry, it won’t last long.  A new chapter with new challenges is right around the corner!
  5. Just because you’re the adult doesn’t mean you’re finished learning!  My children have taught me more about life, love and the Lord in these past 12 years than in the 33 prior.
  6. It’s ok to have a child who doesn’t enjoy “doing” art.  And it’s also ok to stop signing him up for every art related thing before the 7th grade.  Children are most empowered when learning things that mirror their gifting’s.  Just ask my “one crayon” kid!
  7. Teach The Bible and History and LOTS of it.  It’s important for their future that they spot “cycles of trouble” far off and understand how to avoid it.
  8. There’s always one child in the bunch who breaks the mold and turns everything you THINK you know about learning upside down.  Embracing this difference and not striving to fit him/her to your mold makes the day to day a journey and not a life sentence.
  9. Prayer changes EVERYTHING!  Pray often.  Let your children HEAR you pray.  Encourage them to pray aloud for one another.
  10. Don’t tolerate sibling rivalry.  Do all you can to teach them to love one another.  Refer to #9 often.
  11. Children eat too much and grow too fast!  One minute you are kneeling to get within their line of vision and the next they are stooping over in order to make eye contact with you!
  12. Face each year with grateful expectations for not only what God will do, but how you and your children will grow in knowledge and understanding.

Now that I’ve shared my list, tell me, what have YOU learned on your journey?