Though I am not a second generation homeschooler, does it count that I witnessed my mother homeschool my younger sister?
My little sister and I (albeit I was in high school) ducked down in the back seat of the car as my mom drove us over to meet up with other incognito homeschoolers during school hours. I fondly recall three important homeschool lessons I learned from my mother.
Harness the Power of Perseverance.
The tenacity that my mother exuded as we met regularly with other homeschoolers at a time when most people thought it was illegal to homeschool motivated me to not only value my privilege to homeschool, but to build the beginnings of my homeschool on a strong foundation.
Placing a high value on the privilege to homeschool, it becomes a treasure. Perseverance through hard times and not giving up teachings us to finish what we start.
True enjoyment from homeschooling doesn’t come at the beginning, but it comes from accomplishing it year after year.
When you quit homeschooling soon after starting, you never experience that deep down inner joy that comes from homeschooling a child to the finish. It’s hard to put that delight into words.
A Homeschool Support Group You Never Want to Leave.
Not only did my mother show determination to stick with homeschooling, but she set an example about the importance of meeting with other homeschoolers.
In today’s homeschool world where a new homeschooler can’t tell the difference between a co-op and a mini version of public school among co-ops, homeschool support was much more transparent then.
It was support from fellow homeschoolers through the ups and downs of homeschooling. It was a support group that backed you up at times when you felt like quitting. Not only did the children find lifelong friends, but the parents found camaraderie among like-minded individuals.
Homeschool co-ops were not about whether it was a good fit for your family or not, they were inextricably linked to a successful homeschool journey. From that thinking, I molded and organized the homeschool co-op I formed.
Now that two of my sons are graduated, they are still reaping benefits from a homeschool co-op where parents spent hours upon hours supporting one another.
That is the kind of homeschool co-op you or your kids never want to leave.
Imperfect? – Perfectly Acceptable.
The third important thing I learned though it took me longer to accept was that giving my best was perfect enough. It’s a scary thing to think we won’t teach our kids all the concepts they need to know before adulthood, but you won’t.
The bottom line is that there are many seasons in homeschooling and we need every tool available to weather the tides. If one season, you use a boxed curriculum and another year you don’t, it is perfect for your circumstances at the present.
Accepting our shortcomings and shoring them up with any tool at our means puts the focus on homeschooling with excellence in mind.
My mom only had a boxed curriculum at her disposal and she valued it because it wasn’t so easily purchased by her. Unlike today with the abundance of curriculum thrown at us, my mother had to fight for months with boxed curriculum providers to prove that she was an educator. With that boxed curriculum, she could tout that my younger sister received an excellent education.
Did she have perfect circumstances? No. She made her circumstances perfect by accepting what she could do.
Learning many life lessons from my precious mom are treasured moments.
Learning lifelong homeschooling lessons are priceless because I now passed them on to my sons!
What about you?
Even if your mom wasn’t a homeschooler, what small but significant thing has she done to inspire you to keep on homeschooling?
