It’s your first child. A toddler. They are driving you, up.the.wall. Everybody and their great-grandmother of your sister’s neighbor tells you, “they grow up so fast,” and “enjoy them while they’re young.”
The gray hairs are increasing and your patience is running thinner and thinner each morning. You’ve always wanted to homeschool, even before you started having kids (maybe, I know with several of my homeschooling readers that isn’t necessarily the case). But the stress keeps getting to you and yes, you consider sending them off to…..never mind. Here we are. We bury those feelings and decide to go for it and homeschool! Yes we go through ups and downs on the emotional roller-coaster but, we’ve made it this far and we can keep going.
And not only can we make it but we can thrive!
And honestly, we are not alone. The difficulties and struggles I face each day, you’ve probably faced them too. Maybe not the same scenarios per-say, but the same emotions. The helplessness, the wondering if I even know what I am doing at times. We are all different, yet we all struggle at times with the attitudes, the tears and the wondering. So why do we keep pressing on? Because…
It is not. about. us.
Some of you were used to having a few hours to yourself each day when your kids were in school, but you gave that up. Others quit their career to stay at home and teach your children. We all make sacrifices. From the time our children were born new sacrifices had to be made. God had called us to be parents, everything we knew about life, now changed forever. When we choose to homeschool our children we know we must count the cost and we’ve found that
The cost of complete sanity is worth it for the sake of our kids.
In the past two years of homeschooling I’ve learned this. I love being with my kids! And the way that I can honestly say this in complete truth is by understanding that homeschooling does not have to be like public school. Once I truly “got it” and understood that homeschooling is simply creating an “atmosphere of learning” everything changed. For the better. When I would try a method of learning that would cause complete frustration on my part and the kids I would have to ask myself this question.
Is there a better way to present the material?
Usually the answer is yes. If I just have a few workbooks to “get through,” I feel as though I have missed the point completely. Yes my older ones obviously do worksheets and my oldest takes tests but my methods have drastically changed over the past couple of years. We love to read. To be engaged. To partake in hands-on activities.
Homeschooling does not have to be full of just “getting through ” the day but an enjoyable learning adventure. When the kids were younger there was a time when I dreaded waking up in the morning because I feared what I would have to sacrifice that day. Now, I look forward to what is in store and look forward to spending time with my children both teaching and learning from them!
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