Before I get started, I just want to thank the hosts of this collaboration! Ingrid from Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, Ashley from Joyful Noise Living, and April from The Simple Rugged Path. If you need mama or homeschooling encouragement or inspiration, I highly recommend you check out these ladies channels! At the end of this post, I will share the playlist with you so that you can check out everyone else who is participating in this collaboration.
I have to say it. I absolutely love homeschooling my children! But, I also have to say this. Homeschooling my children is not always rainbows & unicorns! We have our days, and sometimes weeks or even seasons, of difficult and frustrating times. Sometimes during those difficult times, I dream of how nice it would be to just put them on the big yellow bus and have the house to myself for 6+ hours a day. Hmm, yeah, that dream lasts about a millisecond before the other ramifications start popping up in my mind, and I snap back to reality.
I know I'm not the only homeschool mama to have times like this, so I thought I'd share 3 reminders that I tell myself when I feel like throwing in the towel.
1. Remember Your WHY
What made you make the decision to homeschool in the first place? You researched the laws in your state, the standards that had to be met, the curricula. Why? What did you talk to God about in making this decision? Your husband? Your children? As much as homeschooling is growing, deciding to do it is still very much a conscientious and intentional choice. Many homeschool families have at least a few why's, but there's always one or two big why's as well.
Big reasons or small, take the time to write out all your reasons for homeschooling. When you get frustrated, it will be easier to carry on if you can look at that list and remember why you're doing all this in the first place.
2. Remember That God Gave Them to YOU
Whether through natural birth or adoption, God gave your kiddos to you. He knows that we are not perfect parents. None of us are. Only He is the perfect parent. We all make mistakes. But, if we rise to the calling God has called us to, everyone can learn. Everyone. Yes, God wants to use us parents to teach our kiddos. But something we can forget in the heat of a frustrating time is this. God wants to use our kiddos to teach us as well.
For many, or dare I suggest, most, homeschoolers, it's not all about academics and book smarts. Don't get me wrong, academics are important. But character development is important as well, maybe even more important than academics. As homeschooling parents, we have the perfect opportunity to constantly monitor and mold our children's character. But, as I mentioned above, we are not perfect, either. And that goes for our own character. While we are trying to mold our children's character, God is working on ours at the same time.
When you're in the throes of a difficult time in your homeschool, think about not only what you want your child to learn from this time. But think about and pray about what God wants you to learn. Patience? Compassion? Perseverance? If you were to throw in the towel, would that mold character in a good or bad way? Sometimes, that is the only legitimate option, but I would say that is a rare case. Giving up may just be a missed opportunity to strengthen something God wanted to work on for you, your child, or both. So, if you're seriously considering this decision, make sure you are praying to God and listening to what He has for you. Just like in our own parenting, we may not always like what God wants us to do, but obedience will always reap the best fruit.
3. Look Ahead
Pull yourself out of the heat of the moment and give yourself a reality check. Look ahead to what the decision to throw in the towel means. We already talked about a missed character opportunity. For me, sending my kids off to school would leave me with two choices. I would either have to passively accept what they were being taught. Or, I would have to actively "unteach" them some of the things they learned throughout their 6+ hours at school. And, I'm not just talking academics.
Also in looking ahead, take some time to look back at all the moments that were going great in your homeschool. The time when reading suddenly clicked for them, and you know that you helped bring that about. The projects you enjoyed doing together. The field trips where you could go wherever you wanted for however long you wanted, and say exactly enough to help them learn something. You know exactly what will excite your child and what will bore them. The reading & cuddle times. Taking a day or week off when you needed instead of being a slave to the school's schedule. Or anything else you can look on with fondness about your homeschooling times up until now.
There will always be hard times, but they will not last forever! As you work through them, you will come back to the good times. And because you persevered, you are both stronger for it, and the good times will be even better for it. What's that saying about not being able to appreciate the sunshine if there's never any rain?
Don't Give Up, Mama!
I hope this post has encouraged you in some way to keep on keeping on with your homeschool. And I will note here that this is not intended as a slam to those who are in fact sending their kiddos to school or have made the decision to send them after homeschooling. This is meant to be encouragement from a homeschooling mama who has had many frustrating times, to another homeschooling mama who may be in the middle of one of those times herself. Sometimes, sending them to school truly is the best choice for your family, and there is no shame in doing what you have to do to be the best mama to your kids. But if you are homeschooling and are in the middle of a frustrating day, week, or season, I hope I have encouraged you to try and push through!
We have all been through these times. If you have encouragement for mamas going through this right now, I would love for you to comment so we can all help each other out! Thank you for reading, and have a great week!
