Homeschooling Tips for the Weak

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I have many friends who are homeschooling mommas. They make it look amazing and they make it look easy. I study all their pictures on Instagram, I read their blog posts and I drool over the ideas they have on Pinterest. They all seem so happy and they all seem so put together. When I started homeschooling this is what I thought our life would like.

Our first homeschooling day was amazing and well our first month felt like we were in some mystical place. Then reality set in. Homeschooling isn’t for the weak and it isn’t for those who are unwilling to allow it to consume their lives. There are moments when you want to run and hide in the closet with all the chocolate you have in the house. There are other moments when you want to have a party in the middle of the school day. Homeschooling can be rewarding to a momma’s heart one day and it can be torture to a momma’s soul the next. You must be prepared.

 

So why do we homeschool?

We do so because the good days far outweigh the bad.

We do so because as a family we are a team and we are in it together.

We do so because we know this is what God has choosen this family to do.

We do so because we are a family who is willing to sacrifice it all for the good of our children.

We do so because this momma is stubborn and refuses to give up.

 

 

So how can we equip ourselves to actually make it even when we don’t feel strong enough?

1. Take time to seek God before the day even begins: This is an absolute must!! Getting up even 30 mins before the kids do to soak in some God time allows us to get in the right frame of mind and it helps us to maintain our sanity throughout the day.
2. Approach each school day with excitement even when you have to get that excitement from down deep: If we approach the school day with dread…So will the children.
3. Learn when to shut down school early: Currently, we are teaching a middle schooler, a kindergartener, and two preschoolers. This can be so tiresome when I have such a huge age gap. Sometimes it can be just as stressful for them. When the day is taking a nose dive I have learned it is time to close the school books and do something a bit different. It is time to get a tad creative and simply learn through our life experiences of the day. Math is easily though through cooking, science can be learned while tending our garden or caring for our animals, grammar can be taught through reading a fun book together and well honestly the possibilities are endless. Book work is important but just like me, sometimes the kids simply need a break from the normal.
4. Pull your more experienced homeschooling friends into the fold: We are the only ones in our family that homeschool. We have honestly never seen it done. However, I have amazing friends who are homeschooling rock stars. I can call them at any time or send them a message. We have each other on speed dial!! They provide me with encouragement and they remind me why it is our family is on this journey on those bad days. They also join me in a happy dance when we have a great school day.
5. Come to terms with the fact that your day will not go as planned: Never does our day go as I have it outlined. This used to drive me insane. However, I am learning that this is OK. In fact, it is actually great because it means I have more teachable moments than I expected.
6. Remember that homeschooling is a lifestyle: Our home looks like a giant classroom. It used to bother me until I realized that because our home has crazy science experiments on my kitchen counter, reading books in my living room and overflowing drawers filled with writing materials that my home is filled with learning. So I am coming to terms with it and I am actually dreading the day when my home actually looks normal.
7. Take time for yourself: Seriously this is a must. Teaching, cleaning and being a wife is hard work and will burn you out very quickly. It doesn’t matter if it is a 15-minute walk around your neighborhood or locking yourself in the bathroom. You have to keep yourself sane.
8. Above all remember that you are not alone: There are so many of us who are learning this homeschooling thing as we go. There are many of us who feel simply too weak. Yet we get up each morning, throw on our yoga pants and grab that huge cup of coffee. We do so because though we may feel weak we know that God has got this all under control and unless we want our children living in our basement till we die they have to have an education.

 

Until Next Time Just Keep Soaring 4 Him,

I would like to invite you to my Facebook group Christian Homemakers in Training where we dive into homemaking, motherhood, marriage and group devotions. After all, we all need a safe place to grow together, right?

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