I am not the world’s best homeschooler. I try really hard and am afraid some days I am going to work myself to death trying, but I figure that the time I take thinking, working, and planning school according to each of my four boys learning styles, has got to pay off in the end.
So, faint of heart you say? I am not a mom who says she has it all together. I like to bake healthy things and cook healthy for my family, but we do not go to the extreme. We still eat cold cereal for breakfast, when I can afford it.
My house is not obsessively organized, even though I am jealous of the moms who have that. I do have a system that generally works for me though.
So, when you are terrified you are not a good enough teacher, you still can do it. There are many things that can help you. I had a moment last week where I felt like from people who should have been encouraging, they were once again joining in that innumerable crowd of people who tell you that I once again was falling short.
They will always be there. Whether or not they mean to do it, there will always be those who will want to tear the faint hearted homeschooler down.
Then there will be the mother who insists she is an unschooler, but I look at her schooling and wish I could do it, but feel like in many ways this year I am . It is much easier in some ways and harder in others.
So, faint hearted homeschooler, there are others out there like you. We are the ones who feel like we never did enough school with them, we take it personally when they cannot read their reader and spelling errors haunt our dreams. But with perseverance, a reminder of why we are doing this, a check on our kids…..we will keep going. We keep going not because we are not scared or believe we do everything perfect all the time, but because we know that sometimes what is best for our family is not always easy.
Other families may have different choices that are best for their family and they may be scared as well. But either way, just remember, just because you are scared, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
I think the times we feel faint of heart is when we are trying too hard. I have decided to trust God to lead me, nudge me in the right direction. It’s when I forget to trust, that I seize up and beat myself up over what I maybe should be doing, but am not. There truly is rest in Jesus, and joy in the journey, and “homeschooling” is not exempt.
I once heard it asked, “How would you homeschool if it were just you, your children, and God, to deal with?” As we answer that question in our hearts, we discover how much we are performing because of what people think. Does God want our children to be successful, clear thinking adults one day? I think so, and I believe He will lead. I have only to follow. His plan for their life has got to be on a much grander scale than mine. Is He limited by my weaknesses? No, as I give them to Him, He can be for me what I am not!
Have a blessed week, cast all your cares on Him!