It’s so easy to focus our efforts on the things that give us quick results. It makes us feel like we’ve accomplished something. As if our work was not in vain. Clean dishes. Beautiful hair. A child reciting their math facts. A well-behaved kid. High SAT scores. A good job.
But think about it.
Do we want quick results or lasting results?
Lately, I’ve been encountering this idea of the perfect mom. We all seem to be striving for it, and falling miserably short. Yet, we look at other moms and think, “Wow, she’s such a good mom.” Of course, she seems perfect.
I think in this modern culture where we’re able to connect with so many people from around the world, and yet not really know them, it’s so easy to perpetuate the myth of the perfect mom. We read a blog or facebook post about something one mom is doing something with their kids that we greatly admire, and we think, “perfect mom”. I’m not doing that. I’m not perfect. As a result, we feel guilty, inadequate, and maybe even resentful.Continue Reading
Reflecting over your previous year can help you as you’re making plans for this current school year. I encourage you to set aside an hour or two of uninterrupted time to reflect over these questions.
These questions are a great way to evaluate your homeschool, and help you develop a plan for implementing some changes. Don’t just do what you’ve always been doing. Your children are in a constant state of change, so we must adjust our approach to teaching our children as they mature. I’ve often found it so much easier to put my homeschool on autopilot. But in doing so, our school becomes stagnate. Learning loses its excitement, and I stop growing.
I’ve learned my lesson and I’m not doing that anymore.
What worked? Why did it work? (Let’s keep doing this, and perhaps add more.)
What didn’t? Why didn’t it work? (Let’s eliminate this.)
When did you feel like you were in your groove? (do more of this)
When did you feel like quitting? (do less of this)Continue Reading
It takes courage to homeschool.
It takes courage to decide that we, the parents, can do something better for our children than what the experts have suggested. (How dare we have the audacity to think that our Creator would tell us what our children need?)
It takes courage to swim against the tide. (It’s hard too!)
It takes courage to tell friends, neighbors and our family, that we’ve decided to educate our children as they look at us as though we’ve lost our minds. (Sometimes we question our own sanity.)
It takes courage to have your children with you all of the time, with no breaks. (It’s ok to daydream about how dreamy it would be to have your children in school during the day.)Continue Reading