It's been one of those days: Laura didn't want to write spelling definitions, she wanted to write them three times each.
She didn't want to read science, she wanted to do a lab instead. She didn't want to...fill in the blank. We've all experienced days in which homeschool was just...well, hard. Gone were the visions of happy children around a table, merrily notebooking with lab books and unit studies...no, in our house, Laura's whining about the injustice of learning decimals while the bushy-tailed cat jumps on the dining/homeschool table, scattering worksheets and thoughts all over the floor. The distractions of social media are ever present, plus the absurdity of having to make yet another meal that creates yet more dirty dishes...and there's curriculum for next year to think about, labs to plan, lessons to print....let's not forget that we need to formulate an intelligent response to that Harvard woman who wrote that homeschooling article, even though we'll never meet her or send the response in. Boy! Homeschooling isn't for the weak! Here's a thought, a deep one, so lean in close: sometimes, I lose myself in the tight-knit, wonderful, and delightful homeschool lifestyle and forget that it's downright difficult to teach my daughter. I get so wrapped up in the homeschool lifestyle that I forget about homeschooling. It's a bit like marriage, really: we get so wrapped-up-in-love with the idea of marriage that we forget marriage is all about work. Marriage is hard work, but it is worth it. Same with homeschool: it's hard, productive work in which you get to see lightbulbs go off in your child's eyes as they understand concepts, and then they want to talk about them for hours. A while back my husband, daughter, and I went to Ulysses S. Grant's house in St. Louis, Missouri, then a few weeks ago we were in a store, and she saw a book about him. Even though the book was on an adult reading level, her interest was piqued. It's a glorious thing to talk at length with your child about a historical figure, and have her hold her own in conversations. We all have seasons in which we consider hanging up our laminator and calling it quits on homeschool. I think, though, that has more to do with us as parents than the kids. If we parents have some sort of deficit in our knowledge, we get anxious when it's time to teach that subject, so we say, "Oh, I couldn't possibly teach my kid Algebra, so we'll only teach through middle school, and she can go to public high school." Or, we listen to our kids whine all day about missing their friends...listen, here's an unpopular thought: YOU are the parent. YOU know what is best for your child. If your child is missing his friends, by all means, let him hang out with his friends and make new ones at homeschool-related activities. But don't give up -- homeschool is a marathon, in which the prize is far off, but it will be there. It's not a 150m dash or a sprint down the street. No, it's a marathon that lasts years. My daughter just turned 10 years old. She's in the fourth grade. My husband said to me, "We'll only have her eight more years!" Oh, how that frightened me. Only eight more years to teach her all that she needs to know in math, language arts, history, science....I couldn't be more wrong. We have eight more years to give her a solid foundation on which to build a love of learning that will be with her for the rest of her life, and that foundation is being built even now. I want to encourage you--this hard homeschool season you're in is just that: a season. You can do it! If you need to take a day or two or a week off, do it. Take a mental health day. Explore curriculum catalogs with your child. Use your love of homeschool to inspire your family, especially your child. Clean off the dining / homeschool table, organize your homeschool spaces, and tackle what 's next. If you do feel inadequate to teach, though, let me address that: you are not inadequate to teach your own child. That is a lie from the pit of hell. God gave YOU the children to raise, not someone else. You are not inadequate. All throughout school, I didn't so well at math, so it was drilled into me that I couldn't do math. Do you know that hurt me throughout college? I used every C, D, and failing grade I made as confirmation bricks in the wall of my personality. It was only when I started homeschooling Laura that I learned I could do math, because it was all in the way I taught her. I encouraged my daughter and told her that her worth is not based on math or science or reading ability, but who Jesus says she is: a child of God, a daughter of the Most High King, who is made in His image: smart, bright, inquisitive, and kind, among other adjectives. You are not inadequate. You are the perfect person to teach your child, because God entrusted you to be his or her parent. God had no one else in mind other than you to raise and teach your child. If God has called you to homeschool, He will provide the resources, the knowledge, and the wisdom to do so. Trust Him. Trust yourself. In Christ, Terrie (C) 2020 Terrie Bentley McKee ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Being a mom is hard work. You have all the stuff to do, kids to manage, husband to take care of (admit, you do), and work inside or outside the home. Throw in homeschooling kiddos, and you have yourself a mama in bad need of a hot, uninterrupted bath and downtime. Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Homeschooling One Child participates in the Amazon referral program, which provides small commissions to me at no extra cost to you. These commissions help provide for this website, put food on my family's table, and a roof over our heads. For that I am eternally grateful. Shout-out to all the single moms out there, or married single moms -- those of us out there who are married, but because of deployment, disability, or what-have-you, have a ring on the finger that you're working to the bone. Homeschooling moms are with their kids all.day.long. -- by choice, mind you, and they (we) wouldn't give it for anything. I love homeschooling my daughter and seeing the Dawn of Realization peek over the horizon of her mind when she gets an important concept. You can just see the lightbulb turn on. There's nothing like it in the world. Except, maybe, going to the bathroom by yourself. That's right up there, too. And, let's face it: Valentine's is coming up and there are all sorts of Valentine's Day card packets with the obligatory two teacher's cards, but we don't ever see "Thanks for teaching me, mom!" cards...except here. ;) As International Homeschool Day is February 29, 2020, this card is a perfect way to show some appreciation. I've found nine ways to encourage homeschool moms. These may be done by husbands, parents, kids, grandparents, neighbors, church friends--basically, anyone who wants to encourage a homeschooling mother you know. 1. Be mindful of the homeschooling day Learn when a homeschool day is most active, and don't interrupt. If you know that your daughter homeschools your grandchildren in the morning, don't call in the morning. Simply wait until after lunch, or text a quick note to call you back at her convenience. Texting is great because it allows the recipient to respond at his or her leisure. 2. Be mindful of her time Conversely, be mindful of her time. Just because a homeschooling mom is, by definition, at home, doesn't mean she's available. That bears repeating. Just because a homeschooling (or stay-at-home-mom or work-at-home-mom or work-out-of-the-home mom) is at home, doesn't mean she is available. Don't assume she can take Grandma to the doctor or volunteer for that committee or pick up dry cleaning. The beauty of homeschooling is that you have the freedom to teach and interact with your kids as you want. The downside of homeschooling is that you have the freedom to go at a moment's notice, and some people may take advantage of that. Homeschoolers typically schedule and plan out weeks in advance, and it's not just an inconvenience when something is thrown in unexpectedly, it's an abrupt change in plans. Homeschooling teachers typically do not have substitutes to take their class when they are told there is a sudden issue with their parents, as their class is their family. That's not to say emergencies aren't necessary reasons to stop, adapt, and move in a different direction, but choose the emergency. Broken, bleeding, heart attack, stroke: yes. Go. Sudden need for ice cream (been there), rapid desire to go shopping (did that), or an immediate need to buy flour to make chicken and dumplings for the ladies' BINGO game that will be held three days' hence (bought THAT t-shirt): these are not emergencies. 3. Give gift cards Often, a homeschooling mom will spend money on curriculum, dry erase markers, printer ink, paper, printer ink, stickers, notebooks, and printer ink (notice a theme?) but not on herself. Gift cards for coffee on the go, massages, the movies for a date night, or other fun things will help her feel appreciated and loved. 4. Wish list Ask if she has a homeschool wish list on a website like Amazon, ask her to allow you to have access to it--then order things off it during the year. What better way to support the homeschool and take some worry off a mom than to provide a globe, or industrial-strength pencil sharpener, or a cute homeschool mom t-shirt? Whatever is on a homeschool mom's wish list, you know that there are things on it she knows she could use in her home and with her kids, so they will not go to waste. Think about shopping those lists for birthdays or at Christmas. 5. Sick days It's hard to homeschool, parent, take care of the house, and nearly impossible to do all that well when there's sickness in the house. With social media, many times you know when a family is down with the flu, or having a particularly rough season with special needs, or maybe facing surgery. Providing a meal, whether you've cooked it or it's via take-out, is a lovely way to show a homeschool mom you care and have her back. 6. Provide a homeschool conference Conferences that are dedicated for homeschooling families are integral for encouragement, finding out the latest curriculum, getting ideas or assistance, and just being around like-minded individuals. Encouraging a homeschool mom (or dad or family) with paying the registration costs (or, even, travel costs!) of homeschool conferences is a huge way to take an active role in the future of those children. There are a number of homeschool conferences coming up around the country. One, an online conference, is the Homegrown Generation Online Family Expo, which is a one-of-a-kind event. Live and fully interactive, the conference will feature some of today’s most popular speakers addressing the most important issues that homeschool families face. Just $20, it provides lifetime access to participants. Register here. Another conference is Teach Them Diligently, to be held in seven cities around the country this spring. Featuring the top names in homeschooling today plus a first-rate exhibit hall of homeschool vendors, it is not to be missed. Plus, the kids' and youth programs provide incredible opportunities for kids and teens to be around other homeschoolers and have fun learning about Jesus. For 9 years, Teach Them Diligenty Christian homeschool conventions have been a help and encouragement to new homeschool families, seasoned homeschool families, and families who are just thinking about starting homeschooling alike. Register here. 7. Library fines Another way to bless a homeschooling mom is to pay off her library fines. It is inevitable: ask a group of homeschooling moms what's the one thing they wish they could dispose of, and it would be library fines. I use my local library a lot in homeschool, and I would love to have someone offer to take care of our fines. It's a rare month that we don't have some fine from an educational DVD we're still working through, a book that is taking a little longer to read, or a book that was so loved it went missing as it was being read in bed. 8. Encourage play dates Get your families together and have play dates. Offer to have a friend's homeschooling kiddos to come over for a visit, or go visit a homeschooling mom with your kids (and bring coffee!). There really is no substitute for adult conversation, prayer between friends, and play. 9. Discipleship Groups Invite a homeschooling mom to a Bible study as part of a small group or discipleship group. It's hard to keep focused on your own walk with Christ when you're so busy planning the route for others' walks. I'm involved in a small Bible study group with other ladies at my church. We meet every Tuesday night for several weeks in the fall and again in the spring for dinner, study, and fellowship. I'd be lost without that group of ladies. Inviting others into groups helps energize not only the individual but also the group. These are only nine ways to encouragement to a homeschooling mom. Listening, talking, laughing, and sharing in each other's lives mean so much. Blessings, Terrie (C) 2020 Terrie McKee ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
AuthorTerrie Bentley McKee is an author and speaker who homeschools her youngest daughter. Married to her husband Greg, they have four children, all of whom have special needs of varying degrees. Terrie is a follower of Jesus Christ and tries to glorify God in all she does. To read more about her testimony, click here. Affiliate LinksHomeschooling One Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Check out our YouTube channel!Check out our podcast!Please pin!Archives
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