Sunday, July 3, 2011

Will I ever get to homeschool the way I want to?

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine
By Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
June 29, 2011

I ask myself this question, not once a year, but nearly every week: "When will I ever get to homeschool the way I want to?" I'd be the best homeschool teacher if it weren't for (fill in the blank: difficult interruptions/difficult finances/difficult children/friends who do it better/spouses who aren't supportive, etc.).

Should I give up if I can't afford that perfect curriculum, or what if I have it and can't implement it every day? Should I quit because I can't do the extra classes and field trips right now? Should I think of another alternative because my kids are always whining or bickering? What about those all-too-often family emergencies that interrupt the schedule? And what about that necessary part-time job that keeps me busy-shouldn't I give up on this homeschooling business?

So many things get in the way of me having that perfect homeschool setting I dream about. So many LIFE things. Instead of asking, "When will I ever get to homeschool the way I want to?" we should probably be asking, "When will life be perfect enough to let me do things the way I want them done so I can feel successful?" The answer is: maybe never. And guess what? There is freedom in that.

Instead of looking at everyday life as an "obstacle" to finally getting to do what we want to do, we need to look at the obstacles as part of the life God intended for us to live, and teach around those. It's how we live THAT life that brings glory to the One Who designed it. However, that does not release us from properly planning our ways and keeping unnecessary distractions at bay.

We should definitely start each school year praying, "God, what do you have for me and the children this year?" and then we should follow that plan as much as we can. Then, we should have a daily prayer of, "God, what do you have for me and the children today?" Then, instead of feeling like we've failed when interruptions come, we can rejoice in the fact that everything that happens out of our control is under His control.

Don't give up. Don't give in. Start again and again. Little by little, day by day, we keep it at. Why? Because we are the ones that God designed to teach our children. He didn't give the responsibility of that job to any other but you. What the Lord wills for you, He provides for you.

And, the alternatives are not worth it. The high percentage of children leaving their faith is staggering. Hold on to the hearts of your children while you can. Home is best. Home is where you belong. Home is where they belong.

"Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." James 4:13-15

~Deborah
TOS Senior Editor

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