Often times I hear the mummers, they go like this:
“It must be so hard to homeschool.”
“I have no patience, I could never homeschool my kids.”
“How do you get any time alone?”
“Don’t you miss going to work?”
“I would have no idea what to teach.”
“I’m not a teacher, I don’t have a degree.”
“How do you do it?”
“God bless you, I could never homeschool.”
These are just a FEW of the comments I hear or have heard in the past.
In this post I am going to address just TWO of them: Patience and Me Time
I have to be really honest here. My husband and I have been homeschooling our children now for 8 years. I am by no means a “veteran” homeschooler, but with this many years under my belt, I have learned a few things.
First off, my decision to homeschool was not a spur of the moment thing. This was a long year long debate, mostly internal, but a debate nonetheless. See, I have homeschooling sisters and I myself was homeschooled for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. So, I wasn’t coming into this “homeschool thing” blind, I knew a little bit about it.
The years that I wasn’t homeschooled, I went to “regular” school. Public and private Christian schools. See, I had a taste of every school there was. And looking back, honestly y’all, I now believe that if I was never homeschooled during those precious puberty years, I would not be the woman I am today. Growing up is hard enough with all those raging hormones, but being subjected to multitudes of children going through the same thing, at the same time?! I never would have made it out unscathed.
Public school was when I was young, in a very small country school. Yes, there were tough times, but nothing compared to what it could have been. The high schools years I went to a small private Christian school. And for your information, I learned more inappropriate things there then you could even imagine, because teenagers are teenagers no matter where you go.
So, with all of this past personal experiences I thought for sure that regular school was the way to go. My kids would be just fine. My husband and I even moved into a subdivision (planned community) directly across the street from an elementary school and a high school.
The closer the time came for us to enroll my oldest into school, the more doubts I was having about this whole school thing. I felt the Lord pressing on my heart more often than not. I knew that my son was full of energy, bouncy, full of a thousand and one questions…and from all the articles I was reading at the time, I just knew that my son would be labeled ADHD. Not that this doesn’t exist, I know for fact that it does, but I also believe that it is often mislabeled for many boys.
So, talking about homeschooling with my husband over weeks and weeks, I kept saying how I just think that we should homeschool. The time to pre-register for Kindergarten and I really didn’t want to go thorough with it. But my husband wanted to make sure that homeschooling was the right thing to do, so he asked me to talk to a Kindergarten teacher to find out what K kids learn by the end of the year. Long story short, our son already knew 8 of the 10 required items for Kindergarten. Hubby said we could try homeschooling, thus began our journey. And we are still “trying” this homeschool thing, every day.
Secondly, each individual MUST make this homeschool decision based on what they truly believe is best for their family. Not everyone is led to homeschool, I realize that, but PLEASE, stop giving excuses where there are none. If you really want to homeschool you make ways to overcome the obstacles. Time. Finances. Patience. Teaching.
Patience
For instance…I have ZERO patience…Zip…Nada…Zilch.
But, I LOVE my children, regardless of how much they wear on my patience. See, I have a hidden secret. You might know it yourself, but I will share anyway. I pray to the most patient God. He sees me at my worst and He knows that I can only homeschool these children if I rely on Him. I pray A LOT I tell ya. Before battle, in the midst of battle, after battle…yes, I said battle because sometimes it feels just like that.
Do I lose my temper? YES
Do I yell and raise my voice? YES
I have even run around acting like I was going to pull my hair out yelling at the top of my lungs. (Not my finest moment, but truth nonetheless.) And through each moment of weakness, it has given me ample opportunities to show my children that 1) I am human 2) that you apologize and ask forgiveness for wrong doings, and 3) I need God and His unending GRACE.
Me Time
Lastly, and this one really gets me going y’all – when do I find time for me? This one makes me want to crick my head and question, Really?! Me time?! That is a worldly distraction that the devil tries to impose on all mamas. I know that I need quiet time in prayer and Bible reading. But apart from that time, I don’t have “me time”. Yes, I make grocery store runs, Walmart runs, and the occasional trip to the library alone, but these are few and far between.
You are probably asking why, so let me tell you why. First and foremost, these children are my first responsibility as a mama. There is little time for me and that is okay. God intended that these children need me. I am their one constant in this life. The source that will never lie to them, cause them to think less of themselves, encourage them, comfort them, kiss booboos, spank a rear end when needed, guide them, direct them, pray with them, pray for them, teach them what is truly important in life. Tell me when there is time for me…right, there isn’t.
But yet, there is!
God provides me with the time I need, just when I need it. Since God is all-seeing and all-knowing, He is always ready for me, when I need a moment. I homeschool these children to the best of my ability, and He sees that. He sees the time and effort I put into each of them, and in return He provides me with “me time”. I have a bathtub, I can spend time with my hubby, I can read a book after they are in bed, I can snuggle in bed for a few extra minutes in the morning. So, enough with the what about me time questions already, the Lord provides for those that ask Him. This is just another excuse that is hindering you from making the homeschool decision.
So, you think you want to homeschool but you just don’t think that you have the patience or you are concerned about me time. Well, listen up mama. This homeschool thing isn’t a trend, it isn’t a do until you get bored thing, it isn’t a try it and see how it fits kind of thing either, at least not for me.
God. He is the reason I can homeschool. And the reason you can too.
He is all powerful.
He is grace giving for the bad days.
He is forgiving to the point of forgetfulness.
He is true love, without exception.
He is the best listener.
He answers most every question in double quick time.
He is reassurance when days are too hard.
He is quiet when you just need to vent.
He is compassion when you don’t think you can go on with this homeschool journey.
He heals broken hearts when things didn’t go as planned.
He sends along a burst of peace and joy when something just clicks in those little minds.
He is EVERYTHING in this homeschool thing.
I hope this gives you a better peek into our Real Homeschool and please feel free to asks any questions you might have and I will do my best to answer them.
In His Grace.
Callie
Visit some of my fellow homeschool mama that are participating this week in our Real Life Homeschool Blog Hop:
For This Season
Unexpected Homeschool
For Him and My Family
As We Walk Along the Road
Growing in His Glory
Homeschool Coffee Break
Daily Life
There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining
Proverbial Homemaker
ElCloud Homeschool
Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the Blog Hop to read more!
Hello, and thank you for this article. We are nearing the end of our third year of homeschooling. My kids have never been to school, not even preschool. And I’ll tell you what, patience is definately a virtue, one that I only possess 50% of the time. I also scream, and get angry, and frustrated, and annoyed far too much. Sometimes I feel like calling the local school, and going out to get a job.
But……I breathe, I remember what I’m trying to do, and I get back to it. I have these small precious gifts called children, and I need to appreciate them EVERYDAY, and above all rely on God to pull me through this. With God’s help we can do all things, even the seemingly impossible.
Christine – sweet mama, thank you for your words! They mean so much to me and I am so glad that you found this post encouraging, as that was my intent. Blessing to you and your family, thanks for visiting and I hope you visit again soon. Callie
Thanks Callie.I’ve been a homeschool mama for 22 years. It’s been a blessing even with its difficulties. I even home schooled during my husband’s terminal illness 12 years ago. There was no me time and my patience was thin, I was exhausted. But deep down I knew that’s what God wanted and I had peace about it. Your post was so wonderful and encouraging. A reminder to homeschool moms not to get caught up in the me time excuse. I love the freedoms I have as a stay at home mom. No boss to schedule my life for me. Blessing to you! Christine in AL.
Thanks Michele for saying that! It is hard to be honest sometimes, so thank you for seeing it as I intended.
Great post, Callie! It is a pleasure to share it! Thanks for your honestly and boldness in speaking truth!