Flex your motherly skills

No matter how you came to homeschooling--here you are!

I grew up homeschooled and have since learned as a parent that flexibility is vital.

Lesson number one: Don't be so rigid that you hate it and your kids hate you.

One of the joys of homeschooling is spending time with your kids! I hear so many moms say that they "couldn't do it" usually because they're not educated enough or "qualified." Nothing qualifies you more than being their mother (or father). Especially in elementary years, you know enough. You get to be with your kids all the time!

That may scare some moms--but you know this is the greatest way to influence your kis. the greatest opportunity to get to know them, intimately, to help them, to build relationships.

"I don't have the patience" or "I just don't get along with my kids" are others I hear. So they send the kids away to be with other kids, other adults to teach and train them and i'm just left wondering, how do they expect to "get along" with their kids, let alone become friends with them. Would they rather others influence them?

Maybe I'm selfish. haha. I want my kids with me. I want to be friends with them. No, not friends in the way that I don't parent (we just hang out and watch netflix together), but friends like I am their confidant. I want them to want to talk to me and share things with me.

Most days are messy. Who cares. Well, I do, haha. Sometimes. But mostly it is a way for us to spend time together, to learn, to read, to write, to experiment, to hear stories and to share.

The mess doesn't matter too much. Remember that. Don't be so rigid that you can't have fun too. Kids are so fun! And they love to have fun with their parents.

Somedays you're tired, or a child is tired. You're grouchy and so are they. Some days kids are sick. Sometimes you have doctors appointments, family in town or late nights with earaches. Welcome to life! So embrace it. Days like that might need to shift to a park day, a trip to the zoo, a read-a-thon or even a movie. Take it in stride. Missing a day of "school" doesn't mean your children aren't educated, doesn't mean they're falling behind and doesn't mean you are a failure. One day at a time. Can you make it through today?

AND REMEMBER: they're learning life skills. Kindness, happiness and service. They're learning to follow Jesus Christ. They get to watch your example (instead of another random adult). They are learning to cook, to clean, to get along with siblings. They are learning hard work and life skills while digging in the garden, preparing dinner with you and folding laundry. School teaches subjects--you teach skills. School prepares them for careers--you prepare them for life. And what's more important? You are preparing them now to live with God someday.

Yours is a great work. Don't give up. Don't get overwhelmed. Do less, not more. Be a mother who knows what is important and what can fall away. Be there for your kids in a way most mother's aren't. Be their teacher, their example and their guide.

You are so lucky you get to be here!