Pathos.com – Notes at the End of a Long School Year
Hmmm, I have some mixed emotions about this blog. First, I really want to take this Mom to tea. She sounds exhausted, as we all are, at the end of a School year. I know, personally, how hard homeschooling can be. It is hard, it is draining, no question about it. However, it is my favorite thing to do and I love it. Not every moment of every day do I love but for the vast majority of my days and overall, I completely love it.
I also understand what the author is trying to say about the world. The world is a scary place but so was the world when I was homeschooled 25 years ago. We were facing the Iraqi war, terrorism was beginning to effect the world and the economy was in bad shape. During WWI and WWII the world was a scary place, during the Reformation or in Ancient Rome, the world was a scary place. We should not base how we happy we are or the joy in our home on how scary the world is.
Homeschooling is hard and the pressure to make sure our kids are learning what they need to know is huge. It feels like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. However, I do my homework, we write our achievable goals, research the best curriculum and we step in and work hard at it. We work hard, we are diligent and we give it to God. I do my part, make it my priority after my relationship with God and my husband, and then I let God do His part. I actually do feel confident in what we do with our kids and I don’t have a teaching degree or a Master’s in Education, I am just a Mom who works really hard at it. I think we can feel confident in what we are doing with the understanding that no one’s perfect, except Jesus, and my kids are not going to be super stars in everything and I don’t expect that. I find that if I keep my eyes on God and what we are doing, refrain from comparing myself to others and keep realistic expectations, I stay pretty confident.
I think that if we surround ourselves with people who also keep God in the center of their lives and we can help and support each other in this crazy life and can keep a good sense of humor, we’ll be fine. The majority of my Homeschool friends are also pretty happy and confident in the job they are doing. We help each other and provide a listening ear when necessary.
I am going to go out on a limb and say that we can have those idyllic Homeschool days. Maybe not every day. Some days may be a ‘terrible, horrible, no-good’ Homeschool day. If we have a plan, keep a schedule, keep up with our academics then on that horrible day we can just snuggle in, have a cookie and just read our read aloud that day. I think if we plan something fun everyday, even a little craft or a fun snack, and keep our outside commitments to a reasonable amount then we can find joy in our school. It is possible and I want to strive for that.
