Homeschooling through the rough days. Those days when it feels like my homeschool blew up. Or was it me that blew up? On those rough days, it is probably both! I’ve had some doozy days that make me shudder. And then there are those routine days that make me feel like I should be doing something more fun, and those fun days that make me feel we should be doing something more academic. And there’s that curriculum staring at me that I just can’t fit in the schedule. And that counter filled with clutter and that 9 year old who is whining all day. Come to think of it, I feel like whining on those days, too.
And, what about the family emergencies that interrupt the schedule? What about the days dad is home and we are off our routine? What about that part-time job or that new baby or that neighbor in need that keeps me busy–shouldn’t I give up on this homeschooling business?
Instead of looking at everyday life issues and attitudes as obstacles to doing 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 negate us from properly planning our ways and keeping unnecessary distractions at bay.
What helps is praying, “God what do you have for me and the children today?” Then, instead of feeling like things have blown up when interruptions come, we can rejoice because everything that is out of our control, is under His control. As the hymn goes, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
Don’t be dismayed. Pray through it. Start again and teach the kids to do the same. 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 onto 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
dwuehler@theoldschoolhouse.com
