You CAN Homeschool too!
The Conversation
So what is it like to be a homeschooling parent? The answer to that question is one many parents of traditionally schooled students feel they already know. I can’t tell you how many times I have had the following conversation, almost verbatim, with someone while out with my children during traditional school day hours:
Cashier, person in the elevator, etc, looks at one of my children and says, “Are you out of school today?”
Child, usually Dear Daughter or Eldest Son, answers respectfully, “No, Ma’am. We homeschool. I finished my school at 1 pm today.”
“Really?” Looking at me, she asks in moderate astonishment, “What’s that like?” and then, slightly louder, “Oh, I could never do that! You must be a saint or something. I am sure it’s best for my kids to be with a teacher, because I just don’t have the patience for THAT!”
What Will School Look Like Next Year?
Are you that mom who is so sure she could never, ever homeschool her children?
Are you also that mom who understands that sending her beloved children back into the chaos of COVID-affected schooling is going to possibly make it even harder for them to learn?
It is a conflicting time, and surveys show that parents are seriously considering not sending their kids back to traditional school environments in the fall. This one has the number as high as 40 percent!
Jesus Has the Answers
I want to encourage parents, who are considering working less and teaching their kids more, that you CAN do it, and there is only one condition: Let God help you overcome all of your obstacles!
I am not naturally a patient person either. Trust me. Left to my own devices, I want near-perfection, and I want it yesterday. Let’s be honest though — perfection is not a reality for me as a teacher or my children as students. We cannot do that, let alone sustain it.
There is one perfect teacher though, and his name is Jesus.
So, when I spend time in prayer and the Bible first, I am grounded in the Holy and Living Word of God, led by the Holy Spirit, and I find that I can be patient with even my struggling learners most of the time.
Mistakes Are Learning Opportunities Too!
However, there are days when I get very human, and my patience runs out. Guess what? Jesus fixes that too.
When I get impatient with one of my children, I can do as Zachaeus did, and apologize. I can make it right by taking the time to balance the impatient moments with patient and loving ones. I can speak words that bring encouragement to them. (Luke 19: 1-10)
Children learn from those moments too. They see that moms and dads aren’t perfect, so that helps them understand that, while it is not ideal to make them, their own mistakes can be forgiven too. It is okay for them to say they are sorry, and try their hardest next time.
When they see me praying to help me be better and better for them, they know Who to go to when they struggle. When they see me seeking God’s answers for life’s hard questions in the Bible, they know exactly where to find the answers to their hard questions. (Matthew 7:7-8)
All Things Are Possible with God
If you think you are not up to the task of teaching your children, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26. After the disciples heard him describe the difficulties of man trying to get to heaven in his own strength, they asked Jesus who could even be saved. Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”
The same is true for us today. What we find impossible to do on our own, God makes possible.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I did not say that it would be easy. I said with God, it would be POSSIBLE. There will be hard days. There will be days when you are very tempted to say, “I can’t do this!”
Those days have usually happened when I woke up late, didn’t start my day with God, and tried to jump right into the day on my own. Those days aren’t good for anyone. You know the saying, “When Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Well, Mama is never going to be happy without God, no matter how hard she tries.
To know the truth of this, we need to look no further than Mary sitting at the feet of Christ in Luke 10: 38-42, as Martha asks Jesus to prod her to get up and work. He said Mary was choosing “the good portion.”
Put God 1st Every Day
So I drop academics before I drop my time with God. I choose the good portion. We make it up later if we need to, but God has to come first. I’d rather drag academics into the summer before we lose touch with God.
I encourage my children to have daily quiet times before starting school as well. That way, when we all come together, we are all closer to Him, and closer to his love, grace and wisdom.
Final Thoughts
So whatever obstacle you feel is standing in your way, ask yourself, do you see it as an obstacle because you can’t move it on your own, or is it a door that God has closed?
While I fully believe that God will call some of his people into the school systems to bring comfort and love to that environment, I also believe that he will call some out of it. I encourage you to not just carefully consider your options, but to PRAYERFULLY consider your them. (Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
If you are training your children up in the way they SHOULD go (Proverbs 22:6), then they will not depart from it. God WILL bless you for it. Don’t take my word for it. His is plenty good enough!
More Resources
For more information on the process of coming to God before you teach, check out the book, Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to UNSHAKEABLE PEACE, by Sarah Mackenzie, and its corresponding website.
Chele Dove is the author of But God Knew…and Jesus Called, and a homeschooling mom in her 14th year. She has graduated one daughter, and still has two sons walking that journey.