Friday, January 24, 2014
What I Like/Don't Like About Homeschooling
I've been homeschooling since 2005 and it seems I think about what I like and don't like about homeschooling all the time.
This post here is a humble attempt to be as transparent as possible (yet still maintain some privacy).
My hope is that my triumphs and trials will be encouraging for all of us homeschooling moms who may think, "THAT mom must have it all together because her life/blog posts show only perfect pictures, projects, children, and all smiles!" (I must admit, I am guilty of feeling this way when I observe local homeschool moms or visit others' blogs as a homeschool mom and blogger myself.)
Maybe my list will give my readers a more realistic picture of what my life is really like behind closed doors as a homeschooling mom who, by God's grace, strives everyday to be a better wife, mom, and teacher for my family.
Since I'm in my 9th year of homeschooling here are 9 things I like and don't like about homeschooling...
1. I like passing on my family's faith and values to my children all day, everyday. I don't like that satan discourages me often as I try to build a solid faith foundation for the souls God has entrusted me.
2. I like being with my kids all day (most of the time!). I don't like being with my kids all day (when I am impatient or the kids/me have bad attitudes toward school work or they argue with one another or at the end of a hard day I'm crying on my husband's shoulder as my heart and soul is filled with doubt, fear, frustrations)
| Photo Credit: Google Image |
4. I like having so much good, quality curriculum to choose from which makes teaching and learning interesting and fun. I don't like having so many curriculum choices since I get easily overwhelmed with all that is available.
5. I like praying all day with my kids in order to be peaceful and stay sane and reading scripture/the lives of the Saints/great literature, history, science books out loud to my kids everyday. I don't like when I struggle with my prayer life and my kids are distracted while I'm reading out loud to them. {speaking of prayer, I really like the prayer, The Stressed Out Parent's Prayer, written by Tina.}
6. I like spending time as a family, building up relationships, in and out of "school" time. I don't like spending time on constantly disciplining and correcting behavior in and out of school time.
7. I like making my own schedule and fitting events around our family's priorities vs. fitting our family into a school system's schedule. I don't like when my schedule does not go as planned because I felt I did more disciplining than teaching academics with my children.
8. I like being able to do my morning routine at home vs. rushing my kids out the door to beat a tardy bell. I don't like when my morning routine does not go smoothly because my children and I have lack of discipline and at least one of us wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
9. I like hearing my kids say, "This is fun!" as they do school work that involves a variety of teaching methods. I don't like hearing my kids complain and say, "This is boring/hard/stupid" as they do school work that they don't like as much.
So there you have it. Some things of what I like and don't like about homeschooling. It's a roller coaster ride, this calling to homeschool my children, and I know I find great comfort knowing I'm not the only one who struggles daily with this important calling. Comment below if you can relate to the daily struggles of being a homeschool mom. I would love to be blessed by you!
I hope my post here is a little reminder that all of us are fighting some kind of battle, even those that appear to have the most perfect family, homeschool and blog life.
God bless you as you live out God's calling in your life, one day and prayer at a time!
It's quite an honor and quite humbling that my little corner of blog land has been nominated for a 2014 Sheenazing Award hosted by Bonnie at A Knotted Life. My blog was nominated in the "Best Looking Blog" Category.As you will see there are alot of blogs I'm up against and all of them are beautiful and wonderful! So if I win I'll be shocked, but I thought I would at least mention it in case you want to click on over and vote for me at "A Slice of Smith Life".
You can cast your vote by scrolling down the page HERE and click on the circle to the left next to my blog title under the "Best Looking Blog" Category. Thanks!
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Hello! Thank you for your Visit!
I'm Tracy. I love my faith, family and on most days, homeschooling my 5 blessings. When I'm not busy baking cakes for my family or making memories in real life or dreaming I had a housekeeper or professional chef, I enjoy documenting a slice of Smith life in blog land.
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14 comments:
Beautiful and honest post!
Thank you Lisa for stopping in and commenting! I figured I think about the good and not so fun parts of homeschooling so why not blog about it :)
Oh and not only do I think about it, I obviously live it too :)
I SO love this post! I could relate to ALL your likes/dislikes, except maybe the curriculum part because it's not that easy to ship curriculum over here to the Philippines! ;) Thanks for linking to the prayer by the way - to God be all the glory! God bless you and your family!
I love this post, Tracy! I can relate to all the likes/dislikes, except maybe for the curriculum part, since it's not that easy to ship stuff over here to the Philippines! :) Thanks, too, for linking to the prayer! To God be all the glory! God bless you and your family!
HI Tina! Thank you for commenting! So are there alot of homeschool resources in the Philippines since shipping curriculum isn't so easy? You make an interesting point that I never really thought about. I thought your profound and helpful prayer went well with my post :) God bless you as well!
All of this is spot in, Tracy. Sometimes, I find myself wondering if I am the only one with frustrations. By the grace of God, we make our vocation work one moment at a time.
Great post, Tra. I can agree with ALL!
We started out the same time...Sept of 2005! Ah, I miss those days! THESE are great too........ :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Patty! Yes, couldn't agree with you more about by God's grace we keep going one moment at a time with whatever vocation God has called us! Just like in your "Tug Boat" post we continually guide our little vessels (children) through the calm and stormy moments :) It's not always easy, for sure, but it's always worth it! Have a blessed weekend!
Hi Chris!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Glad you enjoyed the post and I hope it will be a source of encouragement for all! I knew our oldest were the same age, but I didn't realize we started HS them at the same time! Neat! I'll never forget when I had my epiphany moment to finally dive into the HS journey...I took my oldest out of her public kindergarten class to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Blessed Mother's Birthday at a park with the Catholic HS group in our area. It was then I realized where my heart was being lead to do. :)
I enjoyed reading this, Tracy! I have been homeschooling for nearly 20 years. I still have my good days and my bad days... I think I just stress out less now over the bad days than I once did. Years of experience or maybe just extreme fatigue! ;) Happy weekend! +JMJ+
Hi Annita!
So good to hear from you again as you share 20 years of Homeschool wisdom :) I'm hoping that with each passing year my stress over the bad days will subside a little :) Hope you are having a blessed weekend!
Homeschooling is definitely a roller-coaster ride for me too and I often vow this is the last year that I am going to do it. It takes commitment, time, and energy every single school day. But it sure is amazing watching the kids learn and so comforting knowing that they are safe being taught with love. Thanks for being honest.
HI Katie,
Thank you for your comment and stopping by my post :) I definitely agree that I love seeing the kids learn (eventually) through all the sweat and tears :) and it is comforting to know they are safe being taught by those that know them best...us! Happy Homeschooling to you!