When my youngest son graduated from our home school, it meant that after 31 years of homeschooling our eight kids, I was officially done. (Wow, does that make me feel old!) Many moms have asked me to share the things that helped me through 31 years of homeschooling.
After thinking about it recently, I came up with a list of things that I heard or learned over the years that made me not only stick with it but also helped me to finish strong.
10 Things That Helped Me Through 31 Years of Homeschooling:
1.Character Training is More Important Than Academics
Probably the most important thing that helped is something I heard in my first year of homeschooling. A speaker at a conference mentioned that CHARACTER TRAINING is more important than academics. That really stuck!
Our motto verse for raising our kids has been II Peter 1:5 “...add to your faith, virtue (or character), and to character, knowledge….”
God says our first priority should be our kids’ faith – teaching them to love God and to love His Word. Next should be their character, and then LAST on the list is the academics.
Doing things God’s way always works best, and when we kept these priorities in order, God blessed the academic time.
When I had a bad pregnancy but remained faithful to Bible reading & memory with the kids, as well as a character lesson daily, often I was then unable to do the academics.
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But God blessed the little I could do because of my obedience, and the kids tested very well at the end of the year.
RELATED: ARE YOU MISSING THE KEY INGREDIENT FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS?
2. “Everything our kids learn from kindergarten through grade 12 is only four years of material.”
Hearing that quote by Richard Fugate took so much stress off of me!
Isn’t that a helpful thing to keep in mind if you have a child struggling to learn, “keep up”, or “catch up”?!
3. I realized that not all my kids learned the same way, or at the same speed.
It was such a surprise to me when what worked for my first child didn’t work at all with the 2nd one, who learned in a totally different way.
Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes... in You and Your Kids
Passionate Parenting: Enjoying the Journey of Parenting TeensSolving A Crisis in Christian Parenting: Why so many prodigals?[(Child Training Tips : What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young)] [By (author) Reb Bradley] published on (August, 2014)
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No one had ever told me that kids have different learning styles, and I certainly just thought they would all learn at the same speed.
As a result, I was frustrated, until I realized they all had their own learning styles, and learned different subjects at a slower or faster pace than the sibling(s) before they might have.
4. I taught my kids to be independent learners at a young age, and how to find answers.
This took so much pressure off of me and gave me the time to work with younger ones that weren’t able to read and work on their own yet. By the way, kids without character won’t be independent learners.
They need character training to work on their own and be diligent.
5. The best-planned days often don’t go as planned at all.
Once I realized how often things happen to “mess up” the plans, it helped me to be prepared to just go with the flow, and be flexible. Kids get sick and usually, it’s on the day that you planned to get lots of school work done, then clean the house, and run errands.
Take a deep breath, and adjust your plans.
RELATED: 4 REASONS TO EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN HOMESCHOOLING
6. Sometimes you need to put a subject or a topic from a subject aside and come back to it later.
Sometimes it just doesn’t click with your child, and they aren’t ready for it. No one says that you have to teach them things at a certain age or time, or in a certain order.
Scope and sequence are an invention of the school system. We just have to make sure our kids learn what they need before they graduate. We can set our own scope and sequence. (remind yourself of point #2)
7. When I’m in too big of a hurry to spend time with God, things start coming apart.
I realized early on that teaching and training children requires much wisdom and strength from God.
Without that time spent with Him, I would struggle with my own attitudes and spirit, which then rubbed off on the kids.
If you’re too busy to spend time with God and in His Word, you are too busy! (7 Signs That You’re Too Busy)
8. A loose schedule, but a regular routine helped me during my 31 years of homeschooling
For example, when we get up we have breakfast, then everyone does their Bible reading, then we have a character lesson, then it’s time for academics.
That way everyone knows what the routine is.
If you are up late as a family and want to sleep in a bit later, it doesn’t hurt anything. You get up and follow the routine.
A routine with a loose schedule works better with the academics because it’s hard to really have a set amount of time for each subject daily.
Some days Math will take 45 minutes because it’s a new topic, with lots of practice. Other days it will be a review, and only take 30.
There are also days where the child may not get it, and it will take even longer. Knowing they aren’t confined to a certain time frame relieves stress on them and you.
9. There will be days when you feel overwhelmed and want to quit.
There will be days when you cry. On those days, remember that God won’t ask you to do something you’re not able to do.
Go to Him, and seek His wisdom.
He wants you to depend on Him, and there is nothing that makes you depend on Him more than realizing that you can not do it on your own.
Related: I WANT TO QUIT HOMESCHOOLING!
10. One of the top tips that helped me in my 31 years of homeschooling is this simple reminder: DON’T COMPARE!
You don’t have to do what the other homeschool families you know are doing with their kids. You need to do what God has called your husband and you to do with your kids. For each of us, it may look different.
Don’t try to do what everyone else is doing. Comparison will put you on the fast track to a loss of joy in your homeschool!
Don’t miss the rest of the posts in the series!
