Sometimes homeschooling is hard
Homeschooling typically starts with a conviction to educate, nurture and shape your child in a counter cultural way. This conviction is also what will keep you moving forward when you run into obstacles and difficulty in doing the work of educating your child because sometimes, homeschooling is hard.
Hear me when I say, hard is NOT the same as bad.
Let me say that again, hard is NOT the same as bad.
Sometimes your child decides they can’t do the work you’ve asked them to do.
They drag their feet.
Blame shift their problem to be your fault.
Sit and stare at the wall.
Need a nap…etc
You will have many thoughts that enter your brain.
You may be tempted to threaten them with public school.
You may feel frustration rising in your chest.
You may be tempted to think your child dislikes you and you’re not cut out for this job; that it’s a personal attack.
That sits so heavy on your Mama heart, doesn’t it? It’s not a fun place to be but there is hope.
As a parent, you have been given a gift of discernment, you know when your child is truly struggling with the work you’ve asked them to complete and you also know when they are manipulating you. This is a good gift from the Lord and it equips you to work through those moments with grace.
Here’s one tool I use to stop the spiral of my thoughts:
Calmly tell your child that you are both going to your beds because both of you need a minute to think/calm down and you will come back in a few minutes to chat.
Go to your room, close your eyes and assess what happened. When the boys were little we called it a reset + said they could come out once they had a happy heart. Pro tip: that’s a good meter for adult hearts too :)
Reunite and talk through what you expected and the behavior that child displayed and set clear expectations and consequences for the behavior if it repeats.
Mama, the task of educating an imperfect human, as an imperfect human yourself, is going to be hard sometimes. Please be encouraged in spite of that fact, the challenge is WORTH it, 1,000%.
In the 7 years I’ve been homeschooling, there have been countless days where I’ve felt defeated and questioned why we made the decision to homeschool. What I come back to every time those challenges appear is that the opportunity for character development, trust, heart change and connection are worth the work. Those things make the hard days worth the discomfort.
The ultimate peace? Well that comes from resting under the wing of the God of the universe…
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest.” <—— That’s a promise.