I am posting my article for the Military HomeFront on my blog this month because all our writers had so much to share regarding planning and preparation. I’d love to hear your thoughts, or even your experiences. We at the HomeFront would also love to hear from you!
The Balancing Act
A few years ago I jokingly asked the Lord to slow me down as a driver. I typically drove with a lead foot everywhere I went. One day as I was zipping around town, I noticed a speed trap and arrogantly prayed for the Lord to slow me down. “Ha-ha,” I thought to myself as I passed the cops slowly by. Little did I know God took me seriously. A few hours later, on my way home I was slowed way down! No I wasn’t in an accident. I was however stuck behind two oversized terribly slow trucks, and a train approaching which would have us stop all together. I was annoyed, very annoyed. After the train moved on the trucks slowly puttered forward; I tried to pass them every chance I got. They ended up heading for the base, the very direction I was going. The Lord whispered softly in my ear, that I had asked to slow down. Sigh! I should have remembered that later the next year when my husband and I were embarking on our first year of homeschooling. I felt completely unqualified for the journey we were about to undertake. I prayed continuously for patience, creativity, and the ability to learn to lean on Him. We were also praying for another child, we only had two children at the time and our youngest was almost four. In time our Awesome God began reveling glimpses of a plan He had to transform our family like never before. Again...little did I know….He was going to get creative. We got an answer to one of our prayers. At least we thought it was an answer to only one. We found out we were expecting our third child shortly after relenting to the idea of homeschooling. I remember thinking “Good grief, now I’ll have a baby to slow me down.”
Here I am three children later looking ahead to another year of homeschooling the five I now have, and wondering where the easier days have gone. The question in my mind remains, were the previous years easier, or do they seem easier when you look back and realize they weren’t that bad. You know what they say about hindsight? Keeping this in mind, I march ahead planning our new year. I have learned so much about creatively organizing a large family. I have also discovered more patience than ever before. I once read somewhere…”never pray for patience.” I thought that was a silly thing to say. Now I know why it was said. Our Father in Heaven is so very creative in teaching us what we need to know. Homeschooling our two oldest with three (ages three and under) in tow has been a tremendous patience and faith builder. He found a way to reach me the way I would learn it best. It has not been without tears or breakdowns; however it has been vital to my spiritual growth.
In planning our new school year I am tempted to dig out that old trusty “bang head here” sign when faced with the thought of corralling these little guys. However in all God’s grace and mercy He has also taught me that scaling back a bit will not ruin my children’s education or my sanity. For survival I have had to be willing to put school away some days, or only require the basics done. I have had to be okay with that. I can easily drive myself bonkers thinking of all they could possibly be missing out on. In reality they are missing nothing, and learning loads of real applicable life skills. I love the verse… Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed, Proverbs 16:3. I use unit studies as our main curriculum, and it takes some planning ahead on my part. However I tend to over plan, and snowball my reality of what truly is important. A love of learning, and desire to find the knowledge needed. I also tend to try and school during nap times for the little ones. That is not always a practical reality either. They don’t always want to nap. So praise the Lord, I have come up with a way to keep my little marauders busy and learning while I teach the other two. I am slowly building a tote just for the toddler and preschooler. It will contain items like large wooden puzzles, blocks, stringing beads, magnets, alphabet and bible coloring pages, finger and water paints etc. They will only be allowed to have this bin out during “school,” so that they may be supervised at all times with some of the small pieces, and so the bin remains novel.
We do have a schedule that I would love to stick with, however I still need to be flexible to remain productive. In the morning right after they wake up, it’s time to make beds and set the table. During breakfast we have our bible lesson; it starts off the day with our priorities in order. After breakfast we clean up, get dressed, brush teeth and get ready to start school around 9 am. While the children are busy starting school, I do the dishes and throw in a load of laundry. Around 10:30 am I try to put the little ones down for a nap, if that doesn’t work, it’s bin time for them. Our school day weaves in and out of our everyday life, between meals, chores, and play. We may not officially finish until after dinner if need be, however the children have had a full day of fun, learning, playing and working. Some days are truly pleasant, and others I feel I should have stayed in bed. Through it all if I continue to plan school around our lives and refine it when necessary I know I will obtain a precious balance. Above all I pray the Lord’s and my “teaching [will] fall like rain...like showers on new grass.” Deut. 32:2
Tip: When scheduling your school days especially with little ones, always use pencil and never write exact dates to avoid frustration and disappointment.
~Renee~
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