2009-Sep-23 - Why Should I KEEP ON Homeschooling?
I've asked myself this a few times over the last nine years. Yes! I have! And I think this is a fair question to ask ourselves each year as we get geared up for another one.
Sometimes it's rough to homeschool. Can I get an Amen out there? It can be really difficult, but when you bust it right on down, it really comes to three things:
Values
Practices
Commitment
What do we value as parents that we want to instill into our children? THIS IS A HUGE question EVERY parent must face~and if we don't face it, we can well remember that our children get the "messages" we send whether intentional or not~they LEARN WHAT WE VALUE!
Values are so important when we consider what our children will get from us!
- Do I want my children to know the Lord God on a daily basis in their lives?
- Do I want them to know their parents and glean the best possible from us? Quality time is quantity time!
- Are my children worth MORE than the dollar value a job can bring me?
- Am I responsible for what values my children form and from whom?
Our practices will determine if we are homeschooling in ways that educate and please our Lord. I would NEVER tell you how to run your home or homeschool, but there are some out there I dare say who give every deeply committed, home educating parent a bad name for their slack and sorry ways of not doing the job! How well are we getting this job done is a question we need to evaluate. I want to consider:
Practices are the everyday, minute by minute doing part! We must evaluate and continue in diligence and steadiness!
- Are my children learning?
- What is the growth~are they typically developing and thriving in our homeschool?
- Are there areas I can improve or work on this year?
- What goals are we reaching for as a home educating family?
Commitment is a huge deal in homeschooling! I am so excited over our ninth year, but while sometimes I am sad we only have four to five left, I am enjoying looking back over just how far we've come! I can praise God for this! I was so afraid. I had no confidence in my abilities, and with God, my children have learned! Today I can see tremendous growth in them. It's amazing to know that I taught them, and they "got it!"
Commitment says I am going forward. Forward on the hardest day, most frustrating day, most tiring day...you name it...even the gleeful and most joyous day! I am totally thrilled to be looking forward...yeah, it does make me a little sad. . .but it's going to be a new chapter in the journey of parenthood! But the commitment today will carry me along with the Lord right to Graduation Day! Homeschool parents should celebrate has heartily as the young person earning the diploma! I'm gonna! ;-))
If you are in the trenches, knee deep and waist high wondering how in the world you are going to make it, just remember that it will take those tiny, itty, bitty steps to make the move forward to completion of the commitment in practicing each day towards the values God has designed for you and your family!
Press On! Yes! Keep on! Go On! One more minute, hour, day, week, month and year...If God be for us, who can be against us?
blessings,
SisterTipster
