Posted in Single Moms as Keepers at Home
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The following article is one that I was challenged to write by one of my state homeschool leaders. It will be posted on our state homeschool website in the near future. It is not just for single mom's but anyone homeschooling through difficult times. It is a three part article, but I've posted it all at once as I've been having some computer issues the last couple of days and there is no guarantee it would let me post all three parts in separate posts. Please excuse the variations in color through the article. This is not intentional and I can't seem to undo it by editing it. Praying that within this post you will find some encouragement, Blessings, MaggieRaye Homeschooling in Hard Times: An Introduction Copyright 2009 Homeschooling is undoubtedly a growing trend in education. Trends, however, tend to change with the tide of popular culture. As our economy continues in this downturn, I wonder if homeschooling will be strong enough to maintain itself, becoming more than just a trend. Homeschoolers today, have ridden on the waves of the pioneers. We’ve become complacent and assume that it has always been and will always be as easy as it is right now. There is however, a cost to homeschooling. It isn’t just one option for many families, it is the only option. There is more involved than just the monetary cost of the curriculum and extra curricula lessons. For many families, the cost is much higher. It can mean sacrificing family ties because relatives don’t understand. It may even mean sacrificing ties in the Christian community, as churches (especially those with their own schools) do not understand. Families may have to sacrifice luxuries that they’ve grown to consider necessities. It may mean giving up internet at home all together or downscaling from DSL to dial-up. It may mean that there is no cable, or that the family has only one car instead of two. It may even mean downsizing the family home. There are families who are willing to sacrifice, but what about those who haven’t had to? Will the turn in the economy change their minds? Will families be willing to make further sacrifices to be able to continue to home educate? My fear is that there will be families who think it simply can no longer be done, and that the sacrifice just isn’t worth it. After all public education is free, and then both parents can work. It seems easier to sacrifice our children to the government schools than to sacrifice the conveniences we enjoy daily. There are others I know that will sacrifice without hesitation or second thought. I know this because they already are. Weekly, I encounter families in difficult situations who are, against all odds, continuing to home educate. There are growing numbers of single parents who are joining the ranks of seasoned homeschooling families. There are parents with limited incomes who are doing it. They are being discouraged from it on all fronts including family, friends and other Christians. Everyone promotes the easy path. Put the children into the government schools, and get a job. I’m not sure they understand the reality of what they are recommending. Take a wife whose husband has been incarcerated as an example. Their family has been torn apart and its stability threatened. Put their children into the public school system, and send mom to work 8 – 10 hours a day. The result is a recipe for disaster not just for the children, but for the entire family unit. When mom comes home at the end of the day, she is too exhausted to provide for the most basic needs of her family. What would it really cost to support that family through their difficult season? What would it teach the children to see others sacrificing to help their mother? As with most all things, those who could benefit the most from homeschooling have the least amount of resources available to them. Based on my own years of experience, if you are a family in a difficult situation, homeschooling may be the thing that makes the difficult time a little easier to bear. Count the cost, but also weigh it against the worth. It can be done. Part II Homeschooling In Hard Times: 10 Ways to Cut Homeschooling Costs Homeschoolers cannot expect to be exempt from the downturn in the economy, and the rising cost of everything. However, here are 10 simple ways to help your family cut the cost of homeschooling: 1. Buy used curriculum instead of new. 2. Borrow movies from the library, your church or friends, rather than renting them. 3. Plan activities that you can walk to instead of driving, or if driving is essential, carpool. Look for free field trips and activities. 4. Find free curriculum on the internet to use. 5. Barter for extra curricula lessons, rather than paying for them. 6. Don’t try to keep up with everyone else in your homeschool group. Find what works for your family, and stick with that. 7. Buy whole foods (rather than pre-packaged) and cook from scratch. Incorporate this into your homeschooling under health and life skills. Not only will it save money, but your family will be healthier. 8. Use the local library. Newspapers, magazine subscriptions, and books are available for free. Many libraries also offer free Internet access now, too. 9. Try it before you buy it. Borrow curriculum and try it out before you invest in it. What you may think is awesome may not work for your children. You may find that you don’t like it as well as you thought you would. If you’ve already bought it and don’t like it, adapt it. Find ways to make it work for you and your children. 10. Give away or loan out the curriculum you aren’t using, or no longer need. There is a blessing in giving and helping others that does not go unrewarded. It’s also a great lesson for your children. No matter how little you think you have, there is always someone who has less. I would like to hear other ideas that you might have about how to cut homeschooling costs, as well. Email me at singleparenthomeschool@yahoo.com Part III Homeschooling In Hard Times: How to Help and Really Be Helpful One of my greatest joys and biggest frustrations in homeschooling is helping and being helped by others. We all need help at times, and homeschooling is a sacrifice in the best of situations. Many families in difficult situations have greater hurdles to clear in order to do what they believe is best for their families. One winter I felt clearly led by the Lord to prepare a box of food and give it to a homeschooling family that I know. They are a two parent family. Dad works. I’m a single mother, with limited resources. It just didn’t make sense. I was inclined to ignore this leading. Thankfully, I did not. It made less sense to the family receiving the box, especially to the father. However, shortly after they received my blessing, they found out about a family who had a real need. It was a family I didn’t know, and could not minister to directly. Without the box of food the Lord had led me to give, they would not have been able to meet the needs of the other family. The Lord was simply using them, as a channel for my blessing. Now when I receive things that don’t make sense, I’m learning to ask the Lord why He has given them to me and what He would have me to do with them. Sometimes they just aren’t meant for my family. We are simply to be the channel through which He transfers His blessing for others. We have reached a time when homeschooling families need to pull together and support each other. Some of us are blessed with abundance, while others have great needs. In my journey through seven years of homeschooling as a single mother, (sometimes in seasons of abundance, and other times in seasons of great need) I’ve learned the following lessons:
10. Ask if there is a need. Don’t wait to be asked for help. People who need help may not ask. During the holidays, before you give someone a turkey, ask if they need it. If they don’t need it, ask what they do need, and provide for that need instead. Ending up with nine turkeys could be a bigger burden than a blessing. |
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