Western life serves as an allegory for homeschooling to me since I am a bit of a Louis L’Amour fan.  My dad owns every book and during long summer days and cold Alaskan nights I would read them with him.  The images of cowboys and pioneers taking on the hard challenges of the west are seared into my mind.  Adventurous and inspiring, these westerners left behind the familiar and comfortable in hopes of staking a new claim and making a better life for themselves and their families.    

Homeschooling is a little like heading west.  We choose to be beholden to no one by disconnecting from the public educational sector. Only a few brave souls join us in our trek.  We seek new terrain, claim a patch of territory that is our own and make it distinctive and different.  We know it won’t be easy but we expectantly hope for the glorious end of the trail.  Louis L’Amour often wrote of those who started the journey but failed to finish the trip for lack of planning and perseverance.  I felt sorry for them because those who stuck with it to the end saw the “promised land.”  The great west was worth the trip.  As we climb back into the homeschool saddle this year, how can we set our selves up for a successful and good journey?

1.  Pioneers have a different mindset.  We all walk with paradigms in our heads of what education looks like.  For me it was little desks, backpacks, bells between classes, and red marks on test papers.  But as pioneers we need to stop and set those ideas aside.  What is the true aim and goal of education?  What is worth taking on the journey and what is just extra weight we will discard when the trip gets rough.    This isn’t something that comes easily on the fly.  We need to set time aside to pray, ponder and plan.  Just as families coming west spent months or even years planning, you too need to set aside time thinking out your homeschool.  What is your vision for your homeschool?  What is your spouse’s vision?  Take extra time to pray and ask God for a verse to cling to this school year. Hang it over your kitchen sink as a daily reminder that you have a plan and a goal.  This journey isn’t pointless it has purpose.

One of the wisest pieces of advice we received when we started our homeschool trail was to make a family vision statement.  When the road gets rough it reminds us why we are taking this journey.  Having good short and long term visions is like laying out your map and marking your intended trail.  Knowing where you aim to land and what you aim to accomplish ahead of time will guide your.  Any good cowboy will tell you that you better “aim for something otherwise you hit nothing.”

2.  Get a good guide.  Pioneers knew that trailblazers had much to share to make their journey easier.  No need to fall into caverns and potholes someone can warn you away from them.  Remember you don’t have to do this alone. Pioneer women hung together tightly on their journeys, forming communities based on needs and common interests rather than family and class status.  Plug into a support group of other pioneering folks who can get you some good tips.  Read books, go online for information. 

3.  Schedule yourself for success.  Pioneers knew travel was easiest across the west during certain times of the year and times of the day.  They arranged their schedules accordingly.  My husband is a tax accountant.  During tax season we get a lot of school done and plan to take breaks during the off season with dad around.  Children do much better if they know what is expected of them.  Pioneers lived by, early to bed, early to rise because that suited the life they lived.  What schedule suits your life?  Does daddy work swing shift?  Then your sleeping schedule will probably be different as you make extra time for him with the kids and you will start school later in the day than others.  You don’t have to have the same schedule as anyone else.  Do what works for your family.

4.  Settle in slowly.  A whole homestead isn’t made in one day.

Introduce one subject at a time, or just a couple over a series of weeks.  Then your children will have a chance to figure one thing out well before moving on ahead. 

5.  Use your resources wisely.  Clutter and chaos are contentment killers.  Clean surfaces and tidy workspaces encourage children to spend time there.  Ever clean a child’s room and notice that suddenly they are playing in it non stop.  Or if chaos is all over how it seems just too daunting to do anything.

6.  Expect the unexpected:  Indians and cholera were something the pioneers knew might be coming but it was always unexpected.  In-laws and colds will come and mess up your great schedules you have in place but don’t give up!  Knowing the unexpected can happen makes it easier to deal with.  Having backup plans in place to manage through the struggles.

Happy Trails to you all.  An adventure awaits.