Category: Blog

I feel like us homeschool moms all share the same brain. I feel like I know what you were doing all summer because it is what I was doing all summer. THINKING ABOUT AND PLANNING FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR! And then all of the sudden we look up and Labor Day has come and gone, and it is time to put all of our grand plans into action. And this year, y’all, I had grand plans. My daughter is a Junior this year, and it will be just she and I at home. As the baby of the family, she reaped the benefits of being able to get most of her credits early just by tagging along with what her sister was doing. And this year, that hard work gives us the freedom to release our inner wild child a little bit and venture off the beaten path of typical high school course work. I couldn’t be more excited. I created a course just for her that I have entitled “Personal Development. Which, I might add, I think all high schoolers should take before leaving the nest. This course combines some of my favorite teachers, some of the most influential people I have found online, and a life coaching program that her and I will do together with Dr. Edie Wadsworth called “Life Mentoring School.” This is the big guns y’all. To me this is what homeschooling is all about. It is educating the whole person through and through, and I have been itching to start. She will also finish up Spanish, do a high school science overview, and some Shakespeare, along with a few other courses I found for her.

We started Tuesday with a back to school breakfast, had our pencils sharpened, and the fresh notebooks all laid out, and BAM!! Out of nowhere she got sick! And all of my big plans went out the window!! My old homeschool mom self (that rears her ugly head from time to time) wanted to just crawl into the fetal position and cry because nothing….NOT ONE THING….this week went as planned. But, as my twenty plus years of teaching has taught me, even when things seem to be a bust, they really aren’t. Because, listen to me momma, it isn’t about your grand plans anyway! There is a purpose in this whole homeschooling gig that is so much greater than any curriculum, text book, or your best plans could ever be. Algebra is always going to be harder than you thought and take longer than you planned. The internet will go out, the dog will roll around in something three houses down, and of course you will run out of milk. When you plan on those things happening, and leave room in the margins for error, even when weeks are a bust, the machine continues on. And more importantly, your heart never misses a beat! I have learned this the hard way, but if there is one thing I want to shout from the roof tops on this first Friday of our new school year, it is this. We don’t control the feast, we just provide our basket of fish. Every day, week in and week out, we bring our loaves and fishes to the homeschool table. We love our kids big, and we plan as best as we can. But at the end of the day, we have to trust the One who Created them to make those loaves and fishes enough. All we can do is bring our basket and know that their future is in His hands. So when the first week seems like it was a bust, and instead of ending the week at the local coffee shop, you end it on the sofa watching Hallmark movies slathered up in essential oils, it is ok! That was always how this week was supposed to go! Monday is a new day! And we will start again! Ready for whatever the week may bring. Until then, I am going to snuggle up with that girl and savor every second because her sister was at college orientation all day long. The days are long but the years are short momma. Ask me how I know!

We have the greatest job in the whole world, and the time is ticking. We don’t have time to sweat the small stuff or try to white knuckle every minute of our kids’ lives. Trust me, I tried that…it doesn’t work!!! Instead, loosen up and do a little wild child homeschooling. Break a few rules. Work outside the box. Trust the Lord to guide you, follow your convictions. The view is so much better!!

If you need a little reminder, and some practical tips to get up and out of God’s way this school year, join the FREE workshop online that I am offering called “3 Ways To Make This The Best Year Yet.” These 3 things that you can do in your homeschool right now will guarantee you a better year, I promise!! And they may not be what you think they are! This 3 part video series will only take you a few minutes to watch each day, and will shed some light on some ways you may be sabotaging your homeschool and not even knowing it. No new curriculum required, nothing to buy, just a fresh perspective on how homeschooling like a wild child, and breaking a few rules, will enable you to enjoy the days so much more! Join now by clicking the picture below!! I hope to see you there!

I have been asked many times this summer about the lessons learned in my years at home with my oldest, now that she is dipping her toes into adulthood. Here is what I’ve learned in those 18 summers that I once thought would never end:

First, I have learned to trust God who created her for His perfect purpose. He loves her infinitely more than I do. He promises good for her, and He is the author and finisher of life, so no matter what I do I can’t keep her here on this earth one second more than He has for her. I can relax. I also have learned that in trusting Him, I must understand that whatever she does with her life will be 100% in spite of me. Yes, I have taken on the burden of her education, but I cannot mess this up. At first it is so scary, but then it is freeing. He has a plan for her, and He is going to fulfill it. No matter what I do or don’t do. I just have the opportunity of being a part of it and reaping the joy from the work I put in. That is amazing.

Second, I have learned that our kids know more about us than we ever imagine. They know our sincerity, our motives, and our values not as we say them but as we live them. I have learned that they are always watching and cannot be duped with a million words. Our actions are all they see. And when they are home with us every hour of the day, we better make sure that we are walking the walk. But in saying that, I have also learned that they forgive so easily. They understand we are human and are always ready to offer grace when we ask. I ask a lot.

Third, I have learned that Laura Ingalls Wilder was right…HOME is the nicest word there is. When they are little, it is all they know, and we have the ability to make it what we want. I have learned in looking back to never take that for granted. I have learned that we must make it what we want for them, not what we want for us because as they grow and begin to learn about things outside of home, it remains the standard. It is never a waste of time to bake the pie, freeze the popsicles, cut the flowers, or light the candles. Porch lights matter. The kitchen table is the most important piece of furniture in the whole house, and there are very few problems that can’t be solved while gathered around it. It is always worth it the effort and plan. The curriculum choices, extra activities, and read alouds, while important, will come and go. Some will stick more than others. Some will be a complete bust, but the education that will never leave them is what happens day to day. Our words, how we handle trials, how we serve others, and how we protectand prioritize our days. We are charged with educating whole persons. That is an amazing honor and heavy weight all at the same time. I have learned to forget what the world and all the experts say, and do what I feel in my gut is best. I am the one who has to stand by it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, I am so grateful for grace!

Finally, I have learned to hold the mirror. The mom who took this picture told me that this was a moment she knew I would want captured. I didn’t underetand at the time, and I don’t know the mom. We were in the church bathroom at my daughter’s graduation, but she was so right, and I would love to be able to thank her! Hold the mirror, play the games, read all the books (over and over), sing loud, listen, and be real. Put away your selfish motives, your needs, your fears, and your phone. Forget about what you look like and how much you weigh. Tune out the world’s suggestions and the ten step plans for raising your children. Just follow God’s Word and the convictions He gives you. He is faithful. Childood is the shortest eighteen years on earth. The days may seem long, but I can tell you that the years are so short. The biggest thing I have learned is that there is no going back. When it is over it is over, so savor the days and love this life you have been given. That is the greatest thing we could ever teach our kids.