Can I Get a Straight Jacket?

Homeschooling can be such a wonderful thing.  There are the times when my 5 year old tells me all about the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery (the 3 ships the settlers took from England to Jamestown Colony).  There are the wonderful times my 7 year old can make amazing comments about our need to pray for people we read about and the tender moments we can share reading together.  And there are the times when I get to see my 9 year old light up as he is able to complete math skills that had him stumped only days before.

But then there is the other side - the days from hell!!!  The days where I either want to call for a yellow bus to pick up my children or a straight jacket for myself.  Very few people talk about these days because the right to homeschool was a hard fought battle.  Either that, or no one else ever has these types of days...but I'm pretty sure it's just a well kept secret.

Today was turning into one of those days - I was a bit grumpy to start off the day and then kids whining about doing math and crying if they did not know an answer did nothing to improve my disposition.  But even knowing I can be honest about it and "put it out there" that our homeschool is not perfectly run and is not filled with perfect children is a help to me.

It also helps me when I contemplate the fact that we would have these days even if I did put them on the bus and take a break from them each day.  I would still be responsible for overseeing homework.  I would still have battles over simply getting them up and onto that bus.  There are no perfect days because we are imperfect people.

And, of course, prayer is paramount - I could not survive a day like this without it.

I read recently on someone's Facebook status "even if the grass is greener on the other side, you still have to mow it."  This reminds me there are challenges to every lifestyle choice we make, even when we are tempted by something that looks better in the moment.  We have chosen to homeschool because we feel led to do so.  While I know it is the best for our family, that does not mean it will be easy.  I have to continually remind myself of that because I do get tempted to throw in the towel far too easily and quickly.  God is using this homeschool thing as yet another means to help me grow.

A Way Out

Today was not a day of good attitudes if you are a female and part of our family...well, the female cat may have been in a good mood.  But if she'd been made to interact with anyone else, she would have been cranky along with the other two of us.


The day started out pretty good, but Mondays are a very busy day, so it can quickly fall apart into times of irritation.  And I took 2 children to the grocery store...during school hours...which can lead to questioning and unpleasant looks from others in the store.  So perhaps I was primed for a grumpy moment.


The moment came when I went to resume our school for the day, and the darling middle child said "I don't like school.  It's no fun."  I was in no mood for this.  I wanted to yell.  I even wanted to curse, and I don't curse.  I don't even know why this set me off.  Sometimes I take these comments personally - maybe because I pour so much into my efforts at schooling our children, and it hurts when it isn't appreciated.  And this was even the fun part of the day that brought on the complaining.  But I know they need it, so I press on.  However, today was almost a breaking point.


Thankfully, God was faithful, just as His word says He will be.  In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we are told "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."


The way out today was to calmly tell my children I needed a moment to pray and as I prayed, He brought a song we recently learned to my mind.  "I will persevere.  I will never, never quit.  I will follow God and I will stick to it.  I will not give up, not one single little bit.  I will persevere."  


And then I was able to ask my boys to leave the room so my daughter and I could talk calmly.  I was able to remind her that while she may not always enjoy it, getting an education is important.  I was able to explain to her that words can hurt adults' feelings, too, and that we need to be more careful with our words.  And I was able to give her a hug and let her know that I love her, but I will still make her do her school work.


Thank You, God, for Your promise to provide a way out of the temptations.  Please, help me to remember to look for it every time I am tempted to give in to sin.

The More Important Reason

Yesterday I mentioned that I'd discovered/been reminded of 2 things that are great about homeschooling, with our own schedule being one.  But, the more important reason, and the one that does truly carry weight in our decision, is that I have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with our children as they are learning new things.

We have been doing a study of world geography and cultures from the Confessions of a Homeschooler blog called Expedition Earth.  We've been studying China.  It's a wonderful study and it includes a book about the prayer needs of each country, so my children are becoming sensitive to their needs and the differences in our beliefs and the beliefs of others.

Yesterday, I added on watching Everest on Netflix since we had read about Mt. Everest in our information on China.  As part of the movie, the spiritual beliefs of one of the men climbing Everest was discussed and my daughter had several questions.  In addition, during the course of the climb, there was a terrible storm and several people lost their lives.  My daughter wanted to talk about how she hoped the men who had died knew Jesus before they died.

These are the moments I would miss if they were not at home learning at my side.

Lord, help me remember that the next time I sit here wishing that lovely, yellow bus would stop instead of driving past each morning.

A Lovely Thing

There are lots of reasons we have chosen to homeschool, and some days I need reminders of those initial reasons and reasons we've found along the way.  Today I stumbled upon 2 reasons that make homeschooling wonderful (although only one of them would really sway my decision if I were making it over again).

Last night as I went to bed, I saw we were under a "Severe Thunderstorm Watch" until 5AM...well, this storm did not disappoint.  I'm sure I was aware of it before there was a light tapping on my ankle that came from our oldest who was timidly seeking permission to climb into our bed.  Sometimes I forget he fears thunderstorms - mostly because he also hates to leave his room at night to seek comfort.  I don't know if this is just his personality or his being on the autism spectrum, but whatever the reason he often just suffers in silence during a storm...so yes, this one was a doozy.

Next to appear was our daughter...with her cat trailing her.  Wherever she goes, he goes.  I told her to go to her father's side of the bed as mine was already occupied by her older brother and the cat who never leaves my side at night...so that brings us to 4 people and 2 cats in our bed.  Somehow, our youngest never really gets bothered by thunderstorms, so he rode it out in his room.  However, the dog who barks at everything but fears his own shadow was quaking at my side of the bed, causing it to shake ever so slightly.

Needless to say, not a lot of sleeping occurred in our house last night.  So, I was ever so pleased that the kids and I did not need to get up for a bus or for anyone else's schedule.  All 4 of us slept past the time that the elementary bus roared down our street.  All 4 of us slept past the time that the elementary school began their school for the day.  And one of the kids almost made it to lunch time.  But we weren't cranky with each other and learning happened once we were better rested (although I did still sneak in a brief nap after all the learning was done).  That is a lovely thing!!

I think I'll save my 2nd discovery for tomorrow's blog.