.jpg)
Do you ever worry that you are homeschooling all wrong? We all have that homeschool fear, but the truth is you are not a homeschool failure.
This is a guest post in a series all about homeschooling fears. To see the other posts in the series on homeschool fears go here. This guest post is from Shelly Sangrey at There is No Place Like Home
Has this ever happened to you? Your homeschool year seems to be sailing along beautifully when WHAM! Something happens that completely derails your entire point of view.
Maybe you run into another homeschooling family that seems to do things so much better than you. Maybe a friend or relative makes an offhand comment about homeschooling that makes you feel less than confident about your ability to teach your kids. Or maybe you find yourself comparing your kids to the neighbors who go to public school.
No matter the cause, one thing is for certain. What was once so perfectly clear to you before- your entire educational philosophy, in fact- doesn’t seem quite as grand as you once believed.
Here’s where I’m going to let you in on a little secret: At one point or another, this homeschool freakout happens to the best of us. Yes, really.
But you know what? That’s OKAY! Getting shaken up a bit is the perfect time to assess how your homeschool is progressing. Hold on a second, though! Before you go running ahead to judge the effectiveness of your homeschool, it’s time we get a few things straight.
Things to Remember in the Midst of a Homeschool Panic Attack
~There is no such thing as the perfect homeschool.~
Believe me, I know how hard it can be to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other homeschoolers. Whether it’s a fellow mom in your homeschool group or a blogger you’ve been following makes no difference.
For the most part, when people share about their homeschool experiences, they’re typically only sharing the times when things went right for them. Let’s face it, most moms aren’t too keen on disclosing their mom fails. Are you?
Ever wonder why that could be? I’m going to wager that there’s a good chance it’s because they’re comparing themselves to you, too.
There is no such thing as the perfect homeschool curriculum.
I can’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve stopped using a curriculum that was working perfectly fine for us because others were using something they claimed was the best invention since sliced bread. Unsurprisingly, I ended up regretting it every. single. time. We’ve all heard or experienced homeschool failure stories like this.
Just because something works beautifully for one family- or even thousands of families- doesn’t mean it will work for yours or mine.
As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
There will always be homeschool gaps you’ve missed.
I know a lot of moms find that scary, but you know what? There is a HUGE amount of information out there. There is simply no way you or anyone else will ever have the time to hit every single topic in every single subject, even brick, and mortar schools.
That’s one of the advantages of homeschooling, though. It equips our children to have the know-how to find out what they need when they need it.
Lifelong learning is a beautiful thing, and you are planting the seeds to help it to grow in your children. Knowing how to learn is the greatest way to overcome any “missed” information.
You know your children better than anyone.
There are so many different ways to homeschool out there that it can be truly overwhelming to think about. Which is the best? School-at-home? Unschooling? Unit Studies? Charlotte Mason? Waldorf? Classical? Relaxed? The different homeschool methods often make us scared to homeschool.
You know what? There is no one method that is always superior to the others. Instead of being worried about homeschooling, we can be confident in our homeschool ability. While we all have preferences and will inevitably promote the way we do things as “the best,” the truth is, only YOU can decide which way will work for you and your children. Then that will be the “best” for your family, and that, my friends, is what matters.
The grass ISN’T always greener on the other side.
How many times have you said that to your kids? I know I’ve repeated that phrase multiple times to my own, yet I’m guilty of the very same thing! Always keep in mind that when you’re looking in from the outside, you’re not getting the complete picture. The only complete picture you’ll ever have is that of your own family, so it’s best to keep your eyes on your own homeschool, and no one else’s.
You can do it, Mama!
No one on this earth loves your kids more than you do. No matter why you decided to homeschool, at the root of every reason is pure and simple love. Everyone hits a stumbling block every now and then, but it’s vital to keep your eyes forward and push through.
As long as you’re homeschooling with your children’s best interests at heart, believe me, you’ve got this.
It can be too easy to believe that we’ve been fooling ourselves about the success of our homeschools all along. I can almost guarantee that it WILL happen every now and then. It’s in our nature as moms to overthink things because we want the absolute best for our precious children, but when it does happen, take a deep breath, take one look at your children, and remember that no one- NO ONE- is in a better position to lead them than you.
Have faith in yourself. Have confidence about what you know about your kids and what works for them and what doesn’t. Take that information and use it to make your decision. It’s not your neighbor’s homeschool, or your mother’s homeschool, or your favorite blogger’s homeschool. It’s yours.
Now, what are you going to do with it?
Have you ever worried you were homeschooling all wrong? Share your homeschool fears below.
Hi! I’m Shelly, a coffee-drinking, Christ-following, homeschooling mom of 11. When I’m not busy trying to keep my slightly chaotic house under control, you can find me at the library lamenting the fact that there is no way I’ll ever get to all those books! You can find me at There’s No Place Like Home.There’s No Place Like Home.
Yes! He is the only one who can actually give it to us <3
Oh man….I needed this today…in the midst of planning out the coming year and feeling like even parenting has been a struggle this summer. Oh Lord, help me to rest in You!
Yes, we do!!
Good reminders! Don’t we all have those moments at times. 🙂