Being a mom of little ones is exhausting. There is a long list of daily household chores that need to get done to keep our home going such as laundry, cleaning the house, preparing meals, and making sure everyone is clean, just to name a few. And if that wasn’t enough, my husband and I decided that home schooling our children part time is the best choice for our family. (Our boys go to a school two days a week and homeschool the other days) So I get to add educating our children to that list.
Can I be completely transparent with you? Home-schooling my boys is the most rewarding yet hardest part of my day.
One of my boys has a learning disability. This learning disability can make school a challenge for him. There are plenty of days that he ends up frustrated and in tears. It’s those days that I am completely brought to the end of myself. By the time we are finished homeschooling I am scraping the bottom of my patience barrel trying to scrounge up some more patience for the remainder of the day. I end up depleted emotionally and mentally.
We have been homeschooling for two years now and I have learned what helps me to have a better homeschool day. Here is list of a few things that I do to help the day go smoother. If you are a homeschooling mom you might find these helpful as well!
- Start the day with prayer and in the Word.
This one can be easy to push to the side but we can’t do that, it is the most important one. We cannot pour into our children if the our well is dry.
- Eat a good breakfast.
We have always heard it is good to start the day with a good breakfast. Who would argue with that? I have no objection with that but between toddlers, diapers, trying to make sure everyone is fed I can sometimes put what I need on the backburner. I have learned that for the good of my family it is important that I eat a good breakfast. Otherwise I am not the best version of myself.
- Change the “me against him” mentality.
When it came to homeschooling my child with learning disabilities I use to have this “me against him” mentality. I quickly realized how wrong that was. He needs to know that when it comes to tackling school we are in this together. I am on his side. This change can make or break the entire school day.
I am a single mom who works from home and homeschools a son with several learning disabilities. Your list is spot on in my world. I have also found that getting enough sleep is very important, which is a tremendous challenge when you’re juggling things and trying to catch up at night!
We homeschooled for many years, but our son (last child) is a senior in our church school this year so I’m “looking back” on those days. Some very special memories, and some I don’t want to relive where I felt like an absolute failure. I totally agree w/ the things you have already said. I would add that getting to bed at night is important, and if needed, a rest/ quiet time during the day. We had Bible time after lunch, and then an hour or so to rest, read, nap, etc. Also plenty of breaks, and getting them outside as much as possible. The biggest thing I think I would “do over” would be to lighten up, and not get so caught up in meeting certain goals or trying to prove anything. Even though our kids both excelled academically, that can come at a cost if you aren’t careful to sometimes just relax and have some fun–and let learning be part of life and not life itself! 😉 Our older daughter is in childcare and is very much a proponent of homeschooling, and our son is not opposed to it, so I suppose I would count those things as pretty amazing blessings considering how many times I felt so inadequate! I look forward to someday hopefully being able to enjoy homeschooled grandchildren and being a part of their lives….=)