Homeschooling Through the Hard Days

I love homeschooling, I really do. But if you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time, you know that along with the really, really good days, there are really, really hard days (and everything in between). So I don’t know why, 9 years in, it still surprises me when we have those difficult days.

The last few weeks have felt like one long, really, really hard day. I can’t put my finger on exactly what’s made these last few weeks feel that way. I guess I could say it’s 2020, that’s the answer to everything right now it seems. The truth is though, that sometimes things just don’t go as planned. The kids don’t want to do what I’m asking them to do. The lesson doesn’t turn out how I had hoped. Unexpected appointments, doctor visits and life disrupts the day, or the week. And, sometimes, the hard truth is that I am the one in need of the attitude adjustment. Parenting in general is hard and essentially that’s all that homeschooling is, right? Parenting all day, everyday with no breaks!

At one point last week, it seemed like everything was flying off the rails. Miss Marvel was completely fulfilling her role as my strong-willed child. Peter Parker was SO OVER the long division I was asking him to do. And, Honey Lemon was reminding me what it was about Algebra that nearly did me in when I was a kid. I had some serious doubts about what I was doing. I was certain that my kids would be better off in someone else’s classroom. Under someone else’s instruction. I didn’t go as far as to actually search any school websites, but I did consider it! My only saving grace is that I’ve been here before, though never this early in the school year (2020, right?), so I eventually recognized what was happening.

I strongly believe that homeschooling is the very best thing for my kids. So the reality is I’m not actually going to put them on the bus headed to our neighborhood school. As a Christian, I also believe that when we set out to raise our kids to love the Lord and to serve Him in a way that impacts the Kingdom, we will come against opposition and that’s exactly what was happening to me.

For me, opposition from the enemy can come in many forms, but in the area of homeschooling, it comes most often from fear and doubt. Fear that I’m going to ruin my kids and any hope they have for success. Doubt that what I’m doing today will be enough for my children’s tomorrows. The fact of the matter is, I’m not enough. But the One who has called me to homeschool is more than enough! He’s the One who fed 5,000 people with just a few loaves & two fish. I just need to keep perspective and remember that when I show up with what I have, He will make it enough.

So after everyone settled down and we all had a bit of quiet time, we got back at it. During that quiet time, the Lord reminded me that He intentionally placed each of these kids in our family, and because He is enough, I am too. There’s no teacher that is better for these kids. No teacher loves my kids like I do, nor do they know my kids like I do. No teacher is as invested in my kids’ futures as I am.

So we will persevere on this journey of homeschooling, taking the really, really good days when they come, thanking God for each and every one. And, by His grace and in His strength, we will push through the really, really hard days because although they’re inevitable, they won’t last forever. And what we are doing is so, very worth it!