Homeschool blogs are not only sharing ideas and encouragement, but they are trying to “sell” homeschooling as well. When you are passionate about something it overflows into wanting people to have or do what you do.
I hope I paint a fairly realistic view of homeschooling in our home. I’m not a perfect mom and make plenty of mistakes each day.
Here are some Homeschooling – Keepin’ it Real TRUTHS!
I’m craft challenged and my kids are craft deprived. We don’t generally do terribly creative things. However, I do work hard to provide my kids with a good education.
I have an almost constant worry about doing enough, doing enough of the right things, and just generally worried that I’m going to screw my kids up for the rest of their lives. What if all six kids are fighting over space in our basement when they are in their 30′s and 40′s??
I don’t always feel like spending every minute of every second with my children. Some days I just want a full five minutes of peace and quiet.
Many days I feel like a total slacker and that I don’t measure up as a “good” mom, let alone an adequate homeschooling mom.
I have days when I feel totally discouraged, and I wonder if anything I’m doing really matters. If I hear one more complaint about school work, about having to help with chores, about what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack – I just might go stark raving mad.
My favorite part of the day is often when my husband comes home, and not always because I missed him that day. It’s just a relief to know that backup has arrived for the evening chaos routine.
Realistic Expectations for Homeschooling Days
We all have these kinds of days. I guess having the less than stellar homeschool days makes me appreciate the good days even more. And thankfully we do have plenty of good days.
We all have seasons when life in general just feels hard. Usually it’s because we have taken our eyes off our goals or when we have been lax with prayer time and perhaps not as thankful to God for all the good that we do have. Been there, done that!
Thankfully, God, in his mercy, picks us up to do the whole thing over again the next day.
Be sure to read more Imperfect Homeschool day stories
I know what you mean about being happy your spouse has come home— some days it’s like the cavalry riding in with much- needed reinforcements!
LOL! Yes it is!!
Often our hardest times are the times after dinner and before bed. Greg does not get home before 8 and I often feel bad that we are not greeting him with smiles and hugs but with tears and sighs of frustration…..
Oh yes! The “witching” hours! When my husband travels those are the times that I dread.
A full five minutes of peace and quiet? Aaahhh…
“Many days I feel like a total slacker and that I don’t measure up as a “good” mom, let alone an adequate homeschooling mom.” <—yep!
I know what you mean about that “backup has arrived” feeling…I wonder often how single homeschool moms manage. And so true about keeping our eyes on the goal!
Everyone practically attacks Hal when he walks in the door – just because we’ve all seen each other so much during the day and need a chance of scenery! I can relate to everything you say in this post!
“Thankfully, God, in his mercy, picks us up to do the whole thing over again the next day.” Oh amen and amen!
“lax in prayer time”- Yes! I can really feel it when I let that happen (which I have recently). Funny thing about the crafts- I am *not* craft challenged. I *am* math and science challenged. Guess what? My three oldest daughters all successfully entered fields that are math and science related!