Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

 We are rolling up on summer, and for the homeschool mom, that can bring a lot of unstructured time and "bonus" chaos with all the kid's summer activities, vacations, time with extended family, neighborhood children out of school (and potentially playing in your yard or house), later nights for the kids, and in general a sense of "WHOOSH" as the days fly by but the messes seem to multiply. The homeschooling academic year feels like a lot, and that's because it is a lot. A lot of focus, a lot of planning and preparation, a lot of educational work, and maybe even a lot of structure. But the summer months, especially if you don't homeschool year-round, can feel so unstructured that the hectic pace of the school year seems chill compared to the chaotic pace of summer.  As a mom who raised five kids in a not-so-big house, homeschooling them for 25 years, I can honestly say that I learned a few things about the chaos of the summer months.  One of the most valu...

 You've got a sink full of dishes, a hamper overflowing with dirty laundry, no plan for tonight's dinner, the car is out of gas, and you forgot to take the trash to the curb for pickup. This is real life. And real life doesn't slow down for homeschool families. If anything, it compounds. Because when you and your kids are home all day, there are... MORE dishes in the sink, MORE meals to make, and MORE trash being generated every single day. If you're an overwhelmed mom, can I just say that I see you, I get you, and you are not a "bad" mom because you're an overwhelmed one. (Seriously - you're not a bad mom because you are experiencing overwhelm. I said it twice because somebody needs to hear it twice!) Here are three tips for when you feel behind: Don't raise your voice ... at yourself, internally. And don't grumble at yourself under your breath. It won't help anything, it won't change anything, and it will likely leave you feeling more...

      As a mom, and now as a grandma, I've been to the big Orlando theme parks 20+ times. And along the way, I've learned a few things about what you need (and what you don't need) when taking a vacation to the Disney and/or Universal parks in Florida. ~ Disclaimer: affiliate links are used in this post & I may earn a commission off of sales As a mom, and now as a grandma, I have been to all the big theme parks in Orlando more than 20 times. I have taken on the theme parks with babies, toddlers, preschoolers, elementary-aged kids, preteens and teens. I have even gone with our adult children and their spouses; we've taken our teens close friends. From 9 months old to about to graduate from college, our kids have been to Disney and Universal and SeaWorld many, many times. And now we are enjoying trips to sunny Orlando with our grandchildren. Some years I drove the entire 1,397 miles each way (honestly, when we had so-much-stuff to take for longer stays in Florida, dri...

 Loving God with your time. Is time truly of the essence? I think it is. Because where our minutes go, there our hours and our days go. How we spend our time is literally how we invest our time. (Read that again.) As mothers, if time really is our biggest investment opportunity, is there a way to get the best possible ROI on our investment?  Yes. The answer is absolutely yes. When we apply the words of Jesus from Matthew 26:36-39, we find our template for wisely investing the minutes that make up our days. Here are Jesus’ words from the New Living Translation: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [ a ] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [ b ] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Is the Lord your God...

 Homeschooling is a journey.  A beautiful, challenging, and often overwhelming journey down a long path. So many moms find themselves asking, "Am I doing this right?" If you have ever asked yourself that question, or if you feel stressed, overwhelmed, uncertain or downright exhausted, know that you are not alone.  In this post, I'm going to share one thing that helped me during my super-overwhelmed stage of life as a homeschool mom. And I hope I can share some encouragement, too.  Sometimes homeschool moms need a boost to help us keep going, because homeschooling is tough, it's a long-haul road, and it certainly isn't for the faint of heart. Your children are your students, and they stay right there in your home when the school day is done. This constant connection makes homeschooling the unique enterprise that it is, but constant connection can be taxing for moms. It's a full-time calling that requires dedication. And it can easily take over every aspect of y...

 So, you're considering homeschooling and have a few questions.  Hopefully this post can answer some of those! Getting Started: Yup, homeschooling feels pretty daunting at first. But keep in mind that with the right tools and resources and a healthy mindset, this form of education can be a tremendous blessing for you and your child. It's a unique opportunity to tailor your children's education to their individual needs and interests. And that is a pretty amazing opportunity, if you think about it! Getting started involves knowing your individual state's legal requirements for homeschooling families. HSLDA has a pretty comprehensive guide to each state's laws and standards, so consider taking a look at that site for more info. (I'll link it at the bottom of this post.)  You may need to submit notification of your intent to your local school district. There may be some curriculum standards that you will want to be aware of. For example, when my children were in hi...

 Is everything you do about your children's education? Or maybe you focus primarily on their interests in order to aid them in building their future and possibly their career. Maybe you just want your kids to be emotionally stable. Your end goal may be helping them get into a certain college or university or program. It could be an intentional focus on sports due to their athletic abilities (or any other myriad of activities wherein they excel).  None of those is wrong. Lots of parents choose home education for reasons such as these.  But as I reflect on my own five children and our 25 years of homeschooling, I know for sure that their character and their love for the Lord were the things I did right in focusing on, while simultaneously being the areas I wish I had spent more time, energy and focus on. It's a coexisting of two things in the same space; we did it well, and we should have done it better.  Some of their deepest struggles may have been lessened had I, th...

  A few days ago, while I was out running errands, I saw a house (in a fairly nice neighborhood) with seasonal (read that: Halloween themed) "decorations" in their yard.  ... Okay, before I even get going with this post, I have to hit "pause" & state for the record that the word "decorations" feels wrong when what I saw was a means of glorifying death & very macabre ... As a mom of five now adult children who homeschooled for 25 years, every now and again I get a bit reflective and do a "rear-view mirror cross-examination" of things we did in our family that I would do differently if given the chance. One of those things is the way we "celebrated" Halloween.  We did all the things. Went to the pumpkin patch , did the corn mazes , carved the pumpkins, decorated the house with "creepy" things, let the kids pick (or design and create) their costumes, attended harvest parties , church events (and hosted a lot of church ...