Homeschooling Through The Crazy Days

Hello my name is Julie and I’m a mom – wait, a teacher – no a housekeeper, or is it a cook and chief bottle washer? Whatever hat we wear in the moments of our day, there is always going to be a crazy time.  We wonder why and how we can do everything we do. The simple answer: coffee! The more complicated answer: there isn’t one. I think we do what we do because we have a passion to be home with our kids and teach them ourselves. For me it wasn’t always that way. I thought “the thing to do” was to send them off to school for hours a day while I played the part of June Cleaver and kept the house looking pristine and in tip top shape as I made a full course dinner for all the family when they got home. Fast forward 10 to 12 years and I realized I had been fooling myself. I didn’t want my kids away from me – not for one second!! WHAT????? I knew that to miss their firsts of all things would be devastating. I wanted to be there for them every step of the way. I asked my husband to help me and allow me to homeschool and he, seeing the direction the public schools (and even some Christian schools) were taking, he said YES!!! Now we have been homeschooling for over 18 years and I have not regretted one minute. Have I had hard days? Oh my yes!! Have I wanted to crawl under the covers and just hide and sleep – who doesn’t? I know that the most important factor in being a mom and teacher is to be there for my kids. So what DO I do on the crazy days when the kids have cabin fever and I just want school to be done (we try to do it from 8 to noon) so I can sew or read? I take A LOT of deep breaths and figure out what needs to get done, what is overkill and what can be done partially today and partially tomorrow. Divide and conquer! Am I right? While my homeschooling might not look like yours, we can still offer each other tips. You can have crazy days, too and I’m hoping that I can help. The biggest tip I can say is step back and evaluate the subject. Does the child know the concept they are teaching him in the lesson? Is it overkill to keep doing more and more questions or math facts if he already knows the answers? Sometimes, I think that answer is yes!! For example, Mellie knows her math facts if she sits and concentrates so I give her a challenge to do so many and if they are ALL right she can move on and not do the rest of the problems (I use a curriculum that is built mainly around a Christian school classroom setting where busy work is necessary to fill the day). Sometimes this works and sometimes not. All in all, she is learning her math facts and we aren’t pulling hair sitting at her desk all day. Of course, YOU know your child better than anyone else if you are teaching them. You know what they are capable of and when to push them and when to encourage them to go a bit farther in their school journey. The beauty of homeschooling is everyone can work at THEIR pace and not be held up by someone else. I love that about homeschooling. My child learns best with how their personality fits them. So what homeschool tips can you give this crazy, insane mom/teacher/everything else? And what other tips can I give to you?  Comment below and let me be of help to you.