What do you get when you add 2 children with the flu, 2 dentist appointments, 1 unmotivated teen, 1 child with 100 school questions, 1 student waiting to read with mom, 1 teen who needs a work permit (today!), 1 music lesson, and 1 husband who wants to know what’s for dinner? You get an ordinary homeschool day. This is my actual day today, and rather than choosing to become overwhelmed, I choose worship. An ordinary life can become extraordinary when we choose worship over worry.
Even though we school through the summer, this was supposed to be our first official week of the new school year. But since we have had numerous visitors, illnesses, and activities to sidetrack us, we are going to be okay waiting another week to start the new curriculum and schedule.
If you are in the same situation, take heart–it’s an ordinary thing among homeschool families to have life interruptions! And guess what? Even if you are behind in your school year, your children are probably ahead in both academics and character. (NHERI has a
free factsheet
for you).
The ordinary life is never glamorous, but it is in those very ordinary days that we find we need an extraordinary God. He gives strength for the moment, wisdom for the lack of it, grace for the trials amidst us, and mercy for the rebels among us. We cannot make it through these ordinary days without Him. And when we try in our own strength and sufficiency to handle everything, we find that we come up without enough of either.
He is our sufficiency, but how do we walk that out practically? By taking one step at a time in an attitude of prayer, worship, and listening for His Voice whether diapering or diagramming. By soaking in His Word in whatever manner possible throughout the day, and by worshiping the One True God in the middle of the mundane.
The glory in these ordinary days is that God is waiting to gloriously rule over them. He wants you to come to Him, yoke up with Him, and let Him do the work in your heart and life that is necessary for peace in your heart and homeschool.
Sit close to your Savior and pull His children in to sit close to you. May God bless your efforts as you, in these ordinary days, keep them Home Where They Belong.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength . . .” Isaiah 26:3, 4
~Deborah
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Raising Real Men
What’s an “ordinary” homeschool?
The first picture we saw of “homeschooling” was probably a newspaper’s Sunday supplement, back in the mid-1980s. The mother was standing in front of a traditional green chalkboard with the traditional cursive alphabet patterns thumb-tacked across the top, a small American flag sticking out at a 45-degree angle, and three little maple school desks for her students. Back in those days, it was easiest to imagine “school at home” … a very, very, very small school.
Now in our third decade of homeschooling, we’ve graduated three and sent them to college on academic scholarships. We have five more still at home, in various grade levels.
And our school probably couldn’t look less like that precious miniature of a public school classroom.
Our student body is diverse. Sure, they all have a family resemblance, but they’re in five different grade levels under the same teacher. No age segregation here!
Our school calendar is totally amorphous. We’ll declare “back to school” the day after Labor Day, but in reality, we have school year round. Breaks occur when the family’s got the flu, or when we have a neat opportunity, or when the kids travel with Mom and Dad on business or ministry trips.
The birth of a sibling, treatment for cancer, or the death of a family member, are all part of God’s curriculum and schedule, and
we’ve learned to leave flexibility in our plans to listen for what He’s teaching us at each step.
Grade levels are fuzzy in some subjects, as the elementary students and high schoolers explore field subjects and experiences shoulder to shoulder.
Days when the entire school time was consumed by conflict resolution, discipline, comforting the afflicted, and chasing doubts and questions down endless rabbit trails which never cross our lesson plans … these prove to be
the most important days for building the character of the adults our children will become.
Our high schoolers take more and more responsibility for their own planning and progress as they mature. Just as our parenting changes from “direction” to “advising” as they grow up, the same way there’s less “teaching” and more “tutoring” as they near graduation. (And each of our graduates has called back from the early weeks of college to say “Thank you” for teaching them to take charge of their education, and not spoon-feeding them throughout high school!)
And I don’t know if we even own a traditional desk any more. Instead, school happens on the sofa, in bed, at the kitchen table, and in the back of the van as we drive across the fruited plain.
For us, there is no “ordinary” school – instead, homeschooling is an extraordinary opportunity for teaching, learning, exploration, and discipleship–all freed from the strictures needed by large institutional schools.
In fact, it’s not “school” at all, but real, living education. And that’s pretty cool.
Yours in the Battle,
P.S.
Homeschooling your son is a great choice, but it’s just part of discipling the next generation for Christ. Our book Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys can make you a more confident parent for the young hero you’re raising. Check out our special price for print + audio, the “Mom and Dad Special” and downloadable editions too! —www.RaisingRealMen.com/orders
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The Familyman
Here’s the fact, Jack. ALL homeschools are ORDINARY homeschools. Even the homeschoolers you think have it all together are ordinary and just like you.
Here’s what an ordinary homeschool looks like:
- It’s lead by a mother who doesn’t always like homeschooling.
- It’s lead by a mother who doesn’t always like her children.
- It’s filled with some children who are easy and some who are hard … real hard.
- The curriculum that looked so good in the summer isn’t working.
- The schedule that was supposed to run like a well-oiled machine runs like a rusted clunker on its last leg.
- At the helm is a husband who is sometimes clueless to the mom’s needs.
- It’s almost always LOUD.
- Sometimes it starts late and finishes early.
- Sometimes its success is measured by the fact that no one died.
- All the moms need to be reminded that they’re doing a good job, because none of them believe they are.
If you believe you’re the only one who feels the things in the list then you need to get the book “ Lies Homeshcooling Moms Believe.“ In fact, if you’re a homeschool leader, then you need to get the book to go through with your homeschool group. They need it. In fact, we offer a super good deal for group orders.
Be Real,
Todd
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Last call – we have had over 100 volunteer to do a small project for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. This group will also be given opportunities for further projects and possibly even a position in marketing or virtual assistance, in the near future. The current project is very light, has to do with a review (sort of), and you’ll be put on the printer list to get the new big print book in January for TOS. Email Bonnie at
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bhudson@theoldschoolhouse.com .
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7 Things You Should Know When Choosing Homeschool
Curriculum from Excellent Quests.
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Five New Classes and a Back-to-School Sale
SchoolhouseTeachers.com debuted FIVE new classes yesterday! Take a look:
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- General Science is a thorough introduction to science for middle schoolers. It will look at the history of science, scientific inquiry, geology, classification, and human anatomy through written and video resources.
Special note for American History: Colonization and Beginning Sewing: Historical Costumes–it is always our goal to present all classes for an unlimited period of time. However, a few of our teachers are teaching on our site as guests and are presenting their classes for a limited time. As of September 30, 2015, these two courses by Amy Puetz will no longer be available. If you are taking either of these classes, we encourage you to download your coursework now before the course ends.
Did you know? You can buy two years for the PRICE OF ONE during our back-to-school sale! You pay $139 for TWO years of full access to EVERY course – and there are 150 now – for the ENTIRE family, and there are no hidden textbook fees. Important note: The sale ends September 21, 2015. You have three weeks to save $139 and lock in for two full years. See site for details and
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“I look forward to THM every Wednesday. I really enjoy Deborah’s articles. For some reason, it must be God, she always writes about what I am needing to hear. Her ability to put scripture and God in the middle of all her articles keeps me coming back. I recently have been enjoying the Youngs’ [articles] because I have a young man (10) in my house. The encouragement of the Youngs is fabulous. I thank God for parents like them that pave the way for parents like myself and my husband.”
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So love reading TOS on my iPad from cover to cover every month!!!”
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Kannapolis, NC
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“…I appreciate them both so much. I love Diana’s passion for teaching history in a fun and interesting way. And that she is all about relationships first. I love that about Todd as well, and that he always, always says it is okay to relax about the schooling.“
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Everett, WA
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