Recovery Before Crash and Burn
August 25, 2021
Deborah Wuehler
Tired of the Fight
Todd Wilson
Keep Homeschooling: Your Children Will Reap the Benefits
Jodi Riddle
Take Steps Along the Way
Dan Beasley
Homeschooling Continues Trajectory of Rapid Growth
| Be sure to scroll to the bottom to enter the contest and see the freebies of the month! |
Mercy Every Minute
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
Tired of the Fight
Some homeschool days are amazing, and we feel we can do this forever! And some are so difficult we just want to quit. For good. And sometimes it is a whole season of burnout because we are tired of the fight. And yes, it’s a fight. We are going against society—against family and friends and church, against everything that seems normal for everyone else—in order to follow what we believe God has called us to do in educating God’s children for God’s glory. It is never easy going against the flow, and you will often feel the pressure to prove yourself. And that is tiring.
So, here’s the deal; in the end, I want to be able to say this: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And most importantly, I want to say about my children what Jesus said in John 17 about His: “I have declared to them Your Name and will declare it.” The enemy hates this and will try every way possible to tear your family and homeschool apart.
So, when you don’t feel like continuing on is exactly when faith has to come in. When you feel you are going to crash and burn the minute you get out of bed: keep your faith strong in the LORD, and resist the devil and he will flee. Walk by faith and not by sight, and take captive any negative thoughts.
Jesus also showed us how not to crash and burn. Let’s look at Jesus’ lifestyle of rest in between the overwhelming demands of meeting needs all day: Jesus got away to pray “as was His custom” (Luke 11:1-2, Luke 5:16, John 17:1, Hebrews 5:7; Luke 21:37, Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28, Mark 1:35) What is our custom? He spent time with His Father in order to proceed with life here on earth. We must do the same.
Jesus said “rest awhile”: “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” (Mark 6:30-32). I have felt this busyness with no leisure way too often! Jesus invites us to go to a quiet place and rest. Day or night, He invites us there. It is where we will find the strength to make it through the demands of another day.
Pour it all out before Him. You can do this one more day! With faith that God performs all things for us—faith that His strength is available when mine is weak. Fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith!
~Deborah
Read: Ten Years of Burnout
Check out these articles that may help you when you’re feeling like you’re about to crash and burn:
Burnout: How to Alleviate It and Prevent It by Nancy Gillard Doran
The Beauty of Restful Homeschooling by Danielle Poorman
Tell Yourself the Truth: How Homeschool Mothers Get Bogged Down in Unreality by Kendra Fletcher
www.outsidetheboxcreation.com
Todd Wilson
Keep Homeschooling: Your Children Will Reap the Benefits
When you feel like you are about to crash and burn in your homeschooling journey, you may want someone to tell you, “Go ahead and quit!”
Loving God’s Word, and teaching the Bible is important for parents and children. Loving God’s Word is our goal for a lifelong saving faith. It’s an investment in the future of our children that’s worth its weight in gold.
So, before you sell the books on eBay and stick your kids out at the bus stop, let me tell you a story. Actually, it’s not one story but several stories combined that I’ve heard from lots of parents. It goes something like this:
“I homeschooled our kids for several years, but it was so hard. The kids seemed like they weren’t getting it, and I didn’t enjoy homeschooling anymore. I looked around at everyone else’s children who were in traditional school, and they looked like they were learning so much and having the time of their lives. So I put my kids in school.” Then they pause and purse their lips together and add, “I thought we had problems before, but they were nothing compared to the issues we’re facing now . . . it was like throwing gas on a fire.”
So, go ahead and quit . . . but before you do, you might re-read the above paragraph. Those aren’t my words. They are the words of moms and dads who came to regret that they did quit, who gave up because it was so hard.
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
Be real,
Todd
Jodi Riddle
Take Steps Along the Way
Have you ever been working on a project on a computer and as you are nearing completion, the computer crashes? After screaming and/or pulling your hair out, you think, “If I would have just taken steps along the way, I could have prevented losing all of this?”
The same is true in our homeschooling journey. Sometimes it’s with our children, and other times it’s with ourselves. We push and push, and then the crash happens. We may scream, pull our hair out, or may just think, “What went wrong, and how could I have prevented this?”
When it comes to our children and the schooling process, there are several things we should keep in mind to prevent the crash. While we must know and adhere to the requirements of the state in which we live, we need to realize that we do not have to “educate” our children the same way the local school does. Be flexible; be creative; consider alternatives to textbooks and worksheets. Do not make your day about “school,” but rather about the love of learning. Use things that interest your child and build the learning around that. Avoid getting to the point of child—and/or teacher—burnout, by covering what needs to be covered but doing it in an enjoyable way.
In your personal life, follow the advice of the scriptures, “But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” (Psalm 4:3-4) Take time to call upon Him and be still before the day begins and throughout the day. When you take time to acknowledge Him and seek His guidance, or even just be still for a period, there will not be much “recovery” needed. He will provide all you need so you do not crash and burn.
It is possible to complete your journey without having a major crash—and losing those things in which you invested so much of your time.
Jodi started her journey with TOS in April 2016 and serves as the Operations Manager. She and her husband, Duane, have been married over 30 years and have spent over 20 years in the ministry. Along with being a pastor’s wife, she homeschooled her 3 (now grown) sons for 18 years and also taught in the private and public-school settings. Jodi enjoys teaching, playing the piano, and making cards. Her heart’s desire is to serve others and use her gifts to glorify the Lord.
903-449-6328
https://youtu.be/-iJQozIpZYk
Dan Beasley
Pillar of Future
Dan Beasley – Homeschooling Continues Trajectory of Rapid Growth
Who’s willing to guess how many students will be homeschooled this fall? Ever since stay-at-home orders and school closings disrupted education in the spring of 2020, homeschooling has been growing rapidly. For more than a year now, researchers, policymakers, think tanks, and education-focused organizations (including HSLDA) have been trying to predict how many parents will choose to homeschool.
One ongoing survey that has been informative is the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which the bureau has been conducting since the pandemic began in the Spring of 2020.
This survey has shown phenomenal homeschooling growth over the past year, indicating that the number of households that include at least one homeschooled student rose from 5.4 percent to 11.1 percent from March to October 2020, and then even higher to a shocking 19 percent of households in the spring of 2021. That means nearly one out of five households were homeschooling at the end of last school year.
While it remains to be seen whether these numbers will hold into this fall semester, there is good reason to think parents will continue to choose homeschooling for their child, based on school safety and curriculum concerns, in addition to lingering effects of the pandemic.
Here’s hoping more children get to experience the joys (and challenges) of homeschooling!
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Congratulations to Ashley Dillon from Huntsville, AL, who won our June giveaway!
Contest Corner
for the month of August
Blocks Rock!
Blocks Rock LLC
Blocks Rock! is a STEM game created by Blocks Rock LLC. The game contains a set of different colored and shaped blocks, a timer, and two sets of cards. The blocks, made of wood, are very sturdy. The timer is a traditional looking bell timer. There are two sets of cards included. One set is large, colorful preschool STEM cards that help develop hand-eye coordination while learning shapes and colors. The other cards are smaller, the size of regular playing cards, and used for the Blocks Rock! challenges.
My students played this game together during their free time. They enjoyed the competition of the race to build. The packaging of the set makes it easy for them to pull out on their own and put away. It is compact enough that it stores away easily on a shelf. I was pleased to have a game like this available to them that worked on the development of STEM skills.
I would recommend this product. It is well-constructed and durable. I could see this being great for a preschool child and teaching shapes and colors. The product would grow with that same child as they develop and could do challenges so it will last longer than traditional preschool STEM toys. Both of my students are elementary age, and they both enjoyed the game so it covers a very wide range of ages.
This is part of a review for the Blocks Rock! building game. Read the full review on our site with much more information about using this in your home.
Go to the contest page of our site where you can ENTER TO WIN Blocks Rock!
Freebies
My School Year
My School Year | A Homeschool Record Keeping, Tracking, and Scheduling System
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This free product and more are found in our 2021 Freebie Directory: TOS Freebie Directory – The Old Schoolhouse®
FREE e-book!
Fall Harvest: Where’s the Fruit? – The Old Schoolhouse®
Where is the fall harvest of God’s goodness and righteousness in your heart and in your house? Go through each season/stage of development with the author as she shares her wisdom, experiences, and what she has learned, and you’ll see a pattern of things to be doing (or not doing) to ensure a good harvest in your children’s lives and in your own heart. She promises to show you something optimistic and hopefully even beautiful.
Find more freebies at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Store: Freebies Archives – The Old Schoolhouse®
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