A Burden or a Blessing
How would you describe your homeschool? Is it a blessing educating your children at home? Or are you barely surviving each homeschool day?
It’s easy getting overwhelmed with the whole aspect of homeschooling. Our children’s education falls on our shoulders. There are many ways to teach our children at home, but the weight of it is still something we carry.
Our plates get full. Besides homeschooling, we have additional children to care for and our daily chores. Some days we feel like we are drowning in a “to do” list. When we are overwhelmed, it’s hard to see the surrounding blessings. Instead of seeing the incredible opportunity to mold our children’s character, we see little people that have endless needs. Schoolwork and lesson planning become burdens we dread.
We lash out at our children when our desired time schedule isn’t followed. “Why do they keep asking questions?” you may have thought. Every day isn’t all sunshine. In exhaustion, blessings are harder to find. Let’s be real; some days, we just want to quit. We don’t want to see another school paper or turn on another video lesson. The school bus looks inviting as we wander through the school day. Real-life is draining. We focus on the burdens and ignore the blessings.
Maybe a child isn’t comprehending a subject, and it’s challenging. Where’s the blessing in that? We go through the motions of teaching our children but only to check it off a list. We don’t put our time and energy in teaching because it’s a burden. It disrupts our day and hinders us from doing a more favorable duty. Homeschooling seems pointless, and we doubt our ability to teach our children.
What should we do when homeschooling is a burden? Should we dash to the local school and enroll our children at the first signs of discouragement? Sending our children to a school building won’t solve the underlining problem. Our view becomes a heart problem. It’s necessary to pause and reevaluate life. God will grant wisdom and give guidance if we ask.
Think back to when we started homeschooling. What motivated us to invest in our children’s education? If God called us to homeschool, we have to make sure He has a right position in our lives. We need God every day. If we are close to God, our attitudes will exhibit godliness, and the blessings will be easy to see.
What motivated us to start homeschooling? Did we want to be the ones who saw their faces light up when they learned to read or do addition? It’s easy to lose our motivation, but look at your children. That’s your motivation. They need us to love them and allow that love to teach them in school and in life. Relationships are more important than completed worksheets. If we dwell on relationships instead of completed papers, blessings will fill our school.
Has circumstances affected how we view homeschooling? Life is full of trials and obstacles. Homeschooling won’t shield the problems. Are we facing sickness, a death, a career change, a new baby, or fill in the blank? In unique circumstances, we need to put homeschooling aside and take a break. It’s okay to give ourselves grace. After we recoup, school will be waiting.
Don’t fall trap to the devil’s tactics. You are doing an awesome job so don’t quit. You are human, and everyone fails and gets discouraged. This season of your life will pass.
Remember your vision in homeschooling and focus on that. Make sure you have realistic goals. Above all, treat your time with your children as a blessing because it is.
Hi, my name is Jessica. I am married to a wonderful husband and we have six children, 1 girl and 5 boys. God has blessed my life. He is too good to me. I try to juggle homeschooling, housework, and writing. I have self-published a couple of books. You can follow me on my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/theaspiringwriter/
