Encouragement for New (and not so new) Homeschoolers
I’ve been thinking about the very first day of our homeschooling journey. It brought back a rush of memories for me, especially since I’ve been speaking to a lot of brand new homeschoolers over the summer. I just want to stop and encourage you as I know many of you have started school sometime during the past couple of weeks. If you haven’t started yet, please don’t feel pressured! You set the pace and tone for your homeschool, and we all tend to start at different times.
Our first year of homeschooling I approached with much "fear and trembling". Even though I am a college grad, the whole thing still intimidated me. And my first day? Whoa…I figured I might as well quit while I was ahead. We worked at school for 8 hours straight that first day, with only a 30 minute break! I have to laugh at it now in hindsight. I even called a close girlfriend of mine and told her about our horrid first day. She just laughed and assured me it would get easier, and better, and we’d find our "groove" in no time. She was right! I was trying so hard to do the "public school" thing in my home instead of having my home set the tone for our school. It takes awhile for mom to de-program, especially when we’re products of the public/private school systems ourselves. And look how well WE turned out! :0)
So, please don’t be too hard on yourself Mom. Stand firm and remind yourself why you’ve decided to homeschool, and all the wonderful reasons there are to keep going. Can’t think of anything? That’s okay, here’s a few to get you started:
- Studies show that homeschooled children average between the 80th and 90th percentile, regardless of the socio-economic background, or educational level of the parents.
- Great student to teacher ratio.
- Very good communication between the student, teacher and parents.
- You can homeschool in your PJs every day!
- The curriculum is in perfect agreement with the values of the parents.
- The children will not bring bad habits home from school.
- The pace of learning will be geared to the ability of each child, not the lowest common denominator.
- You don’t have to fix lunch in the morning.
- No waiting for the school bus at 6:00am in the morning (or whenever).
- Without peer pressure, they learn to think for themselves, not just parrot what the “group wants to hear”.
- Every educator agrees that parental involvement is the key to success in a child’s education. How could one be more involved?
- Your child will never be “just a number” in your classroom.
- You get to capture those "teachable moments" as they happen so your values are reinforced in your child.
- Field Trips!
I’m sure you can think of even better reasons for your family. You truly are the best educator for your child. After all, you have been teaching your child since the day you brought that wee-one home from the hospital. Every day is an adventure, and some days are more "adventurous" than others. Pace yourself. Think outside the box. And above all, commit each new school day to the One Who holds each day in His capable hands. God has all the wisdom (and patience) you need to greet each day if you’ll stop to ask. And this is absolutely the most important key to a successful homeschool!
One more thing, please don’t hesitate to call a fellow homeschool friend if you get bogged down. The veteran homeschoolers know how you feel, and would gladly step up to give you the encouragement you need to go the next mile. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone. Get involved in one of the many groups your community is offering to local homeschoolers. You’ll be glad you did.
Blessings,
Lori
No comments:
Post a Comment