Homeschooling is overwhelming.

There. I said it.

It is hard and stressful and difficult.

But doesn’t that describe parenting in general? And really and truly our own parents were right: anything worth it is worth working for, and anything worth working for is inherently hard.  And if it were easy, wouldn’t everybody being doing it? I’ve squeezed in lots of parent-isms here, but they’re all true!

When it comes to the education of our children, I’ve learned that teaching them academically is actually an extension of what we are already doing as their mommies. They know how to hold a spoon, speak a language, and brush their teeth because we taught them.  Reading, writing, and arithmetic are the next steps in what we are already doing.

You can always pay someone else to give your children the academic instruction, train them in life-skills, or just to take care of their physical needs. But you cannot ever pay someone to love your child. You love your children.

And that one truth separates you uniquely from any other teacher, caregiver, babysitter, or tutor on the planet.

You can always pay someone else to give your children academic instruction, train them in life-skills, or just to take care of their physical needs. But you cannot ever pay someone to love your child. Click To Tweet

Because you love your children, you know your children. You know what tickles them, what makes them tick, and certainly what ticks them off!

Being armed with that arsenal of information – this inherent knowing – means you are uniquely equipped to know when to use humor to lighten the moment, cajoling with fun. You know when to buckle down and enforce justice to see a task through. And of course, you know when it’s time to just stop, drop, and pray (or rest, go for a bike ride, or work off steam by cleaning the bathroom).

You love your children. And that one truth separates you uniquely from any other teacher, caregiver, babysitter, or tutor on the planet. Click To Tweet

You truly are the ONE when it comes to your own child! You can do this, Mom. Of all the women in the world, God chose YOU to be the mom for your children.  That fact makes you uniquely qualified and equipped for this high calling.

 

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