So today, as you can see by my photo, is messy. This is my desk, my dining room table. The children had a few quizzes and tests today and leftovers from yesterday I didn’t get a chance to grade yet! This is the part of homeschooling that is the least fun but essential if you plan to keep track of your child’s progress. Keeping track becomes more important once they reach 9th grade and you start putting together their high school transcript. Not everyone records grades, especially at younger ages/grades. My children are in 5th and 7th and so I decided to practice tracking grades to prepare myself. I don’t, as I am sure I have mentioned, equate knowledge to that of a grade on a test. We don’t teach to the test here as was done in their public school years. The tests are to let us know what they remember and what they understand.

Testing/grading is an area that my children have to unlearn because so much emphasis was put on grades in public school. This causes them great anxiety sometimes, especially my son. No child wants to feel like a failure by doing poorly on a test and a child such as him then puts a lot of pressure on themselves thinking they must get an “A”. An “A” doesn’t always mean they get it, they could just be really good at memorizing the answers. My son, I’ve come to learn this year, learns differently than my daughter and wants to know the ins and outs of every answer – why something was done this way – not just how to do it. Amazing what you learn about your children when you are the one responsible for their education.

The fact that my son gets very easily distracted actually explains a lot, but this is something that was never reported to me by any of his teachers. My son was always on honor roll in school and was a quiet kid who didn’t get in trouble, so parent-teacher conferences never really told me anything because the teacher basically had nothing to report. Every year it was, “he’s a very good kid, does what he is told, good role model, doing very well.” He did get honor roll, every year, almost every quarter, he often missed it in the 4th quarter. I always wondered why that was and now I know why – easily distracted and can lack focus especially when bored or not fully understanding a concept.  He learns best by reading and seeing it done rather than hearing it told to him, this in part may be poor listening skills and lack of knowing how to take notes.

My daughter is the complete opposite of him except that school isn’t really very interesting to her at all. She does enjoy History this year where she never liked it in public school (it was called social studies). She would much rather be read too than she read the material, although she’s improving a great deal on her reading skill and this is helping her. Obviously reading is an important task for all aspects of learning. She has no interest in knowing why something is done a certain way, just knows she needs to know how its done.

Are you noticing different learning styles between your children? GREAT! Embrace their differences and find a program of study that works for them. This is what is so great about homeschool. Not every kid is going to learn the same way. Children are not carbon copies of each other or of their parents and teachers. One extremely negative aspect of the public school system is forcing kids to learn all the same way without recognizing their need to learn differently. Some children learn well by doing and others by watching. Some learn best by reading on their own while others learn best by having the material read to them. Can this be a challenge in your homeschool if your kids are all different? Sure. You’ll find what works and doesn’t and it may take time to figure it all out. After one almost complete year of homeschooling my children, I do not have it all figured out yet. I can tell you this, I have learned a lot about my children this year and I have also learned a lot about what they are studying this year.

I encourage independent study for my children because I encourage independence in them overall. I want to raise children who will become strong adults who understand their responsibilities and take accountability for their own actions/choices. Also our Christian faith is so important that it takes precedence over everything else. Therefore, our entire curriculum is based on that faith in our Lord God with a biblical foundation

Transistioning to homeschool was two-year process because I was so unhappy with the public school system and yet felt like I had no options. I looked into Christian private school and if homeschooling fails to work that is about the only other option. It took a lot of prayer to take on this journey. It took a lot of reading as well. If you’re asking yourself right now, “Is homeschooling for us?, How do I know this is the right choice?”  What I can tell you is, PRAY. Pray everyday. How do I know this is “The Write Life” for me and for my children? Because God told me so. He laid this on my heart and he made sure I knew I was capable and I trusted in Him and my fears were squashed.

If you’re homeschooling and you feel like everything is chaos, confusing, messy, and maybe sometimes stressful, rest assured, you are not alone! When things start to feel overwhelming, take a break. Take a moment to remember why you chose to do this for your children. Seek out the Lord and let him be your comfort and your counselor. Chores will get done, eventually. Grading papers will get done, eventually. Go on a field trip or spend a day doing hands on activities. Do a fun project with the children to break up any mononty that could happen as a result of doing the same thing every day. Most importantly, thank God for the oppurtunity to raise these children He’s given to you. Nothing is impossible with God. In our Bible lesson today we were reminded of the struggles we face and how God’s plan is never for bad but always for good and that includs any hard times we go through. When your day seems hard think on what James had to say,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

James 1:2-4

Trust in the Lord and know that whatever comes your way He will work out for good. If He has called you to homeschool your children (and you will know) take comfort that no matter how many tears or bickering or sluggish days you are met with, God’s plan will be done and it will be good. It can’t be bad if God has called you to it, because God is good.

Finally, leaving you with this graphic: