This week my wife and I just agreed to homeschool my youngest sister-in-law. It took a lot of things happening to arrive where we are now. That is a story for another day. The short version is:
She needs help, the public school is a terrible option that is negatively affecting her academically as well as her character, and with immigrant parents who speak English as their second language, they do not feel equipped to provide her with what they know she needs.
It’s fortunate for us that this is something we are both passionate about, and teaching parents to do this is my profession. But even I have to admit this is a daunting task when you realize: You're homeschooling. Even though I’m a professional educator and enjoy helping parents master homeschooling, the truth is that it is still a lot to take on.
Do you feel this? Anyone currently homeschooling or considering homeschooling knows that it is no small endeavor. If you decide to homeschool, you are taking on the development of a person's whole character and soul. That is a huge responsibility!
I am feeling that right now. The daunting responsibility and desire to do well by this person whose entire life will be affected by the decisions my wife and I make.
But the truth is, that pressure is a good thing. That powerful, almost overwhelming concern is evidence of just how much you care. And this is one of the gifts of homeschooling you can give your child: Care.
The good Lord knows that the school system isn’t losing sleep over what happens to your child. Because of that, they aren’t stressing out with the negative outcomes countless children experience as byproducts of the public school system.
Your concern shows you care, but your concern doesn’t have to turn to stress and anxiety. My wife and I both started feeling that stress rising at the thought of homeschooling her. However, despite knowing that we care, it doesn't change the fact that we need to do something.
So what did we do?
We sat down and started working through the first steps of the Homeschool Mastery Group program. We don’t have it all worked out yet, but step by step, we works through each step of how to start homeschooling. We implemented the plan that we teach families and parents, and started reframing and shifting our focus from simply caring to taking actionable steps to make this successful.
Homeschooling is hard. But, don’t let anyone convince you that it isn’t worth it either. Your care and concern for your children is going to translate to better outcomes that will make the entire experience infinitely more rewarding than whatever it costs to get started. Again, homeschooling is hard. But dealing with the negative repercussions of your child's behavior without being their primary educator is hard too. It's just a matter of what type of "hard" we're willing to deal with.
I understand personally how daunting the task of homeschooling can feel. A parent's mind naturally zooms out and starts fretting about the whole year’s schedule, your child’s wellbeing, their overall academic progress, and everything that is going to be expected of you. Jesus had it right when he said, “...tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
You don’t have to figure everything out all at once. When you join the Homeschool Mastery Group, I get to come alongside you and give you the day to day support and confidence to know you can master today’s homeschool, and that you’ll be ready to take on tomorrow when it comes.
Start taking the stress and anxiety out of your homeschool by booking a free call today and seeing what joining the Homeschool Mastery Group can do for you.
Comments