It is NEVER too late to homeschool!

I have started to write this a few times and every time I caught myself stating reasons why we pulled our girls out of public school (catch the word reasons). But the Holy Spirit pricked my heart, reminding me that the ONLY REASON we decided to homeschool our beautiful princesses was, and still is, because the Lord told us to and we wanted to be obedient.

What I really really really really really really really really (okay, do I have your attention yet?) REALLY want you to know is.........

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE!!!!!!!!

Our first year of homeschooling was overwhelming to me.

This was one of my typical prayers: 

"Lord, did you really tell me to do this?

Did you forget that I don't have a degree in ANYTHING!

You know that I am already not a good homemaker or cook.

And you definitely know that I don't keep my house clean.

There is no way I can do this.

 I am so unorganized.

That alone tells me that you must be mistaken.

Did you relay your message to the wrong address?

Maybe it was for the mom down the street?"

All kidding aside though. I found myself on many days desperate, crying, and almost giving up. One of the main reasons was because I chose to believe a lie!

I let myself be convinced that it was too late! It would have been okay if I would have started homeschooling my girls when they were younger. What was I going to do with a 3rd grader and a 6th grader?

At times when you are so wound up in your own misery and desperation sometimes you forget that the Lord knows what he is doing.

He had brought 4 homeschooling families in to our lives, over a period of 3 years, BEFORE we started homeschooling.

 I bet your thinking, wow I bet she let these mom's help her and she was homeschooling like a champ by the end of that first year!

NOPE!

I let this play a part in my misery too! Instead of realizing these wonderful woman were placed in my life to help me. What ended up happening was that I would compare my children to their children, I would compare my curriculum, or lack of, with theirs, I would compare everything about my life to everything about their life. They have a school room and we do school on the kitchen table, on the floor on the couches and in the yard. (Which by the way we have learned to LOVE) And in some sick sordid way, I used it to show that I had a reason to be miserable and give up.

Okay, I know, you are thinking, this woman is CRAZY! I thought she was suppose to be helping me in some sort of way!

Bare with me.

I am not crazy. I promise you. I have talked to so many mommies that homeschool and have read so many blogs written by homeschooling mommies and there are A LOT OF US that catch ourselves doing this. We play the comparing game. The problem is...no one ever wins!

That's what is CRAZY!

The Lord never intended us to compare ourselves, let alone our children and everything else.

He made us uniquely us! That means all of us are different. All of our children are different. All of our homes are different. And the Lord wants it that way. Please do not fall in to that trap.

You can't expect your kids to be anything other than what God created them to be! This doesn't just apply to them either, it applies to you too. Be who God created you to be, don't try to be like someone else.

I also had to learn my kids hearts, their likes and dislikes, learn their love language. I had to find the things that make them feel special. It does take time and some effort, but it will pay off BIG TIME! When you start to figure it out it will help you teach them too. They all learn differently. That's why homeschooling is so great. You can teach your kiddos in a way they learn best. For example, my younger is a multi-sensory learner, so I have the time to help her learn new concepts.

I love the theme from Sally's Mom Heart Conference this past weekend...

The Heartshaping Mother

How to Open, Fill and Hold Your Child's Heart

If you have never gone to one of Sally's conferences, you need to make plans to go next year!

 

The next thing I want to share is what we did the first year of homeschooling.

We un-schooled our girls.

Sounds strange doesn't it. Well, the Lord asked us to homeschool our girls, but for our family he wanted it to look different than just implementing the public school system in to our home. He wanted it to be a lifestyle. Everything that we did and do is a learning opportunity for them.

When we started that first year we realized that our girls didn't like to read, let me rephrase that, THEY HATED TO READ!

So, we decided to really focus on trying to help them learn to enjoy reading. When we started and were with them (8 and 11 years old at the time) 24 hours a day 7 days a week, we realized we had some character issues to deal with too. So that was another thing we worked on that first year.

We didn't have a math, history or science curriculum.

We read out loud to them. My husband and I both read out loud to them. It is amazing how much kids like their dads to read to them.

I made a big deal out of going to the library every week. I set up a system of  how many "fun" books they could pick and how many "learning" books they had to choose. This way they were actually still learning. They didn't realize that they were still learning science and art, geography and history. :) 

Now, in our third year of homeschooling...

MY GIRLS FINALLY LOVE TO READ!

This morning after our trip to the library.

Reading together in our hammock!

It makes this mommy's heart smile!

Reading is just one example though.

We started out doing science in our back yard and at the local parks. We made cute little nature books with stickers and scrapbook paper. Then we would take a picnic lunch and our Texas Wildlife book and off we went for a few hours to explore.

Now they love science.

Math was the same. The first year we did math in the grocery store or when they were helping their daddy make bunny hutches. So they were able to see why and how they would use math in their lives.

Now they tolerate math. LOL!

We are still on this journey of homeschooling.

Praise the Lord I didn't give up.

It isn't easy but it is SO WORTH IT!

One of the big things that I have learned, I MUST pray for guidance in EVERYTHING, from picking out curriculum to schedules, from joining co-ops to music lessons, and some days just for the Lord to help me get through the day without strangling someone!

The other thing is, I had to learn to lean on all these great homeschool mom's the Lord has put in my life. I had to humble myself to be able to ask for help, guidance and prayer. The Lord created us for community, not to be lone ranger Christians or lonely homeschoolers! We need each other!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says,

 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Hold on to this verse, and be obedient!

You can do it and remember...

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO HOMESCHOOL YOUR KIDS!

Blessings!