Method Schmethod

I am often asked about my 'method' of homeschooling. My method consists of trying to get through the day without the house burning down or a hospital visit. Honestly, if we can learn something, anything, without major calamity befalling anyone my day has been a success.

You would not believe how many times I hear from other women, "Oh, I could never homeschool. I don't have the patience" or something to that effect. That always cracks me up because I truly am the least patient person you will ever meet. I drive 90 miles an hour everywhere I go. I shout at other drivers. I can never get there (wherever there is) fast enough. I can't keep my house clean to save my life. We either clean or we do schoolwork. I try to do both often, but have very little success. I seem to always be on the verge of accomplishing my goals, but never quite get there.

The reality is that homeschooling is trying, difficult, and not about me at all. The reasons I homeschool have nothing to do with what's best for me and everything to do with what's best for my children. If I was doing what's best for me all my kids would be in boarding school and I would live in a spa, but where's the fun in that?

I homeschool because I love my children and want to protect them from the world for as long as I possibly can. I want them to be properly armored when they leave our home and venture into the lone and dreary world. When Tyler was in first grade, at a public school, I realized that I could either fight the school on his behalf or use the same amount of effort educating him myself. I don't want my children to associate learning with drudgery. I want them to know that gaining new knowledge is joyful. I want my children to be able to think for themselves. I want them to know how to find information and how to differentiate between lies and truth. Most importantly, I want my children to know God; not by what they read about Him in a book or what's taught to them by others. I want them to know Him by experiencing the world He created for them. I want my children to be able to be beacon's of light showing the world what a love of Christ and His teachings can do in one's life.

I want them to know that I loved them enough to do something for them that was hard for me. I want them to know that I see their worth, and that it is great, not just in the eyes of God, but in my eyes as well.