Confessions of a Homeschool Mom

I received an email earlier this week from a friend who is homeschooling her child with disabilities.  Apparently they both had a melt-down at the beginning of the week and she felt horrible.  She was not as patient as she knew she  needed to be... as sweet as she is, her patience simply ran out.

I think we can all relate.

But that wasn't enough.  Friday has come and she is still a bit tore up for getting so upset with her son.  My heart went out to her and here, I must share my response... at least in part:

Don't beat yourself up too bad about Monday.  I went through that for the first couple of years I was homeschooling because of Ashley's ADHD, it drove me batty.  Brenden would frustrate me sometimes too but his mellow attitude was what saved him from wrath! [He has severe dyslexia and dysgraphia]  It is never completely easy, but over the years I have come to realize, by way of divine shoulder tapping, that the single most important skill for my children to know for life is how to read and understand their Bible and grow a relationship with Christ (and teach others the same).  Even if "reading" means listening to the scriptures on their MP3 players :-)  

I try to poor in all I can academic wise and I pray every time, like my Monday, when I see something missing or somewhere we are a bit behind.  I am reminded that the beauty of homeschool is; we are never really behind and they are never truly struggling.  As long as we are teaching and loving they are learning.  And with your [son] (and my Brenden at times) it may mean teaching in nibbles instead of big bites.  It may mean they forgot what we learned last week... and we have to love them in spite of that and remember... we are good teachers, God appointed us and told us so... he will bring to their recollections what and when is needed.

Be at peace in your heart.  Sometimes we need to stumble backwards to step forwards.  Give grace... not because you should or they need it... no, give grace simply because God gave grace, how can we do any less?  And he is giving you grace right now too... embrace it and love God for it.

I share this here because I think, if we truly opened up confessions, we all struggle like this at times.  Even public school teachers loose their cool and have bad days (I have horror stories from my children's homeschool days to testify to that!)  All teachers, public and home, are human.  And all children, like adults, have their bad days... especially when they are children with disabilities.  But God's grace is sufficient.

Don't look at your homeschool year as a whole... look at it it bit-by-bit.  See progress not just illusive goals and remember, if you are teaching and showing them the love of Christ, they will be sufficient... all else will catch up and come in its time.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens... What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  

- Ecclesiastes 3:1, 9-11

Have a blessed weekend!

 

Linking up with Sue today at The Homeschool Chick