Two of the most surprising things about homeschooling that I didn't see coming are...
~ That I would be learning the most.
~ And two, that I would learn more about the home than the school.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
I will never be able to fully understand the greatness of God or His perfection. I had very little understanding of why He was calling me to be obedient in home schooling. I am humbled each day by His care and attention to the details of my life. He knew I needed home schooling just as much as my children. And by need, I mean my pride needed to be smashed and my rough edges needed smoothing. I know that I still am incapable of seeing the whole picture. But I'm not meant to. Because His ways are higher than mine.
So I trust. I trust that His ways are oh so perfect.
I did learn a few things about the school part of home schooling...
- I've learned that I'm not prepping Bella for a college entrance exam everyday when we sit down at the table to do school.
- I've learned that our work will wait for us if we need to finish it the next day.
- I've learned that just because we finish early doesn't mean we need to add more work to the lesson plan.
- I've learned been reminded that she's five years old. That's practically still a baby. :)
- I've learned that I can alter a work page, choose to do half of it, or choose to not do it at all.
- I've learned that having other home school mom friends is a MUST.
- I've learned that the most important things I want to teach her everyday don't lie on the pages of her school books.
And most importantly I think...
- I've learned that more learning happens away from the table than at the table. In the home.
The home. What have I learned about the {home} in home school?
- I've learned that our home is "our place". It's our safe zone. It's where we learn, stretch, grow, play. It's where we hash out arguments, forgiveness... where we extend grace and love to each other. It's a place where we sin. A lot. We say things we shouldn't, do things that aren't nice. It's "our place" where we have to be able to live out life. Together.
- I've learned that it's okay to just be at home. This isn't too hard for me because I am a homebody. Don't misunderstand me though... we have to get OUT of our house daily. Even if it's just a walk around the block. The walls start closing in, and everyone is in each other's way, and the annoyance level is rising for everyone. But what I am saying is that I want our home to feel like the best place in the world to my children. A home is supposed to be enjoyed. To be warm and welcoming. But to also be real. So, we have to be home for it to be our home.
- Sally Clarkson states, "A home is an environment designed by God's own hand, more than sufficient to prepare children for their adult lives. And a mom is exactly the person that her children need."
For me that's the key: more than sufficient. I find myself looking for others things to fill our time, so we don't have to just be home. Of course, there is a place for outside activities and of course, fellowship with friends, but I want to fight off the urge to be away from home all the time.
- I've learned that I must try to submit daily to God's choices for me, so that my home is conducive to spiritual growth. So we can teach each other and learn God's truths through Scripture. So we can openly pray together. To allow it to grow into a place where we see each other's sins, and we choose to love, laugh, cry, forgive, and thrive with each other. Thrive in grace, gratitude, and humility.
My obedience and love for the Lord will affect my children's heritage. And their heritage is built in the home day in and day out.
And speaking of being in the home day in and day out... my next post is about accepting the limitations of a fallen world within my home. Tough stuff right there.
"For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Genesis 18:19
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