Are You A “Real” Homeschool Mom?

These pieces of toast are a wonderful representation of how the days of our week can go at times, from perfect and savory absorbing every flavor to absolutely no good. Yeah, we have to scrape the “yuck” off to get to a small bit of good stuff on those days.

Why? We are all human. We all make mistakes. We must all submit daily to do the right thing, the best thing for ourselves and our families.

Be real with God, with yourself, and with each other.

I have heard the term, “Don’t speak that!”, one too many times. How can God get the glory for mending something if you never admit that it is broken in the first place?

Now I’m not saying run around speaking negatively. There is a difference between saying, “I can’t do it all” and saying “I’m no good at anything”. One is acknowledging the current status and one is self-hatred. One gives God the glory and one takes the focus off of God. You can tell the difference by discerning with your heart.

Encourage each other.

Don’t jump back and say, “Ah!” with your hand over your mouth the next time you hear a child say they had McDonald’s for lunch and they didn’t have school yesterday. Instead look him in the eye and say, “well your mommy sure does know how to let you have fun doesn’t she?” and smile real big at him and then at her. And don’t wink like you just uncovered her dirty little secret. Showing love will do more for her than telling her she needs to switch curriculum to keep the kids more interested and her more motivated.

Don’t compare yourself to other moms.

Even if her kids are always polite, are mini Picassos, only eat whole wheat and like it, and knew how to sew before they could talk (which was at least 3 months earlier than your kids), just remember that they have some issues somewhere that they are hiding. We have been taught not to express our weaknesses for fear that others will not think as highly of us but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have them.

God gave your kids you as a mom. That means that He did not deem anyone else more qualified for the position. Take confidence in that. He knows what He is doing. After all He did create the universe and everything in it in only 6 days. I know because we have covered this more than 50 times in our various school textbooks!

Give yourself permission to take a break.

When you are a homeschooling mom you are not only the teacher for every pupil and for every subject but you are the PE coach, the guidance counselor, every lady in the lunch room, the secretary, the librarian, the PTA, the fundraiser chairperson, the hall monitor, the janitor, and the assistant principal. Whew! Sign me up for a vacation just for typing all of that but it really does put it into perspective doesn’t it?

Take a nap. Take a hot bubble bath. Go lie on your bed and read a book. It’s OK! Your children will not become illiterate, the house will not fall apart, and no one will starve. However, I can’t guarantee that no one from church will just so happen to stop by for a visit. (Isn’t it funny how that happens?)

As long as you do what you do unto God then it will prevail.

I have told you many of my dirty little secrets here today but I saved the best for last:

My sw
eet, wonderful, friend (eh, um Darnelle, hmm) suggested that I give my children the CAT test to send in to the state for our yearly renewal instead of copying bulks of papers from each subject and submitting lesson plans.

Oh how I love her for the confidence she had in me but let me tell you what a silly, sometimes absent-minded little woman I am.,,,

I give Gevan (11 year old) his test first. We actually only run into a few snags with division and punctuation. Aside from that the kid surprised me with how well he did. He was over three years behind when I pulled him out of school two years ago. Amidst all of the chaos he has actually learned and progressed more in these past two year than he had in any year prior. He still lacks in a couple of areas but he is doing well, very well. Here is his score:

Wow! God loves me! I never would have imagined that he could do so well. I don’t put much stock in these tests but I have to admit that it is a good feeling to know that he and I accomplished in 1.5 years what his teachers couldn’t do in 4.

Then there is the nutty but more amazing part of this CAT test story.

I decided to give Brennan (6 year old) the test next. I knew that Jacob (9 year old) would do well and blow through the test with no problem. He is just a fast learner. But, Brennan on the other hand, I knew I would have to duct tape him to the chair just so he could complete it.

Brennan does not like school. Math is stoooopid and reading is meeeeeean! He promises me every day that it is going to kill him. Yes, he actually says, “MOM, you’re just trying to kill me! I can’t do stoooopid math and reading is meeeean!”

So he has school maybe twice a week. (remember – don’t “Ah!” me!) I can’t bear to wrestle him to the table any more than that but it’s funny how he seems to recall almost every fact that we discuss and can read even the most complicated words.

In fact, his absent-minded mother accidentally gave him his brother’s 2nd grade CAT test and realized it only when she was getting Jacob ready for his test and thought it was funny that the 9-year-old was going to be tested on phonics and number recognition. Bren took Jake’s test.

Yes, I did that. I admit it.

I also admit that I wasn’t about to give Brennan another test all over again and I knew that Jacob would score high so I just let him take Brennan’s test and turned them in.

Just breathe. The shock will wear off soon. Don’t tell the state, k?

I have to say I was beyond my embarrassment when I saw his score. Not bad for a 6-year-old, eh?

So, if you get nothing else out of this article but a laugh or two at me then it was worth it. You are doing a wonderful job as a homeschooling mom and you deserve a pat on the back. You are awesome. You are wonderful. And we are going to make it through! I promise!