The Mistakes I Have Made

Posted by Karen | 0 comments

There have been many along the way in my homeschooling journey. If my mistakes can be used to help others, than I guess they are not necessarily mistakes. After all, I have learned so much from them.

This year we had a really good year in our homeschool, but as I look back I see where I have fallen short, and where there is room for improvement.

So rather than wallow in my mistakes or beat myself up, I am making a list of my mistakes that can be learned from…

1. Comparing myself to what everyone else is doing. My homeschool’s principal is God and ultimately we work for an audience of One. If He is pleased, then that is the goal.

2. Focusing on “stuff.” As per mistake #1, God doesn’t care what my homeschool looks like physically. He doesn’t care if my bins are from The Container Store, or matching and color coded. He cares that we are putting Him first each day, and not to be focused on the outside. It is easy to get caught up in this stuff, especially when you read how wonderfully everyone seems to be doing in their school. I do not want to covet anyone else’s homeschool!

3. Getting in a rut, and staying there for too long. I have seen what happens to me when I get in a “funk.” I can stay there too long. I must remember that His mercies are new each morning, and not to ever doubt that.

4. Being too ambitious. That seems like it can’t be a mistake, but it can quickly cause everything to go in a downward spiral. I want to do EVERYTHING out there in our homeschool. But we can’t do it all. I must pick and choose selectively what books to bring into our home, what projects to accomplish, and not overwhelm myself. Because then I feel like a failure. I would rather do a few things well, than many and fail.

5. Not projecting my interest or disinterest on my kids. I want my kids to have passions that they pursue for themselves because they are so interested in something, they want to keep learning. Yet just because I love reading, doesn’t mean all of my kids will. And just because I have no interest in bugs, doesn’t mean my son can’t be passionate about them. Focusing on them as the individuals God created them to be is so important.

6. Getting stuck in a method with no room for variation. By that I mean, using a teaching method exclusively for all the kids. I personally love the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling and truly believe in it. However when it came to spelling this year, one of my kids was lacking. I kept thinking to stick to the gentle approach of copywork, dication, and reading. It would follow. And I am sure it would. I didn’t want to stick to a rote list of words to memorize. Truth be told however, this kid is a whiz at memorizing things- give him a list of words and he will memorize it. Spelling is accomplished, although the means to the end varied from my philosophy. Problem? Not really.

7. Cherish every second. Yes, I do remember this often, but there are so many times, I get caught up in the everyday stuff and forget to enjoy this moment because at any moment it can all be over. Keeping a gratitude journal is helping me accomplish this goal.

Most of all, I wouldn’t say any of my mistakes have been terrible. And I do learn from them. Thankfully God is teaching me so much each day.

Homeschooling is a huge responsibility, and one I want to do well. But I truly believe that if I put God first in every one of my efforts, I will be successful.

Karen DeBeus is married to the love of her life, Steve, and a homeschooling mom of 4 children ages 10-2. She was called to homeschool when her oldest was kindergarten age after thinking, “I could never do THAT!” Now she is passionate about encouraging others on their homeschool journey. She is also working on simplifying all areas of her life,including homeschool, and putting God first in all she does. Read more about her journey to simplify at www.simplylivingforhim.com.