The Joys and Challenges of Homeschooling

I count myself truly blessed to be able to homeschool my children, but as with most things worthwhile there are challenges, too.

Even the greatest joy is sometimes also a great challenge. The thing I love most about homeschooling is spending all day with my kids. Call me biased, but I think my kids are some of the most amazing people on the planet. They're bright and funny and make for great company. Despite all that, being home with them all day can begin to feel like house arrest, especially when there are other things that should be done like going to the store, bank, gym, etc. I sometimes find myself envious of my mom and friends that get to have lunch with other adults. But as my husband always says, we all do what we choose to do because we want to. And that's the bottom line, I want to homeschool my kids.

Sure I get overwhelmed by the myriad curricula out there and second guess myself at regular intervals, but then I remind myself that the public school system leaves much to be desired, as well. And when I get down in the dumps about starting late one day or even having a few days of lower productivity than I would like, I remind myself that education is not the primary reason we homeschool and then I feel much better. So, while there are challenges that come with homeschooling, I believe the gains will far outweigh any of the inconveniences. And I believe that I will be the better for meeting these challenges.

Teddy Roosevelt once said the following.

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well."

Great words from a great man.

And even greater words from Psalm 37:3-6

Trust in the Lord and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.