A word of homeschool encouragement….
Since I was very little, I have loved learning and teaching. I am so full of gratitude and also amazed at how blessed I am to have been taught at home by those that I love. Growing up with siblings older and younger than me gave me equal opportunity to learn and to teach. My homeschool journey is unique to me and that is the best part. Each of us has our own wonderful journey that God has called us on.
The very best thing about homeschooling is that each child can be seen where they are. Every lesson can be customized for them. They can learn at their own pace and through the best system for them specifically. As moms and teachers, we know what the child needs. We watch them thrive with certain lessons and we get to see their favorite ways of learning. It is truly special and exciting to watch each child love learning. That is my absolute favorite part – watching the letters, words, numbers, and colors come alive to them. Seeing their excitement when something clicks in their little minds!
Today, I want to tell about a chapter in one of my favorite childhood books. This was taken from Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher and really has resonated with me over the last ten years. I want to encourage moms who don’t know where to start on their homeschool journey. As Betsy finds out in school that first morning – it doesn’t really matter. Start where you feel the most comfortable and where you know your child thrives!
In this chapter, Betsy who came from a ‘medium-sized city’ is in a new smaller town, in a one-room schoolhouse. The teacher is figuring out where to place Betsy and asks her to do various assignments. By the time the day is over, Betsy is so confused to find she is in second grade math, seventh grade reading, and third grade spelling. When she asks the teacher, she is told “You aren’t a grade at all, no matter where you are in school. You’re just yourself, aren’t you?” The teacher went on to tell her that there was no reason why she should be held back in any grade because she is simply slower in one subject than another.
This is one of the many reasons I believe so much in homeschooling. As you may know by now, I love math. There were many of my siblings and I who were a grade or two ahead in Math than we were in other subjects. In fact, we learned to read after we had started math, which caused many of us to fly through reading because we loved it so much already. There is no limitation to how much you want to learn when you want to learn!
Over the last 30 years of my family’s homeschool journey, we have gone through many different curriculums. We have stopped using some as we have found others that work better for us. We have discovered new books that were just recently published and so completed our sets. It is all a wonderful adventure and I have loved finding new things alongside my Mama. This is her legacy and I am so proud and blessed to be on this journey with my family.
Homeschooling is freedom. Discover what curriculum works for you and don’t worry if it is different than what others use. You do what is best for you and your children. Seek encouragement from other moms and homeschoolers. And keep pedaling on as you balance your basket of joy, stopping when you need to so you can smell the flowers along the way or take in the beautiful sunset with your family.
“I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world,
but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous! …”
John 14:27 TPT
