When "Life" Gets in the Way...

    Homeschooling is such a blessing, but it can also bring a lot of questions and concerns to a mom's heart.  We want what's best for our children, and when things don't go as planned, it can cause us to wonder if we are doing right by our kids.

    Life doesn't stop just because we have school scheduled in our planners.  We're learning this all too well with a newborn in the house.  While we're slowly making our way through our lessons in this season of life, it doesn't mean the kids are missing out on learning.  Quite the contrary.  They are learning all about what it means to selflessly care for another human being.  They are learning patience (Mom can't always jump up and cater to them while nursing the baby).  They are learning even more so about what it means to be a family.  They are watching how mom and dad handle big changes in life (imperfectly so, but they can also see what not to do when experiencing such changes).

    Living life is learning, and I need to remind myself of this concept daily, because right now, we have those days where the books need to be put back on the shelves and the pencils need to be placed back in the drawers so we can live such a life.  We need to remember to take things day by day and to not sweat the small stuff, because there's a lot of small stuff that comes up.

    Take advantage of summer and holiday breaks... if you need to play catch up with your lessons, don't be afraid to use those days.  Having a horrible day and need to throw in the towel?  That doesn't mean your entire school year has gone down the drain. Use the day to just "be."  Cuddle on the couch with your kids with a good book.  Take them to the park or library.  Use that day to veg out and watch movies as a family.  Forgive yourself for not running your family as a school, and know that those lessons will be waiting right there for you when you are ready to come back to them.

    As an adult, I'm realizing that I have been learning more through living life than I ever did in a classroom.  This is such sweet validation for the way I've been treating our homeschool journey the past year or so.  Life teaches us so many valuable lessons, so why resent it when it throws unexpected happenings at us in the middle of our school year?  Embrace life.  Embrace the breaks, the alternative ways of learning, and embrace the freedom that comes with your choice to teach your children at home (or at the park, or at the museum....).

    This very post is being cut short, because life is calling... in the form of a tiny little baby who needs to eat.  Be blessed, fellow homeschoolers!  You are doing a wonderful job and your kids are so blessed to be learning all about the things that are truly important in life.  Pat yourself on the back and smile knowing that you're a-okay!

The best sort of "distraction" ever. :)

~Em