This post is from contributor, Kirsten Joy Torrado.
It’s that time of year again. Fall is here and this marks the beginning (for most people) of a brand new year of learning.
Even though we homeschool year-round, September is the usually the month when I evaluate our progress and introduce new resources, themes, and curriculum into our studies.
It’s also the time of year when all those same old fears come rushing back to my mind. The questions I face as I plan for another year are so familiar. Am I doing enough? Are my children learning what they need to know? Do they have gaps that need to be filled? Can I really do this?
Planning out a new year of learning is enough to make any homeschool mom lose her cool.
To help you in the planning process here are a few things to remember:
*You are your child’s first and best teacher.
God placed your children in your hands because He believes in you. And because you are called by God to parent your children, He has also supplied you with everything you need to do it well. Just trust Him.
*Don’t compare your child.
Don’t compare your child to the curriculum, or to anyone else’s child. Your child doesn’t have to know everything that’s in the curriculum. He doesn’t even need to be “on par” with whatever schools or other homeschoolers are doing. Teach to your child’s developmental needs. Also, teach them to their passions and interests and you will do well.
*Light a fire.
Your child will have all kinds of gaps in their learning…it’s a given. It’s impossible to cram a boat load of content into a little brain. Even if you teach all the lessons in that very expensive curriculum, it does not mean they are going to remember it.
We must keep in focus that “education is not the filling of a pail but, the lighting of a fire,” (William Butler Yeats). The best you can hope to accomplish, in the early years, is to make it fun and ignite a passion to learn. But as a comfort to ourselves, we must also recognize that our children, in spite of gaps in their learning, will have many, many areas of deep, fulfilling, and overflowing pockets of knowledge that are completely unique to them.
*You can do this.
No matter what kind of curriculum or what kind of homeschooling approach you choose, just the mere fact that you are the one doing it makes it the best education your child could possibly have. If this post finds you in the place where you are questioning your ability to homeschool and you’re ultimately afraid of screwing up your kids….well, my friend, you are not alone. It’s my fourth year into this homeschooling life and I still have to silence that sneaky voice that questions my competence as a mother. Every. Single. Time.
You are caring, and compassionate, and capable, and conscientious enough to figure this out. You can do this!
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[…] For most of us school is in full swing. Maybe your year started out well, or maybe you need to know how to Start a New Homeschool Year Without Losing Your Cool. […]