on homeschooling

I went dark. Again. That whole keeping you on your toes thing.

Or I'm a homeschooling mother who has no idea what I'm doing and can't plan and schedule for the life of me.

Or there is so much bad going on in the world right now that it puts me in a Bad News Coma. It makes me close the computer and curl up in my bed with my girls and a good book. Lord, have mercy on this world. It's too much.

Or all of the above, except the first one.

I sometimes/often/all the time get anxious about the goings-on in the world.

Remember how Sherlock Holmes (I'm talking BBC not Sir Arthur because let's be real) was described as not being uppity, but genuinely just not understanding the way the rest of the world thinks? I've come to realize that's us. I just don't get it. I don't get how the culture in which we live can just continue to seep further and further down the Crevice of Gross and everyone is okay with it. My husband met with some acquaintances for a beer recently and tried to bring up anything other than sports with them. Nothing. Not that they didn't want to talk about it - they literally hadn't even heard of the goings-on in Iraq. Hadn't. even. heard. How is a person okay with that?

In good news, when I get overwhelmed with homeschooling and think that I just can't do it, all I have to do is flip open my computer, see the news, and then suddenly, I'm revived and I'm convinced there is no better option for our two precious, innocent daughters.

There is a light in my world and I cling to it tightly, especially as I watch too much darkness overtake so much of our culture.

Those eyes. Swoon.

The pride and timidity about the first time without Mommy as a teacher. Be still, heart.

I am not an academic genius, though my husband might be able to claim that. But guess who's in charge of their learning? Moi. So my method is clinging tightly to Our Blessed Mother, who most certainly played a very large role in the education of the Child Jesus. And passing out worksheets while listening to an audiobook.

No one, aside from our Heavenly Father and Our Blessed Mother, loves my children more than my husband and me. No one knows their emotional, spiritual, academic, and social needs better than we do.

Sound advice from a dear friend.

We know there are struggles we have and hurdles we have to overcome. We know there are people that doubt our choices because of how timid our daughters are.

Let me lay this out there for you:

I've you've had doubts about our choices, we've doubted more.

If you've worried about our choices, we've worried more.

If you've talked about our choices with a loved one, we've discussed it more.

We survived Day 1 of co-op on a Holy Day of Obligation. Ice cream was non-negotiable.

But we also know triumph. 

The triumph of watching our child mastering a concept.

The triumph of seeing her meet a goal that she's worked hard at for days or weeks or months - the moment when a light-switch goes on in her heads and she just gets it.

The triumph, no, the joy, of watching her overcome herself every single day in order to sacrifice for her sister, or for her education, or for her holiness.

The triumph of watching her grow in wisdom and virtue.

The triumph of getting the community pool all to ourselves because public school is back in session.

Our field trip to Dollar Tree resulted in...

A science experiment which required goggles so they could swim underwater. Or I just found them for $1 each.

Blue-eyed beauties with their swimsuits on inside-out. And backwards

And because it's Five Favorites Thursday, I'll throw in my five favorite talks that convince me homeschooling is our best option, over and over again:

Five - terrifying. Just terrifying.

Religion lesson for the day. Overachiever.

Four - bear with me, it's a long, long Lenten Mission, but it's amazing and stresses the importance of songs and stories in the shaping the faith and education of our children.

Hmm...how to turn this photo. I can't figure it out.

Three - entrust your children's education to the avowed Protector of The Faith. We pray for his protection daily, as we begin our day.

We also love the scapular.

Two - how a battle fought centuries ago encourages me to homeschool, I'm not sure, but it does. Listen for the win.

Catholic nerdom in the house.

One - the most influential talk on homeschooling I've ever heard.

Field trip to the great outdoors....or Hobby Lobby because it's August in Austin.

We're not claiming that our girls will grow into the brightest, kindest, holiest children ever to grace the earth. We often hear the argument that we can't protect them forever.

But I can introduce them to age-appropriate lessons on difficult subjects by a proper authority. And pray really hard that they go the way of Provers 22:6.

That's all we're doing and that's all we're promising to do - teach them about our big, fascinating-but-sometimes-scary world with the greatest amount of love that we can.


Link up with the delightful Heather for more favorites.