“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.“
Titus 2:7-8 NIV
I am starting my first serious year of homeschooling. Last year, we did kindergarten at home and I never got into a flow of actually doing school. To be honest, we spent most of our time being sick or recovering from being sick and then the next wave of germs would knock us down again. School quickly took a back burner and stayed there the entire school year and then we “started” summer break!
You know I love having conversations with God about what He wants me to do. (I’m still having a selfish time by not going to bed by 9:30. Yup. Still a sinner.) His latest answer came earlier this summer.
Me: “What do you want me to do, God?”
God: “I want you to be a good homeschool mom.”
Now, there are those of you who may bristle at being told to be good at something that you already are doing. “Aren’t I good at it simply by saying I’m doing it?”
Turns out: nope.
No one is good at what they aren’t practiced in. God didn’t tell me to “be a perfect homeschool mom.” Basically He told me, “If you want this job, work at getting good at it! You’re not going to get better or more consistent just by happenstance. Be intentional about your time homeschooling your kids. Doing this well matters to Me.” Since God told me to homeschool well, I know He will equip me to do so.
What this looks like
Honestly, I thought I was good at homeschooling my kids. … even though we rarely did schoolwork. How my human brain can think I’m good at something I never actually did, I don’t know. It’s just like how I think I’d be a good runner, if I ever got out and ran. “I gave the shoes! I must be a runner!!”
I’ve come to realize that I need to set boundaries around school time. I need to do school in the mornings. Errands can wait. Chores can wait. Seeing friends and family outside our home will happen at other times. But mornings: those are for school.
I know that I can’t re-wrangle a day if we squander or fill up our mornings, while shirking school.
I have to stop playing hooky from my own homeschool. I’m not an unschooler for a reason. So I do need to plan on and follow through with teaching my kids and educating them in a consistent manner.
My plans
My life with kids, up to this point, has been “play, read, and do things that fill up the time. I’ll feed you and make sure you get enough sleep. I love you! Job well done.”
My new plans are to block out weekday mornings for school and school alone. I know there will be days when we finish early and can go do fun, social, extra things, but those are just that: extra.
My first priority is schooling my children. Instructing them in devotions, in addition to school subjects. Teaching them good habits, manners, gratitude, and the foundations of professionalism. (My ideal summer-mind has lofty goals in this list, but really it looks a lot like learning how to pick up your used clothes and use a fork instead of eating spaghetti by the fistful.)
God cares
I have a tendency to think there are areas that God doesn’t care about because there is no single right way to do it. But that tendency is wrong.
If I feel like I have to homeschool alone, and that God isn’t as – or more – invested than me. Again, I am wrong.
God cares about my children and their education more than I will ever know.
So, I’m starting this school year with intention. Purpose. Boundaries. None of those things are easy for me to have as a human, but with God I believe this school year will change me and grow my teaching skills, increase my patience, and deepen my faith. And I’m not even the one in school.