My New Kentucky Home

A blog about faith and family, home and homeschooling.

The Not-So-Glorious Side of Homeschooling

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I wish I woke up every day inspired and energized and eager to teach my children all the wonderful things I want them to learn.

But I don’t.

I wish my kids woke up each day with bright smiles and thankful hearts, grateful for the sacrifices we make to educate them at home.

But that doesn’t happen.

I wish my house was always the perfect learning environment–free of distractions, equipped with all the latest technologies, and adorned with the most beautiful teaching aids.

But it isn’t.

I wish we were able to buy every homeschooling material I want and take every homeschooling field trip I desire to take.

But we can’t.

And I wish my children could learn everything I hope to teach them and excel above all their peers in every subject.

But that doesn’t always happen.

Homeschooling isn’t perfect.  It doesn’t always work the way I want it to and I don’t always enjoy doing it and my children aren’t always the perfect students.

I love homeschooling and believe in it firmly, but I’d rather paint a realistic image of homeschooling than try to convince the world it’s a beautiful, seamless experience every day.  The sooner the homeschooling mom or the thinking-about-homeschooling mom recognizes that fact, the better for mom and child alike.  False expectations lead to quick burnout.

Because as homeschoolers, there are those days when…

 

…you oversleep and the 45 minutes you lost somehow manages to wreck your entire day.  
 
…breakfast ends with a pan of bacon grease knocked off the stove and school is put on hold for two hours because there’s no one else but you, the teacher, available to clean grease from the floor, the refrigerator, the garbage can, the cabinets, the groceries you’d left in the floor the night before, the box you were supposed to mail to your Aunt Martha…etc…
 
…a fight breaks out between a couple of your darlings and you totally lose your temper and end up locking yourself in the bathroom to cry your eyes out.  And it’s not even 8:00 a.m.!
 
…the phone call to the insurance company to resolve a “little problem” turns into a 3-hour conversation with four different people and in the end NOTHING is resolved and you’re left to start school at the time you’re usually finishing it.  
 
…a toilet overflows in the midst of the math lesson and all the progress you were making with your struggling  9-year old is lost in the drama of a flooded hallway and a giant, stinking mess that, again, only the teacher can attend to.
 
…you wake up with a fever and congestion so thick and a brain so muddled you can barely string together full sentences, yet there’s no substitute teacher to call and there’s no use cancelling school when it’s not like your children are going to let you rest anyway!
 
…you present to your children a delightful project you’ve planned for them, one you’ve worked hard to organize and are excited to begin, only to hear them all groan like they’ve just been sentenced to 8 years of community service.


…you spend your day wondering when, if ever, you will again have a day ALONE.
 
…you try every method known to man to help your child grasp a concept, yet they continue to wear that blank look that says, “I.  DO.  NOT.  CARE.” 
 
 

Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.  It’s tough.  Really tough.  Yet I continue with it because the benefits so outweigh the negatives.  There are rough days, yes, but there are also the days when…


…I really, really enjoy my children and am reminded what a short window of time I have with them in my care.  
 
…it’s pouring the rain and it’s cold and miserable outside, yet my children and I are snug and dry and warm, doing school in the comfort of our own home.  
 
…because of sickness or some other difficulty the night before, we’re all exhausted and so I decide we’ll start school two hours late, just because we can.  
 
…a simple question turns into an interesting discussion of time zones and geography and election results and every child is engaged and involved in the conversation and I know they’re learning, though the entire thing seemed to happen by accident.  
 
…I hear my 4-year old use words like “disdain” and “ludicrous” and I grin to myself.  
 
…my daughter suddenly grasps a math concept and my son reads a new word all by himself and I know we came to that place of understanding together.  
 
…my children all tell me they want to homeschool their kids someday.  
 
…my kids beg me to read to them a book with no pictures and language some adults would struggle to understand, and they can turn around and tell me everything I’ve read to them when it’s all done.
 
…we spend time reading scripture together and putting passages to memory when such a thing would never be permitted in a public school.  
 
…I can take the time to help them see a current event in the light of a Biblical worldview.
 
…I turn on the radio to hear of another school shooting or another child who has committed suicide because of the bullying they endured and I’m thankful again that, while I can’t protect my children from every evil in the world, I know I’m protecting them from many of them.  
 
 
It’s not all glorious.  It’s not all enjoyable.  But I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to homeschool my children for anything in the world.  After all, aren’t the greatest challenges in life the ones most rewarding in the end?
 

 

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Comments

  1. Mrs.Hearts says

    Tanya,
    My sentiments exactly, though expressed far better than I could. When others ask how our homeschooling is going, my usual answer is "fine", but this post is a much more honest answer. The day-in-and-day-out responsibility of homeschooling is BIG, but I see no other option that will give the kids a better start in life.

    ALONE time? Because my kids are older, I run errands by myself when possible. And having the house to myself would be bliss!!

    Be encouraged, too, that as your children get older, they will become more independent in their work. I have grades 11, 9, and 6, and all of their work is done independently by them with me only answering questions and encouraging them to finish. This may not be the way your homeschool looks as they grow up, though. My kids prefer being as independent as possible because they know that I am not always available as I manage the house and quilt for my business.

    • kentuckysketches says

      Having the house to myself!! That's only a dream, I'm afraid, and if people knew what a recluse I really am by nature, they would understand better what a struggle homeschooling was for me at first. But at the same time it is such an incredible blessing and in submission to what I consider a "God-calling," I have found incredible joy and peace. And I remind myself that in no time my children will be grown and I'll have more "alone time" than I know what to do with!

      Thank you so much for your encouragement! NEVER have I heard anyone say to me, "Oh, I wish I hadn't bothered homeschooling. It was such a waste!" But I can't begin to tell you the people who have said to me, "If I could go back, I would homeschool my kids this time around!"

      It's tough, but oh so rewarding!

  2. Angela ~ Call Her Blessed says

    A facebook friend of mine posted this week that her elementary school daughter's class was given an assignment this week to make 'holiday' cards. The were instructed NOT to use 'Merry Christmas' or any reference to Christmas, as this would be offensive to others. My friend told her daughter to write it on there anyway & she would deal with whatever happened next.

    And this is but a drop in the bucket.

    I will gladly deal with the 'not so glorious' moments of homeschooling rather than send my child to a government school who stands FOR everything that I {& the Bible} stand AGAINST! We cannot let them indoctrinate our children.

    • kentuckysketches says

      What we sow in time and effort and energy is reaped a hundred times over in blessings!

      You're right, Angie! Give me the "not so glorious" moments! I'll take them any day over the alternative!

  3. Anonymous says

    A friend bought me a picture that I put in our school area. It says, "Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you're making a difference." Sometimes, I look at it a lot!!!

    • kentuckysketches says

      I've heard the saying many times; "Better to wear out than to rust out!" And it's true. I'd rather exhaust myself training my children right than make the convenient choice and not give my kids my absolute best!

  4. ~*Angie*~ says

    Hey Tanya, I guess the *not so glorioius* list of homeschool woes are some of the reasons I am having a hard time with the whole homeschool thing. My husband asked me the other day if I was ready to homeschool yet and my reply… Please, Oh please give me another 2 years… I psych myself out of it everytime. But reading your blog has REALLY helped me with my insecurities about it. THanks for all your enouragement on the subject… Trust me, when I decide to homeschool and I have a wild day I KNOW I will think of blog and say *if Tanya can keep homeschooling, so can I*. Haha. 🙂

  5. Bailey Kay says

    Hi Tanya! I found your blog through Susannah from Simple Moments Stick. I'm from Kentucky as well! I really love the idea of homeschooling any future kids I have!

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