Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S!
Real Moms, who face different Obstacles and Challenges as they homeschool their kids, yet put their trust in their King, Jesus Christ, and Stand firm in what the Lord has called them too!
Today I am so excited to introduce you all to my friend Sarah! Sarah is very new to homeschooling but has found this lifestyle to be a breath of fresh air compared to life when her girls were in public school.
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| Sarah and her girls |
Sarah: "No problem Andrea. I love chatting with you!"
Me:
"So tell me a little about yourself and your kids"
Sarah: "Well, I have twin girls, Alex and Zoe who are 10. I didn't decide until I was 30 that I wanted to have kids at all, and then only one. But God had different plans for me and blessed me with twins. I work part time from home as a computer consultant, so I keep very busy. We love to just be at home in the country with our animals. We all love animals and have quite the little farm going here with dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, llamas and geckos. We even started our first ever garden, that we are hoping makes it with all this rain and no sun. The girls came up with the idea that if we actually do grow stuff, that they want to paint their thumbs green to show off to Daddy that we really do have green thumbs!"
Me:
"Have you always known you wanted to homeschool or are you what they call
an 'accidental' homeschooler?"
Sarah: "Well, if you'd told me 2 years ago that I would be homeschooling my kids, I would have laughed and said you were crazy!"
Me:
"What made you decide to homeschool and how long have you been doing it
for?
Sarah: "My kids always struggled in public school with the insane amounts of homework and with staying focused. I didn't think I had an alternative to spending 2 hours a night helping them with homework, starting in first grade even! I thought the complaining about being bored in school, couldn't be fixed. I got used to hearing them say; "I got left behind again today in math" or "I got left behind and couldn't finish", on a daily basis! I think something inside me just snapped and I didn't want to hear another "I got left behind" from them again. I remember thinking "so much for the No Child Left Behind concept!" After running into an old friend who had pulled her kids out of public school the previous year, and hearing her story, I realized right then that public school was the problem, not my kids, as the school was trying to have me believe! We have technically just finished our first full year homeschooling, but it has really turned into a journey that doesn't end. We learn from the world around us, and there isn't an end to that!"
Me: "What would you say has been the hardest adjustment to having your girls home instead of away at school?"
Sarah: "I honestly can't think of anything that was super hard about having them at home except maybe trying to figure out what to do with them during my
Me: "Do your girls miss going to school and ever make comments about wanting to go back?"
Sarah: (laughing) "Nope! Never!"
Me: "What has been the most rewarding aspect of homeschooling?"
Sarah: "Every day I am amazed at how close our family has gotten. The quality time we get as a family is priceless. I remember when my husband would get an evening here and there with the girls back when they were in public school. Yelling, tears and hours of homework were the norm; it wasn't pretty. Every time now when Shawn takes the girls fishing, I have to remind myself how lucky we are that they get this quality alone time with their dad."
Me: "What have you learned the most about yourself since beginning this homeschooling journey?"
Sarah: "That I really enjoy parenting my girls. When they were in public school, I never felt like I was really parenting and I realize now that I was letting someone else have authority and control over my kids. I was pretty selfish with my time and thought everything was about me. Now, I've swung to the opposite side of the pendulum!"
Me: "Have there been days/times you felt like throwing in the towel with homeschooling? What encouragement would you give to any mom out there who is feeling discouraged or not excited in homeschooling her children?"
Sarah: "Duh, yes! I would think it's normal, or at least I hope it is, to feel this way at times. The world tells us that what we are doing isn't normal and we are going against what society thinks our kids should be doing. Anytime I feel frustrated, we stop and take a break from whatever it was that was frustrating us. If something I decided to do for a day isn't working out, then I just drop it and listen to the interests of my girls. I have realized that if I listen with an open mind, they will show me what they are interested in and how they could go about learning it. It usually isn't the way me and my public school brain would have thought at first, but for them, it works!"
Me: "Thank you so much for your time today, I really appreciate it so much"
Sarah: "Anytime! It's fun just getting together to chat while our kids play."
Just in case you missed it, here are the first two in the series:
Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S - Introduction
Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S - Meet Sandi
Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S - Introduction
Homeschooling R.O.C.K.S - Meet Sandi
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