It's late on a Sunday night. Tomorrow we start back to school after our Thanksgiving break. I didn't part of yesterday planning out a couple weeks of school work. Surprisingly, that planning went a different direction than I had originally anticipated.
I'm tired. The girls and I did a little bit of Christmas decorating after church today. Usually my teens are busy with youth group on Sunday evenings. But since the youth leaders had family plans this week, I had some enthusiastic helpers. We won't put up a Christmas tree until right before Christmas, after my oldest and her husband are done with college for the semester.
Needless to say, after a very busy few days, I'm grateful to get back to the routine for a few more weeks. My daughters each spent a couple days with family, giving us all the break from school we needed. However, our family Bible time stopped over Thanksgiving break. Over the last few months I have really become addicted to that time in the Word with my daughters.
It stated out as a way for me to go through the Old Testament with my eighth and tenth graders. Last year my tenth grader did a New Testament Survey class on her own for credit. She passed it with flying colors, but didn't get much out of it spiritually or even intellectually. She learned what she needed to for the test, and then promptly forgot it.
I decided to use a different curriculum and added my eighth grader to the study. I joined in on the lessons, literally going through each one with them. Besides our study of the Old Testament, we are also spending two days per week going through the book, Who Is God, that we received with our Heart of Dakota curriculum.
Since we began this, God has really dealt with me in some areas. He had revealed why the "perfect" curriculum was stressing me out and not working at all for one child. He has deepened my relationship with Him as, even if I miss personal time occasionally, I am still in His Word daily. I have even brought the six year old in to listen to the lessons. I'm amazed at how much she picks up. I usually read the lesson to her from one of her story Bibles during our individual school time.
Over the weekend I read the ebook, Bible Based Homeschool by Karen Debeus. I then realized whour Bible time was going so well.
Studying the Bible together is a natural way of learning. It's discipleship. It's instructing my children in the way they should go. It's helping to lay a foundation that my children need on which to build their lives.
A few weeks ago I was really struggling. One daughter had spent weeks blowimg off some of her work. I was discouraged and knew that what I was doing wasn't working. She was very much in trouble, as there are consequences. But, for me, I dug down deep in prayer.
God showed me that, while independence and self-learning are vital skills, my children need me to be more in charge, more involved in more aspects. Computer classes and self-led programs are wonderful, but they should be used in moderation.
Of course, it was NEVER my intention to be uninvolved. As this school year progressed, I found myself overwhelmed with teaching my first grader and keeping up with three children in three different grades studying three different everything. It stressed me out and, very simply, hasn't been working as I had anticipated at the beginning of the school year.
At this point, as I continue to pray, I have changed some things up. My youngest is working on basics and various topics. My tenth grader is continuing most of her studies, but some has been halted as I have assigned her a research project instead. My eighth grader continues on a normal for now until after Christmas, when she will finish her current curriculum.
Never delude yourself. Homeschooling is hard work. Even the most pre-planned, expensive curriculum can (and often does) fail.
I have a few options on what direction to go from here. I could combine my oldest two, leaving me only two levels to keep up with on a daily basis. I could switch to a more universal unit study style where studies are arranged by topic and each studies at their level. I have to carefully and prayerfully consider each step since the oldest is earning high school credit.
One vital area where God opened my eyes is to how short my time is to impact my daughters for Christ. Knowing His Word has become vital. I have an urgency about this that I lacked before. If I want my daughters to be Biblically literate, it's my responsibility. Sunday school, youth group, and Sunday morning service will NOT be enough training. It's the icing on the cake, but not substantial enough to truly feed souls. They need much more than what my local church offers for a few brief per week. Besides, as a parent, God places the responsibilities on the shoulders of my husband and me.
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