I gave up on homeschooling! Yes, I did! I just had it and had to say: “No more!” I gave up on homeschooling PERFECTLY, without any flaws! I gave up on having the perfect homeschool room that never gets used and buying curriculum other moms brag about that don’t work for my children and are simply not a perfect fit for us! So, you really thought I gave up on homeschooling completely? Oh NO. I have tons of reasons I love homeschooling and would never give it up! I gave up on perfection. Perfection according to others, to books and magazines. Perfection that brings comparison. Perfection that makes me constantly dissatisfied, constantly upset because things did not go according to my big unrealistic plans I copied from somebody else! This kind of perfection sucks and I’m done with being that person. Make sure to pin this for later!
I Gave Up On Homeschooling to Someone Else’s Standards
I gave up on trying to do all those amazing “pin” ideas we spend hours to find on Pinterest, that I would never feel natural doing it with my kids and just the thought of the mess will drive me crazy even before I start it! Yes, they are awesome and I wish I was the kind of mom who is all about doing hands-on projects, arts, and crafts, etc. But I am not and I found out that trying to be someone I am not or doing things that are not natural to me and to my family will not in any way make our homeschool days successful. I need to be simply me and homeschool my kids out of my strengths, my gifts, and talents. Don’t get me wrong, I love challenges and I do challenge myself but I’ve learned that everything organic is better. Let nature takes its course in your homeschool. What feels natural to you? Reading books? Going for nature walks? Playing board games that teach your kids? What do you and your children enjoy doing together?
See, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my mom would tell me, and so is perfection! Perfection is what fits you! It’s what fits your family, your personalities, your learning styles, your lifestyle. Perfection is doing homeschool over the kitchen table if this is the most comfortable spot for you and your family. You don’t need a school room out of a magazine, but if you do have one and love it, this is your perfect learning spot! Last year, I got very ill for many months, I had chronic stress, adrenal fatigue, Hashimoto’s kicking in full speed and my body stopped absorbing iron, while I had days I couldn’t hold a glass of water in my hands, my kids brought their books and sat around me to do school. I still get emotional remembering does days and can’t help but cry while I type this. It wasn’t the place that was important to them, it was what we did together that we loved so much and did not want to miss a day doing it.
I gave up on Homeschooling to Accomplish a To-Do List
I recently wrote a blog post about slowing down and making memories with our children. Life is too short and we never know when our last day will be. I want to make memories with my children. I want every day to be the best day of our lives. I want to get to the end of my day thanking God for giving me those moments I will never forget! Knowing that my kids love to learn and I still love to teach them. Having a beautiful and strong relationship with my children is the most important thing to me. What kind of memories do you want your kids to have from your homeschooling days? I don’t want my kids to remember me as a sergeant who dictated the orders in the morning every day and pulled out the huge to-do list as I piled up the books over the table – yes I did that on my first years of homeschooling! I am so glad those days are over and I bet my kids are too!
What do you picture as a perfect homeschooling day within your natural abilities and your kids learning styles? Do you beat yourself up most of the time charging yourself with guilt and condemnation because you think you are not perfect? Please don’t do that to yourself! You are perfect if you don’t try to imitate anyone else or do things that are not natural to you. Now, close your eyes and imagine having that perfect homeschooling day where everyone is loving it and have a big smile on their faces? Please, pause here and do that. What was it like? What were you doing? How were you learning? You are on this homeschooling journey with your heart and your soul because you love your children and you want the best for them! I’ll tell you this, my kids still think the best thing for them is when mommy is fully present, cuddling on the sofa (even if some of them are upside down on the sofa), reading them stories and talking about it afterward. We have the best conversations after reading books together and draw many lessons out of it. Maybe we just need to simplify our idea of “perfect home education” so we can focus on seeing beauty in the ordinary moments of our days instead, and understand that our children are learning and growing beautifully as we simply love on them and create memories together – and that, dear homeschooling mom – it’s just PERFECT!
And with all these things, love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:14.
Are you a Perfectionist or Having a Hard Time Letting Go of the List?
Do you keep spending hours to find what is the perfect this or that to do with your kids but at the end don’t even do what you spent hours researching, printing out, etc or hated the outcome or the experience of it? What is a perfect fit for your family when it comes to homeschooling? I would love to hear your comments below!
