How to Experience God When You Hit A Plateau

How to Experience God When You Hit A Plateau

  

Reading Time: 5 min 5 sec

Have you ever felt stuck in your relationship with God?  Things are moving along beautifully, your times with God are rich, and you are growing in your faith. You feel like every day the Holy Spirit is revealing something new, and you are hungry for more of God in your life.

 

And then suddenly, almost overnight your relationship with God seems to come to a grinding halt?  

 

You are still doing everything you did before, but those practices seem to have lost their effectiveness. You start to wonder what is going on as you continue to slog through your daily devotional and toss up some prayers to God throughout the day.

 

You went from excited, your heart full with love for God, to a feeling of emptiness. It feels like you aren’t on the same wavelength with Jesus anymore.

 

The longer this feeling of emptiness prevails the harder it is to find the motivation to keep actively seeking God. Honestly, you start to feel like it’s a waste of time. You know God loves you, but right now you just feel dead inside.

 

You long for the passion of yesterday, you desire to know and experience God, but you are at a loss as to how to move forward.  What do you do when you reach a plateau in your relationship with God? 

  1. The Journey

2. God’s Invitation

3. The Power of Community

 

 

1. The Journey

 

EVERY follower of Jesus goes through periods of time when it feels like we are talking to an empty room.  You know you have reached a plateau when one of your friends starts waxing eloquent about their amazing relationship with God and you want to clock them. (Did I say that out loud? smile)

 

You can breathe a sigh of relief because everyone (even great men and women of faith) have experienced plateaus in their walk with God! Yay! That should be encouraging news! 

 

The commentary from Life with God Bible actually speaks to this topic,“God is intentionally present to us in our spiritual infancy and then allows us to be increasingly “on our own” as we spiritually mature. God works to establish a balance between his presence and his “seeming absence” so that we will develop character.” 

 

So, throughout our relationship with God, he arranges times for us to be on our own. He is ALWAYS present but sometimes he will withdraw his tangible presence so that we can develop character and a profound hunger for a deeper experience of God.

 

Your feelings of dissatisfaction and desire for more of Jesus is a huge sign that God IS on the move in your life!  So, YAY! When you reach a seeming plateau this is great news because it means that you are entering a new season and maturing in your faith.  I would encourage you to stop and celebrate how far you have come in your relationship with God.

 

 

2.  God’s Invitation

 

Okay, so how do we partner with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we enter this new season?  First, we need to understand that some of the tools that may have worked in the past such as devotionals, prayers, spiritual books, etc.  might not fit this new period of your relationship with God.

 

Instead of trying to finish or press on with a resource give yourself permission to place it on a shelf. You can always come back and reacquaint yourself with that resource in the future. Our goal is not to finish a devotional, but to partner with the Holy Spirit in what he is currently doing in our lives.  

 

So, how do you know what tools would be a good fit for this new season?  

 

Ask yourself the question: What is God Inviting me into?  What draws you and sparks your interest? What tool feels invitational to you when you think about an aspect of your walk with God?

 

Do you feel a desire to go deeper in prayer?  Are you hungry for authentic Christian relationships?  Do you crave a deeper dependence upon God?  Do you want to weave prayer into your everyday life?  Do you want to experience the lavish love of God?

 

If you are struggling to figure out what God is inviting you into, here are two more questions that you can ask yourself, “What Things Are You Talking to God About Right now?” and “How are you most aware of God in Your Life today?”  The answers to these questions will be a great starting place for you to explore.

 

As with everything, talk to God about your desires and ask him to provide the right tools for this season of your life.

 

Here are some resources that I LOVE to help get you started: 

3. The Power of Community

As a follower of Jesus, we were not designed to live life on our own, but in community with others.  One of the great ways that we can partner with the Holy Spirit is to live in relationship with other Christians.  

Yes, it is messy.  Yes, it can be at times uncomfortable. The church is full of broken people who are all dependent upon God’s lavish love and grace.  However, investing in authentic relationships built on trust with other Christians is CRUCIAL to your ongoing growth. 

 

Ruth Haley Barton really unpacks the power of community here, “The purpose of journeying together in spiritual friendship and spiritual community (whether there are just two of you or whether you are in a small group) is to listen to one another’s desire for God, to nurture that desire in each other and to support one another in seeking a way of life that is consistent with that desire.”

 

We need other people to come alongside us and affirm what God is doing in our lives. When we develop relationships of trust and vulnerability, it allows others to speak Gods truth into our lives. Spiritual Friendships encourage us to press on in pursuit of a love relationship with Jesus. 

 

So how do we find and develop authentic, nurturing relationships with other Christians?

 

You can seek to develop spiritual community in your local church, through small groups, and one on one friendships.  You can develop relationships with the intercessors, who will cover you in prayer.

 

This won’t happen by chance. You have to pray and intentionally seek out friendships with people who are going for it in their relationship with God.

 

If you desire to embrace all that God has for you in this new season; I would encourage you to celebrate where you are, ask God what he is inviting you into, and intentionally seek out authentic Spiritual Friendships with others.

 

If you want to know how to get started in living a deep life with God; grab our Deeper Life Beginners Guide (below). And join our community of moms who are hungry for more Jesus in their lives and in the lives of their families. 


What about you? What is God inviting you into in this new season?   Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!   

 

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A Homeschool Day In the Life

A Homeschool Day In the Life

  

Reading Time: 4 min 48 sec

When we first decided to homeschool, we had a vision to create a certain type of atmosphere for our children.  We wanted to foster deep family relationships, build life long memories, dive down rabbit holes, and allow our children to bask in the magic of childhood. We wanted our children to have the freedom to play, to explore and to create. We wanted to foster independent thinkers, lifelong learners, and courageous children.

 

And above all else, we wanted to encourage a deep, lifelong relationship with Jesus. We wanted to raise men and women of faith who live out of their identity as beloved children of God.

 

Every time we listen to Anne of Green Gables, giggle over board games, get down on our knees to pray, dance to the blues, and pour over logic, we are making small choices that move us toward our big vision.  

 

When you look at our typical homeschool day,you need to understand that this is what works for our family in this season. I know it can be easy to get caught up in what you are or are NOT doing, we all want to do it RIGHT, but that misses the point of this article. You need to do what’s right for you, what fits your personality, and the needs of your family. 

 

Mama’s, we are in this together! We are stepping out on faith, working hard, and imaging a different type of future for our children.  So, don’t get too caught up in the details (we do not all have to use the same schedule) and let’s give ourselves A LOT of grace, and make choices today that move us toward our vision for the future. 

 

Daily and Weekly Rhythm: 

We found that it helps our day flow smoothly when we follow a rhythm instead of a schedule.

Years ago, I created a schedule, and it totally stressed me out. I always felt like the clock was the master of our day, and we are always struggling to keep up. 

Now, we take our time, and after completing a task, we just move to the next thing on the list.

Every day we work on core subjects but each day has a different emphasis. 

 

Borrowing from Brave Writer our weekly schedule looks something like this: 

Monday– Poetry Tea Time and Free Write 

Tuesday– Nature Study

Wednesday– Art and Music

Thursday– Extra Curricular Activities, Games, and Languages

Friday– Field Trips

 

Morning 

I stumble out of bed and head downstairs to make coffee in the wee hours of the morning after my alarm goes off for the second time.   I realized quickly that I am more productive in the morning than waiting to work until the afternoon. I have found that these early mornings of silence set my day up for success and I actually miss it when I sleep in.  

 

I check my e-mail, work on my blog, and other projects until about 7am.  My children stumble down the stairs ready for snuggles. After helping my husband get out the door for work, we finish up breakfast and start working on our chores for the day.

 

We then move to some type of exercise, in the warmer months we go for a walk, run or bike ride, in the bitter cold of winter, we will use an exercise video to burn off that excess energy.  On certain days of the week, the kids are involved in extracurricular sports.

 

While they finish up chores and play quietly, I go to my room (the quietest place in the house) for devotions. 

 

We officially start the day by lighting our candle to remind us that God is in us and with us. We then spend some time in prayer inviting him into our day.  We move to read our Bible (we ABSOLUTELY LOVE this one) and memorize scripture. Depending on the day, we will either sing some worship songs or work on interactive projects, to help the kids move from head knowledge to heart experience of God.

 

We then snuggle under a huge blanket and start reading through a huge stack of picture books from the library. Books are the foundation for our daily curriculum. We choose books based off of our monthly unit study, the kids’ interest, core subjects, and just for fun books.

 

We then move to work on math, reading lessons, logic, and handwriting. We discovered a great French handwriting book this year that has dramatically improved their handwriting skills. 

 

We intermix lessons with reading aloud to give them a break.  A large amount of our learning can be done together but I do work with my six-year-old on reading separately, while I have my eight-year-old work their handwriting. 

 

Here are our daily goals that we try to make happen FIRST each day. If nothing else gets done, at least I know that these things were accomplished.

Time with Jesus

Outside Time

Read Aloud (Books, Books, and more Books)

Games & Music

 

We will finish out the morning with either free play, listening to an audiobook, art, games and stem activities. 

 

 Afternoon

At around noon, I start making lunch while the kids play. After eating, we begin afternoon quiet time. Where the kids either nap, read books or play quietly in their rooms. I have found that this is a necessary part of our day, as tempers can flare without some time to themselves.  I spend this time working on the blog and completing work projects.

 

At about three-thirty, everyone comes back together to play outside, go for a walk, or depending on the weather, to watch their favorite tv show.

 

Before I know it, it’s time to start preparing dinner and cleaning up the endless art projects, massive forts, and the sticky messes of the day. 

 

Evening 

After dinner, we spend the rest of the night playing a variety of board games together as a family.  We are HUGE fans of board games. We include them wherever we can all throughout our day. They not only are FUN, create lifelong family memories, but they allow us to improve core skills (math, logic etc).

 

After putting kids down to bed.  I finish preparing for the next morning, working on some projects, and reading. Before I know it, its time I am in bed. And yes, I am asleep in about two minutes (morning comes FAST). 🙂

 

That’s our day! What about you? What does your homeschool day look like? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest

You Got this Mom!

 

 

12 Kid Approved Gifts that Focus on the True Meaning of Easter

12 Kid Approved Gifts that Focus on the True Meaning of Easter

  

Reading Time: 4 min 56 sec

One of my most favorite memories growing up is visiting my grandparents’ house and participating in a massive scavenger hunt to find my very own Easter basket. Even though the basket was pretty much always hidden in the dryer, it was an amazing time of fun, excitement, and it ended with a basketful of chocolate!  

 

As a follower of Jesus’ the celebration of Easter is the most important day of the year. Jesus death and resurrection are foundational to our faith.   If Easter is so important, what are we communicating to our children when we condense it down to fancy outfits, beautiful eggs, and tons of candy?

 

I am not saying banish your Easter traditions. Instead, what I am saying is that what if we intentionally moved the focus from candy to Jesus? Can you imagine our children experiencing Jesus’ over the top love for them as they come to appreciate his sacrifice on the cross in a whole new way?  

 

Children go deeper in their faith, and own their faith through experiential learning. By watching you, experiencing life in a family and church context, they are being told each day what is really important.  Easter is a huge opportunity to pour into the spiritual lives of our children. So how do we do that?

 

Intentionally invite Jesus into what you are already doing. Instead of giving an Easter basket or gift, full to the brim with chocolate, what if you included some items that would turn your child’s eyes towards Jesus?  Instead of hurrying past Lent without much of a thought, what if you took some time to journey through an Easter devotional or watched a video of Jesus’ death and resurrection together as a family?  These small steps make a POWERFUL impact on the lives of your children.

 

Today, we are going to be talking about twelve amazing resources that you can use to help turn your family’s eyes towards the true meaning of Easter this year!

 

1. Devotionals 

2. Toys 

3. Books 

4. Journals

5. Art 

6. DVD’s

 

 

Good Dirt by Lacy Finn Borgo

1. Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide

This is the BEST devotional I have found yet for kids during Easter. The devotional is very doable for each day (it’s about a half a page). The devotional covers Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide and is written from an evangelical perspective.

I really appreciate how each devotional is broken into four sections:

– Till (Prayer)

– Plant (Meditate on Scripture)

– Water (Reflect)

– Weed (Examine)

As you travel through lent, this is a great resource to serve as the foundational piece of your day.

Jesus Doll

2. Jesus Doll

My children LOVE this doll! They sleep with it every night and it serves as a tangible reminder that Jesus is always with them. One of my children told me, “I know I don’t have to be afraid (of the dark) because I hold my Jesus doll and remember that Jesus is in the room with me.”  This doll is perfect for a young-elementary child because it is not huge and will be easy to carry around.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

3. The Jesus Storybook Bible

 This is a phenomenal paraphrased Bible for kids. The text is age appropriate, the illustrations are captivating, and the overarching story focuses on God’s never ending, never giving up, always and forever love for his kids.  I have read what feels like HUNDREDS of Bibles (okay, a little overdramatic here) and I haven’t found one yet that comes close.

4. A Picture of Jesus

This is huge!  When you place a special picture of Jesus with a child or a lamb in your child’s room it is a daily reminder that Jesus is always with them. It is also a huge reinforcement that Jesus is priority in the life of your family.  For years, we have asked our children, Who is that that lamb that Jesus is holding? And they shout out, that’s me!

5. The Boy And The Ocean

“God’s love is like the ocean, my little boy,” she said. “It’s always here. It’s always deep. It never ends. God’s love is special.”

Oh my word, hands down, probably my favorite Christian picture book. The illustrations are beautiful, the words are life-changing, and what an amazing book to pull out at bedtime.   The story draws parallels between Gods creation and his vast love for his children. I love how Max Lucado, portrays parents who include God in everyday life. Both boys and girls will love this book.

God's Great Love For You by Rick Warren

6. God's Great Love For You by Rick Warren

This book is all about Gods overwhelming love for his kids told in such an imaginative way. Written by Rick Warren, the book shows a young girl on different adventures discovering God lavish love. The illustrations are adorable and though the book can be read to girls and boys, the book is specifically geared towards young girls.

Writing To God Kids Edition

7. Journal - Writing To God: Kids Edition

This book is an amazing and creative resource full of journal prompts that guide children in learning how to talk to God.  This book has 35 different prayer journal exercises and it covers prayer topics on events that happen during the day, emotions, praise, thanks, pain, and using their five senses.  Your child comes to find out that you can speak to God about EVERYTHING, and has actually practiced doing just that throughout the book. Love it

Praying in Color Kid's Edition

8. Journal - Praying in Color - Kid's Edition

Have you ever heard “But I don’t want to pray? I don’t know what to say? I’m embarrassed to pray out loud?” This is a revolutionary resource for children (and adults) who want to try another way to spend time with God.  The author, Sybil Macbeth gently leads children in understanding what prayer is, common prayer problems, how to pray, and step by step of how to pray using art. This has been an amazing resource for children and students who have felt inadequate or have had a hard time concentrating when it comes to prayer. Love it!

The Bible Doodle Book - Amazing Bible Pictures You Can Complete and Create!

9. Journal - The Bible Doodle Book

This doodle book has 100 unfinished drawings and stickers for children to complete.  I love it because the children can use the prompts to help them complete the drawings. You can use the drawings/prompts as a complement to your daily family devotions. A creative way to engage with the Bible!

Blank Journal

10. Journal

Choose a journal (with no lines) for your child to write or draw prayers that can be especially for this Lenten season.  After a lot of searching, the best journals seem to be found at your local craft store. Let me know if you find a great journal somewhere else!

The Animated Passion Trilogy

11. DVD - The Animated Passion Trilogy

This is a great visual retelling of the Easter story for preschool-elementary age kids. Something about a video allows the children to really experience the life of Jesus in a whole new way.

Matthew - Visual Bible

12. DVD - Matthew: Visual Bible DVD

This is a wonderful movie for older elementary children who are emotionally ready to watch the crucifixion and resurrection. It is not as graphic as the Messiah but I would still preview it ahead of time to make sure your kids are ready for it.

How to Help Your Child Experience Jesus this Easter

How to Help Your Child Experience Jesus this Easter

  

Reading Time: 5 min 31 sec

Have you ever had a year where you are so busy that one minute its Christmas and the next, it’s the Saturday before Easter and you are scrambling trying to cobble together outfits and stuff a million Easter eggs with chocolate bunnies?  

 

Do you wish that there was a way to really help your children understand that Easter is more than eggs, candy, with some Jesus thrown in?  ME TOO!

 

In our fast-paced society, it can be easy to pass over the importance of the lent season with nothing more than a thought or a good intention to stop eating chocolate.

 

But Lent is more than giving something up; it is a time of reflection, of preparing our hearts, of remembering Christ’s life, death and resurrection, and a concentrated time of refocusing on Jesus. A forty day (not including Sundays) fast, interwoven with prayer and giving that culminates on Easter Sunday.

 

We do not celebrate Lent or Easter as a way to earn more brownie points with God or as another task to complete. There is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less than he does right now.  We participate in Lent and Easter as a way to actively participate with the Holy Spirit in the transforming of our hearts.

 

I love how life as a follower of Jesus, is an ACTIVE, experiential life. We don’t just get to hear about God, we get to EXPERIENCE a relationship WITH God.  Children learn experientially, and active participation is formational in their spiritual growth. Lent and Easter is a time rich with experiences and a perfect way for children to actively engage in their faith.   

 

We are going to be talking about 13 meaningful experiences that you can have with your child as you learn to walk through this Easter season with intention. 

 

These are just suggestions. You do not need to do everything on the list but choose one or two activities that are speaking to you.   I pray that the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of your family in powerful ways this Easter season.

 

  1. Art

  2. Devotional

  3. Drama

  4. Events

  5. Decorations

  6. Music

  7. Practices

 

A Couple of Tips: Your active participation with your child in the activity is HUGE. Do not to rush through these activities. It is not about getting them “done” and giving your child an Easter experience. This is not about being productive but about moving slowly, savoring, and giving the Holy Spirit elbow room to speak with your child. Allow for silence, (yes, this can work even with preschool children) in and around the activity.  

1.Use a Lent-Easter Family Devotional

 This is the BEST devotional, (Good Dirt Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide Devotional)  I have found yet for kids during Easter. The devotional is very doable for each day(it’s about a half a page).

 The devotional covers Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide and is written from an evangelical perspective. I really appreciate how each devotional is broken into four sections: Till (Prayer) Plant (Meditate on Scripture) Water (Reflect) Weed (Examine).  The book includes 14 weeks of devotionals.  You can grab your copy here!

2. Decorate Your Home

 Allow the decorations in your home to serve as a daily reminder of the importance of the Lenten season. The color purple serves as the traditional reminder of Easter. It symbolizes not only the pain of the cross but it is also the color of royalty, and it celebrates Jesus’s resurrection.  Decorate a table or space (or throughout the house) with the color purple, you could add a cross, a Bible and or a candle.  

 

3. Observe Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday serves as the start to the lenten season. It is important for your child to witness the community of God gathered together to worship him. Carving out time to attend serves speaks louder than words to your child about your family’s priorities.

 

4. Light a Candle 

 Every morning, start your day, by lighting a candle each day to as a reminder of Jesus’ shining light in the world. You can follow the lighting of the candle with prayer inviting him into your day.

 

5. Look at Art

 

Visit a church, or museum, in books, or print some pictures off the internet depicting the crucifixion and resurrection.  

 Start by inviting Jesus into this time. Find a piece that speaks to you or your child. Spend some time just enjoying the art.

Ask God what he is saying to you through this piece.  Remember, this is for you as much as it is for your child. It is powerful for your children to watch you engage with the Holy Spirit through art.

 

After a couple of minutes ask your child:

a) How does this piece make you feel?  

b.) What do you love about it?

c) What do you think the Father is saying to you through this piece?

 

Tip: Don’t rush. The goal is quality over quality. You are there to create elbow room for the Holy Spirit to speak to them through art. You are not there to teach your kids something (though they will learn). Also, don’t feel like you have to be there an hour to make it worthwhile.

6. Listen to an Easter Playlist

It is important to place a special emphasis on creating an environment that draws their hearts towards Jesus during this Lenten season.

Tip-I am loving the Lent and Easter Worship Songs Playlists by Salt of the Sound on Spotify

 

7. Act out the Easter Story

This can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. 🙂  This is great for allowing the children to really engage in the story of Easter. Remember this is not about getting it “right” but about engaging in the story of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Tip: Your children can also do this with stuffed animals or dolls.  

 

8. Draw Prayers to Jesus 

Layout art supplies, plain paper, and have your Easter playlist playing quietly in the background. Encourage your child to write or draw prayers to Jesus.

 Tip: This should not feel like a homework assignment. There is no correct way of doing this. This is their personal prayer to God. Let them know that they can but don’t have to share their prayers with you when they are done.

9. Watch a Video of the Easter Story

 

Here are two suggestions for younger and older children:

  1. Preschool-Elementary- The Animated Passion Trilogy
  2. Middle School-High School- Matthew:Visual Bible 

10. Use Playdough to Recreate the Empty Tomb

This is a GREAT, hands-on, simple activity to allow children to engage in the Easter story.

 

11. Draw or Paint an Easter Scene

Read through the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Encourage your children to draw or paint a picture of a scene from the Easter story that grabs their attention.  

Tip: I typically put on instrumental music in the background to help focus their attention on listening to Jesus.

12. Look for Ways to Serve Others

Pray with your children. And ask God what way he wants you to focus on serving others during this Lenten season. 

13. Attend a Good Friday and Easter Service

If appropriate allow your children to join you for all or part of the service. The death and resurrection of Jesus are foundational to our faith and allowing your child to witness that at a young age is HUGE!  Also, Easter sunrise services are amazing (especially for elementary age children).

 

14. Plan a Special Meal for Easter Sunday

 

The goal is to plan and prepare WITH your children a special meal celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. Invite over family and friends to celebrate.

 

Give your Easter season a strong foundation by grabbing your own copy of the Good Dirt: Lent, Holy Week & Eastertide Devotional. I am excited to travel through it with my own family this year!  You can get it here! 

 

What about you? What are your favorite ways to encourage a love of Jesus in your child during Easter? 

If you try any of these activities, let me know! Leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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How to Avoid these Five Homeschooling Mistakes

How to Avoid these Five Homeschooling Mistakes

  

Reading Time: 5 min 22 sec

Are you a new to homeschooling or in the thick of figuring out how to start? Are you dreaming of newly sharpened pencils, child prodigies, and Von Trapp family adventures?  We are going to come alongside you on your journey and talk about the five common mistakes first-time homeschoolers make and how YOU can avoid them (and save hundreds of dollars).  

 

I have spoken with a lot of new homeschool parents over the years who are overwhelmed, frustrated, burned out and about five minutes away from shipping their kids off to boarding school in Switzerland. They start to wonder about their ability, sanity, and if homeschooling is really doable for the average mom.

 

Homeschooling is very possible but sometimes we can unintentionally shoot ourselves in the foot by making decisions out of a lack of experience.  We need people to come alongside us and help us through the minefields of those early days so that we can go back to enjoying those amazing family moments.  

 

We are going to be addressing these 5 common homeschooling mistakes today:

 

 1.Homeschooling without Direction

2. Duplicating School at Home

 

3. Bowing to a Teaching Philosophy

 

 4.Requiring Too Much Too Soon

 

5.A Boxed Curriculum is the Answer 

 

1. Homeschooling without Direction

We have an endless supply of amazing resources for homeschooling mamas and their students. It can get very easy to get caught up running to the latest teaching philosophy, schedule, curriculum, or activity hoping that it will solve all of your learning woes. Now I am all for exploring new teaching resources (We love you, Life of Fred) but it can get very exhausting and can give your kids whiplash if you don’t have a roadmap in place to help you figure out if that latest thing fits your family.

 

You need to know what your vision and values are because they influence the goals and atmosphere of your homeschool.  You can’t set or accomplish your goals if you have no idea what you are aiming at.  

 

 For instance, does your vision for the future include children who grow up to be lifelong learners, self-starters, out of the box thinkers and mighty followers of Jesus?  Does one of your values include forming quality family relationships?  

 

If so, the decisions you make, your teaching style, activities, schedule, curriculum choices, and atmosphere all should flow out of your vision and values.  They are a roadmap to a successful homeschool and when used properly, can help prevent burnout. Do not move forward without taking the time to talk over your vision, values, and goals with your spouse or a friend. 

 

When things get challenging, instead of completely changing direction, and giving into fear and self-doubt, you can rest in the knowledge that you have an overall plan in place. By establishing your vision, values, goals, and atmosphere ahead of time it allows you to not have to make big decisions in a time of crisis.

 

2. Duplicating School at Home

You have just decided that you are going to homeschool and you are scared but also super excited. You rearrange your home, choose a homeschooling room, and rush out and buy (borrow or steal) desks, chalkboards, and inspirational posters for the walls.  Three days into your homeschool adventure you realize that no one wants to sit at cold, hard desks when they can be snuggling on the couch reading books with mom. 

Homeschooling is not public school at home.  Homeschooling is a way of life.  If your only exposure to education has been in a corporate setting, it might be helpful for you to think of homeschooling as private tutoring (with a lot of snuggles, family adventures and laughter thrown in).  

Homeschooling is not just when you open your “school books” but all throughout the day, at the grocery store, gardening, listening to audiobooks in the car, while doing the budget, and fixing the sink, you are giving your children the benefit of real-world experience.  

 

Save yourself tons of money, homeschool regrets (and your children a lot of frustration) by taking advantage of the benefits of teaching your children at home; one on one time together, comfy couches, and real-life learning to find out and own what works for you and your family.

 

3. Bowing to a Teaching Philosophy 

As you start to research homeschooling it can feel like there are HUNDREDS of teaching methodologies out there. You are told that time in nature, memorizing information, giving them time to play, structure, no structure, textbooks, only living books, experience, and facts are crucial to your child’s success in life.

 

The options can not only feel overwhelming but restricting to a new homeschool parent.  You get sold on a teaching philosophy and jump in 100% only to find out that it doesn’t quite fit your family.  I have seen moms ignore the downsides (every philosophy can have negatives) and keep pressing on only to feel miserable because it is not a perfect fit.

 

You can save yourself time, energy, frustration, and money by realizing that you will need to adapt any philosophy to your family not your family to the philosophy. This is where knowing your vision, values, goals is crucial to setting the tone of your homeschool. Listen to your mom instincts, and don’t feel pressured to teach in a certain way if it doesn’t fit the needs of your family.

 

4. Requiring Too Much Too Soon 

 

You are excited to get started on your homeschooling adventure. You sit down with your five-year-old and dive into your new stack of curriculum.  The first couple of days are wonderful, and things are moving along brilliantly until suddenly they aren’t.

 

Your child whines when you get out the books, you find yourself constantly encouraging him to do one last problem or activity. You just find yourself working harder than they are to complete your list of studies for the day. You feel frustrated, demoralized, and you wonder if this homeschooling really works in real life.

Save yourself (and your child) frustration, by focusing on your values (strong family relationships, fostering a love for learning, character development etc.)  instead of focusing on checking “educational” boxes.  

When you have a ten-thousand-foot view of the future, you won’t get hung up on whether or not you completed the allotted math problems for the day.

 

Enjoy these early years, they won’t last forever. Encourage your child’s curiosity and rest in the knowledge that they are constantly learning by living life with you at the perfect pace for them.    

 

6. A Boxed Curriculum is the Answer 

You spend hours researching a comprehensive curriculum, you want to make sure that every base is covered, and that your kid won’t end up going to college, not knowing how to do long division. You find a curriculum that you think will be a good fit, shell out a couple hundred dollars, only to find to out that you love the math, are “ehh” about the social studies, and absolutely hate the language arts program.  

 

It is rare (and I mean RARE) that a boxed curriculum will meet all of your needs. You know your child, you know their strengths and weaknesses, you know the vision and values of your homeschool, and you are the best person to hand select curriculum.  Save yourself hundreds of dollars (do you see a theme here) by choosing the best resources for your child.

 

When you handpick curriculum, not only is it a smaller monetary investment but if it doesn’t work, you aren’t stuck with it (trying to get your money’s worth) or desperately scrambling to replace an entire curriculum midway through the school year.

 

Are you wondering HOW do you actually find a great curriculum for each subject? I created a How to Find Excellent Curriculum checklist (grab it below)  to help you on your journey.

You Got this Mom!

 

What about you? What is your number one frustration when it comes to figuring out this homeschooling adventure?  Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

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