bbcovert@juno.com

It’s springtime, and your homeschooling schedule lies in tatters. You had hoped to wrap up schooling before the end of May, but you know you won’t make it. You prop your elbows on your desk and put your head in your hands. What a failure you turned out to be! The kids aren’t getting an education! They should be in a traditional school with traditional teachers, traditional schedules, and traditional homework.  

What happened? Things started out well in September. You had a chart to keep track of daily assignments and chores. You knew exactly what date your family could celebrate as the last day of “school.” The kids were cooperative, for the most part. Six weeks went by without mishap. 

Then the baby rolled off the bed and broke a leg. Your husband got called out of town for a month-long project. You came down with the flu. Suddenly it was all you could do to live through the day. Organizing the school assignments and teaching the lessons wasn’t as important as remembering to feed the kids.  

When the baby’s cast came off, the flu dissipated, and the husband returned home, you tried to get back into the swing of the homeschool schedule. However, a single mother in church needed child care while she underwent surgery, and you volunteered to help. Your son decided that he hated math; heavy tears showered his worksheets, obliterating the problems. Your husband decided to overhaul the plumbing in your house. Your mother hurt her back and needed your help. 

The holidays arrived, keeping you so busy with baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating, and entertaining, that you gave up on any notion of homeschooling during December. In January, you were too exhausted; you needed to recuperate from all that yuletide joy. In March your family was invited to vacation with old friends in another state. Somehow, you lost the drive for teaching, and your attempts until now have been halfhearted. Now, as you see for yourself how far behind you are, you feel overwhelmed. You want to give up and admit defeat. Homeschooling didn’t work for you. 

Are you sure about that? May I remind you that one of the draws of homeschooling is the flexibility it provides? Didn’t your children learn how to make simple meals and help around the house while you were sick? Haven’t they seen firsthand how important it is to help others? Aren’t they learning to be compassionate Christians? 

Real life is not found in rows of desks and same-age peers. It is found at home and in the community. We learn from experience. Many great people were educated at home, and you can believe that they experienced overwhelming and upsetting times during those years just as we all have. Setbacks didn’t cause them to give up, and setbacks shouldn’t cause you to admit defeat. If the Lord has called you to homeschool your children, He believes you can do it. Trust Him. 

You may not finish the year on your chosen date, but you will eventually finish. Take one day at a time. You don’t need to worry about “catching up.” Who are you catching up with -- the Joneses? Homeschooling allows you the flexibility of taking as long as necessary to complete the lessons. Don’t let upset schedules steal your joy. Continue down the path that the Lord has set before you and your family, and your faith will be rewarded. Your children will learn many things. You will be glad that you persevered. Take heart and continue on.

Copyright 2005 Brenda B. Covert