Homeschool moms play two major roles for their children:

Parent. . .and. . .Teacher

Learning how to wear both hats at once takes experience and thought!

Parenting

Parenting changes your life. For years, it will require every bit of heart, every brain cell, and much of your energy. Here are two foundational elements to consider that may help.

First. it takes courage to parent, to love wholeheartedly and sacrificially as you raise a child.

Why courage? Well, frankly, because it may often seem like a thankless job, with no visible reward. Few notice your work, and kids don’t recognize the effort it takes—even though they love their mom.

Courage helps you keep going, even when it’s hard.

Second, consider the necessity of time in parenting. Why? Because it requires hours, days, weeks, months, and years of intentional attitudes and actions to be an ongoing nurturer of your children:

•Listening with both ears as they tell you their ideas or dreams or questions or. . .takes time.

•Thinking about how to bless your kids—and then doing it—requires you to take time.

A home that spills over with fun food, hilarious laughter, lively discussions, and a riveting book read aloud (to name a few examples) is what most of us wish we had had as children. To make this dream a reality for our families takes time—lots of it!

Time is a choice you make for the long-term benefits to your family.

Teaching

In one sense, homeschooling your children is just a continuation of what you’re already taught your kids—how to make a bed, wash hands, say “please”—but it’s also much more than that. Now you’re taking on what most parents hand off to “experts”—teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, plus science, history, music, art, and more—but because you’re doing it yourself, you’ve added the pressure of requirements, expectations, and your own experiences in school (whether good or bad).

So, it’s both a natural extension of parenting and a whole new world. It’s got its own vocabulary, its unique demands, its wide-ranging possibilities of scheduling, structuring, and finishing. . .Here are two foundational elements of teaching your own kids that will help.

First, create a safe environment for learning. What does that mean?

Consider the difference between being outside during a thunder storm and being inside a warm, dry, enclosed shelter. Braving the elements when you’re caught out in a storm leaves you vulnerable to buffeting winds, freezing rain, and potential for injury as branches break and fall. It could be a struggle to survive, depending on the strength of the storm.

That’s what it can feel like for a student struggling to learn. If a child is mocked (by teacher or other students), it is no longer safe to try. If a student asks too many questions, and is shamed for it, the take-away is to keep silent. If one is compared to another—“your brother memorized this without any problems!”—it crushes the heart.

You can create a safe place for your kids. Be careful of your own words and attitudes, and teach your children that it’s not okay to mock, shame, or belittle each other.

Which leads to the second foundation: honoring different types of learners.

If I asked you to choose between a Michelangelo sculptureand a Rembrandt painting, it would come down to your own personal preference because BOTH artists were brilliant, even though their work was strikingly different.

What we often don’t realize is that there are strikingly different ways to learn. Exploring this concept in more depth will be a focus over the next few months. But, for now, consider that the child who baffles you may be a Michelangelo—and you have preferred Rembrandt.

Finally, if you ever feel conflicted between these roles, remember that you are first and foremost, a mom to each child in your home. It is ALWAYS more important to attend to your child’s need than to finish the lesson.