Homeschooling thoughts......

Hi!  Well I am going to give this a try and hope you like it!!

 The first thing I want to address is homeschooling and living with your children, since that is what most of you parents of school age children are now doing due to schools being closed.  We home-schooled our five girls and I am so glad I did.  They grow up so quickly.  Having them at home is a blessing beyond measure BUT it isn't with our some struggles.  Our first year of schooling was definitely the hardest.  So I am thinking some of you moms who are now schooling your public school age children could especially benefit from a few words of advice.

First thing don't worry about getting every paper and problem completely done.  What you want is to make sure your children know the concept.  Do they understand the lesson?  If they do then let them do part of the paper.  The more they get right the less they have to do.  If they miss a problem make sure they correct it themselves and get the error figured out so they can do the problem right.  When I first started homeschooling I tried to grade every paper.  I was a slave to school.  That was not what I had envisioned.  So I changed things up.  Let the kids grade their own paper if they can and if you have a teachers key. Or enlist an older sibling to check the paper over. Just make sure the errors are corrected by the student who did the paper.  By not doing lots of busy work you will have more time to study more topics or do life projects.

I think what we really want is to know the concepts AND for the children to be able to think on their own.  Many of the details are not that important BUT can your children do critical thinking, figure things out on their own, observe and make assessments, and  make decisions about their lives? Do you they have to consult you on everything or are they using their God given guidance?  Use this 'time out' to spend quality time with your precious kids.  Let them learn life lessons through your leadership.  What an honor and opportunity!!

Also very important is to use this time to share the Lord's word with one another, to pray together, and to reach out to others with needs in the manner as the Holy Spirit directs you and your family!!

Happy homeschooling to you all......next staying organized and teaching your kids!!! See you soon!