Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Sometimes our own dreams and ideals can inspire us. Sometimes those same dreams can crush us.

What mother has never seen her child do something that they just KNEW 'their' precious little snowflake would NEVER do?  As parents, it can be pretty humbling to witness that.  And our dreams of having the 'perfect child' fly out the window.

What homeschooling mother hasn't been discouraged because, when she started this homeschool gig, had visions of her homeschooling looking one particular way and realizing that it looks nothing like that dream?

We need to homeschool with the end in mind.  Realizing that sometimes you have to change your dream to suit the situation.  Change it to suit your children.

What do I want *my* end result to be?  I want my children to love learning!  To learn to educate themselves.  To feel confident in their abilities, academic or otherwise.  To feel like they have something to offer the world.  To realize that education is more than taking in information, vomiting it out into a test and moving on.  And above all, to be responsible citizens and NOT toexpect the world or the government to take care of them.

Will any of those things be affected if we don't do hands on art projects every week?  No.  If we don't join every social opportunity that comes our way?  No.  If they don't have interactions with large groups of children every day? No. 

Will any of those things be affected if they are allowed to persue their passions? Yes!  If they are taught in a setting free of peer pressure? Yes!  If they are given opportunities that could otherwise never be avaliable to them in public school? Yes!  If they are given a chance to determine who they are in this world and learn to love who they are? YES!

Yes, I have at times had doubts about our homeschooling.  I have entertained the thought of sending them back to public school.  But it always seems that when I begin to have those thoughts...something comes along to show me that we are doing a fabulous job.  That we really do love where we are in life.

It may not be what I *thought* it would be in the beginning...but as long as the end product is what I have in mind, it will have been worth all of the hard work involved.