My family has a New Year’s Eve tradition where we write a letter to our future selves.\u00a0 We open it a year later, on New Year’s Eve.\u00a0 It’s fun but sometimes discouraging.\u00a0 I’ve learned that writing a list of goals as a motivational tool can fall flat as you read through the list the following year, only to discover you haven’t accomplished much.<\/p>\n
Today, I’m writing a letter to my past self.\u00a0 There is so much I’d like that young mama to know and my hope is that it can make a difference for you.<\/p>\n
You are struggling to make a decision about whether to homeschool your children or to enroll them in public school.\u00a0 There are many things to consider but here is the truth.\u00a0 It will be easier to send your children to school if you decide that homeschooling isn’t a good fit than it will be to pull your children from school if you decide that school isn’t a good fit for you.<\/p>\n
I know the plan is for you to go back to work once your children are school age but the finances are going to be there as you need them.\u00a0 The Lord is going to provide and it’s going to be faith building to see how He does it.\u00a0 You are going to have to budget, there will be sacrifices, and lean times but there will also be amazing financial surprises along the way.\u00a0 Start today by praying for financial wisdom.\u00a0 Ask the Lord to reveal to you any financial beliefs, desires, and habits that are contrary to His word.\u00a0 Spend the needed time uprooting financial idols.\u00a0 Confess the worldly desires of your heart, He knows what they are anyway.\u00a0 You will need His grace to change, you can’t do it in your own strength.<\/p>\n
Once you have started to work on your heart, you need to implement some tools.\u00a0 Start by writing out a budget and then figure out a system to keep track of the spending.\u00a0 There is no need to buy a program for this, pen and paper will work just fine but I am a fan of YNAB (You Need A Budget).<\/p>\n
Take some time to figure out exactly what your husband makes per hour (after income tax and all the other deductions).\u00a0 This will help you when you are tempted to spend beyond what is needed.\u00a0 Ask yourself in that moment, “Is this item worth my husband having to work X<\/em> amount of hours for us\/me to have this?”<\/p>\n Finally, figure out what you can do to earn some “Proverbs 31” income.\u00a0 The size of this endeavor will depend on the time and energy you have, the level of responsibility your husband has at his job, and the amount of home and family responsibilities that he’s able to take on.\u00a0 But please realize that even if you can only earn and save $100\/month, it will richly bless your family 20 years from now.<\/p>\n Your friend group is going to change and not all family members are going to be supportive of homeschooling.\u00a0 Don’t worry, you are going to meet heaps of incredible families and you’ll meet your most treasured friend amongst those families.\u00a0 Try to remain quietly confident and strong-minded but tender-hearted towards the critics.\u00a0 The fruit grows slowly, be patient, they’ll start to see.<\/p>\n Others will question and you’ll wonder if you are smart enough to homeschool your children.\u00a0 Don’t waste your time pondering this question.\u00a0 There will be an incredible variety of curricula for you to choose from that will help you educate your children.\u00a0 Many people have gone before you and they will be a blessed resource.\u00a0 Ask lots of questions, take notes, don’t be afraid to tweak the advice to fit you and your family, and twenty years from now you’ll be writing a blog post encouraging mamas with your own thoughts.<\/p>\n Develop a firm grasp of what your priorities are.\u00a0 Build a habit of being in the Word daily, become a prayer warrior, and worship, and serve on a regular basis.\u00a0 Make your husband your next priority.\u00a0 It’s a mistake to neglect this relationship and it’s so easy to do.\u00a0 Next in line are the children.\u00a0 It can get tricky here as you figure out how to serve the Lord as both a mama and teacher to your children; mama should show up first.<\/p>\n If you have a kitchen table, then you have space to educate your children.<\/p>\n What you will need are bookshelves.\u00a0 I’ve yet to go into a homeschooling home that doesn’t have walls full of books.\u00a0 Homeschool mamas develop a special relationship with books so get yourselves some bookshelves.<\/p>\n Paper!\u00a0 There is so much paper.\u00a0 It enters your house in many forms: workbooks, worksheets, journals, creative writing, reports, printables, artwork, and more.\u00a0 Spend some time thinking about what you are going to keep and how you are going to store it.\u00a0 Do Not, I repeat, Do Not buy a plastic bin to store all the paper thinking that you’ll get to it another day.<\/p>\n There is no shortage of good things to participate in.\u00a0 Take time to create a vision and some boundaries regarding how you will spend your time and then make decisions that align with your vision and boundaries.<\/p>\n There is no checklist or formula that ensures your children will become followers of Christ.\u00a0 If there were, you would be owed the glory for the salvation of your children.<\/p>\n Homeschooling will protect your children from worldly influences for a time, but it won’t protect them from their own sinful nature.\u00a0 Make no mistake, sin can still breed in the absence of worldly influences.<\/p>\n Be encouraged, young mama. He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in Him.\u00a0 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:3-4).<\/p>\n by Adrianne Curwen<\/strong><\/p>\n Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator\/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.\u00a0 She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that\u2019s out there. \u00a0Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.\u00a0 She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My family has a New Year’s Eve tradition where we write a letter to our future selves.\u00a0 We open it a year later, on New Year’s Eve.\u00a0 It’s fun but sometimes discouraging.\u00a0 I’ve learned that writing a list of goals as a motivational tool can fall flat as you read through the list the following…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2365,"featured_media":27691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[298,300],"tags":[301,302,303],"yoast_head":"\nConsider relationships.<\/h4>\n
Don’t consider whether you are smart enough.<\/h4>\n
Consider your priorities.<\/h4>\n
Consider how you will organize.<\/h4>\n
Consider time.<\/h4>\n
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Don’t ever consider that homeschooling will save your children.<\/h4>\n
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