Home Schooling

Back to school

It's been a few months since I've posted. Life has happened and challenged me in many ways, but I am a better person for having come through the struggles. It has been a time to learn about the person I am and how I see the world. The start of the new year is a good time for me to get back into blogging and re-joining the world.

The first week of school has ended and I feel excited even though my son has left the family nest and is on his unique journey of life. Today I reflect on the first week of the home schooling years. Back to when the box of books and lessons arrived on the door step. We opened the box with curiosity and anticipation. What would the theme of Dan's learning be this year?

There is no other smell that comes close to that of new books. For me it brings pleasant memories of hours spent in the library, choosing books, checking them out and taking them home where I anxiously waited for the first quiet moment when I could sit and let the words fill my imagination and take me places.

This week, students all over Australia opened books, smelled the freshness of new paper and hopefully are looking forward to the year with anticipation and curiosity as they learn academically, socially, physically and spiritually. For some students, school isn't greeted with the same enthusiasm. I feel for you. You require a different approach to learning and life, but I believe schools are looking for new and innovative ways to help you, too. To all the students from prep to university and mature aged, grasp hold of these opportunities, learn much, but most of all have fun.

Never think you can't do it. Change your attitude...yes you can!

Never think you can't do it. Change your attitude...yes you can!

I'd love to hear how your first week of school went. Please leave a message. Thank you.

Home Schooling: In The Beginning

One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.

One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.

It took me a long time to make up my mind when I was deciding to homeschool my son. I suffered many nights tossing and turning, and when I couldn't sleep I got out of bed and walked around the house hoping I'd come to my decision so I could go back to bed and sleep. I talked to neighbours, teachers, strangers I met in the street and family. All said, "Why would you want to homeschool? You won't have any time to yourself. It's the  only time I get away from my kids. It's going to take up too much of your time. You'll be with him twenty-four-seven. What about his socialisation, you can't cut him off from other children, especially when he's an only child. He'll end up a loser." These comments and more made me feel I was "the loser".

That last comment was the one that burned me the most and really got my ire rising faster than a tsunami. It was the turning point. Loser eh? The quote on the slate in this post says exactly what was going through my mind. My son wasn't coping with school life. He was bullied, the classroom was so noisy with rude children he'd become overwhelmed with the noise and have to leave the classroom. Teachers often found him out of the schoolgrounds. He just had to get away. I knew I had to do something because my son wasn't learning. When I checked his school books, nothing had been written in there for two terms. He was attending a private school. A week later, he was home with me and I was determined he wasn't going to set foot back in a school unless he wanted to.

Our first year was our hardest as Dan and I adjusted to being home together. Dan was in year seven. My husband ran a business from home, but he was out on jobs most of the time. I ran a business from home, too, so my time was divided between it and the homeschooling and running the house. What I learned about myself and my son during this time was more than I could have imagined.

Lesson number one, we were both individuals. Somehow, because he was my son, I thought he would work the same way I did: head done and just get the job done, also that when I'm focussed the rest of the world doesn't matter. Dan was different, he was easily distracted by noises, ringing telephones, and people coming and going, so that he just couldn't settle to the work. We solved this problem by encouraging him to listen to music while he worked. An outstanding result. At the same time, as he was completing his school work, he was able to do two or three things at one time which astounded me. He had two computer screens running several programs while he was listening to music and working.

My mind boggled. I stepped back and thought a moment. How could he be retaining all that he learned while he had all those distractions? The few times I insisted he focus on one thing, I was met with indignant stares and he refused my request. After much coercion from me where I said he would be more prolific and his school work would be finished faster, I got a shock to find his work stalled, and he was lost as though he'd been put in the middle of the jungle and didn't know which way to turn. My insistence in trying to organise his time failed miserably, so we returned to his way and hey presto, work was completed well before time with top marks. Well, if that was his way of learning, then who am I to change that?

I'm glad I learned this lesson. It made me aware that some of my employees may have had unusual working habits to be efficient. I learned how to get the best out of the people working for me to keep them happy and fulfilled in their work and develop a special relationship with them I may not have done otherwise. During the next few weeks I want to share other lessons I learned from home schooling.

Have you had a similar experience? Please leave a comment for me below.

Don't Worry About Tomorrow

Several years ago I had a stress attack that left me with a brain that I'd thought would never think again. Stress can have a negative impact on our lives and yet, stress is what gets us up every morning to go to work, to look after our family and to care for ourselves.

Stress is caused by the imbalance of overwork and little relaxation. I was too busy wanting to be super mum that I forgot about my own needs. I was running my own business, my home, and I was homeschooling. My husband got ill and needed surgery. His business also needed someone to run it. You guessed it, more responsibility for me. I had little in reserve to cope with this added stress. Something had to give, unfortunately it was me. I ended up in hospital for three days and it took two years to get back on my feet.

My stress was the bad kind of stress. I allowed it to pile up on top of me, ignoring the headaches and sleepless nights, saying I could do anything. I was pushing myself to an early grave and I didn't know it. I had no choice but to slow down.

I came across a Bible verse: Matthew 6:34 - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I meditated on this verse for several months and the truth set in. I wanted complete control of my life so much I worried incessantly about situations that weren't under my control. As soon as I stopped worrying about these situations my stress levels dropped dramatically. My life turned for the better and I started planning for God's purpose for my life instead of mine. I planned my goals and schedules, but I lived my days in the present, hour by hour, working toward my goals. My mind became clearer because it wasn't cluttered by worry that robbed me of energy and life.

If you're a worrier, I encourage you to start meditating on Matthew 6:34. Worrying about tomorrow is time wasted because God has a purpose for your life. Put God in your plans, cease worrying, and your tomorrows will start to have a new sense of purpose and wonder you'd never thought possible because God is for you, not against you.