Lately, I have been seeing SO many posts on social media of mothers homesteading, baking from scratch, and living these beautiful, peaceful-looking days. Let me just say, that isn’t what 90% of my homeschooling days look like, and they don’t need to be what yours look like either.
Educating your child is a full-time job and there is nothing wrong with living in this century to do it! You can run the dishwasher, the vacuum, and the washer and dryer all at once if you are talented enough to keep track of all of that! You can use your computer and watch TV in the afternoon when you all need a break.
If you have the energy to raise chickens, churn butter, and bake all your own bread, I’m delighted for you! However, none of that is needed to be a good homeschool mom. What do you need?
The things a homeschool mom needs most are as follows….
A Sense of Humor
Without a sense of humor, you are doomed to be miserable as a parent. Kids are funny and weird and do things that make you crazy. If you can’t laugh at all of that, you probably should not homeschool your kids. You need to be able to laugh when the science experiment blows up everywhere, or the kids “help” give the dog a bath and now you have three kids who all need baths!
As long as you can laugh about it, homeschooling challenges won’t keep you down!
A Sense of Adventure
Homeschooling is an adventure. You are going on the journey to educate your kids, you are going to need a sense of adventure for that! It also helps if you can look at both big and little outings as adventures.
A homeschool adventure can be going to pick berries or apples. It can be a trip to the grocery store where everyone helps. It can be a trip to the library to find new worlds to explore. But it also means exploring creeks and puddles, climbing trees, and digging holes to look for treasure.
A Sense of Self
The hardest thing about raising your kids as homeschoolers is that it may trigger you to realize things that were wrong in your own childhood. When your child passes a milestone without being bullied, you will be happy for them but may feel sad for little you.
Parenting can make you look back on your own childhood and see things differently. You realize things from the parent’s point of view are different, and you compare yourself to your own parents. The more time you spend with your kids, the more you may need to confront your own childhood. Being kind and patient with your own inner child is just as important as being kind and patient with your children. Both need your compassion.
I hope you have all of those! A sense of humor, a sense of adventure, and a sense of self. Those are the things that will carry you through!
About the Author
Laura Sowdon, OTR/L is an occupational therapist, writer, speaker, educator, and creator of the Five Senses Literature Lessons homeschool curriculum. She has worked as an occupational therapist with children in public and private schools, as well as private practice. Laura has taught and managed homeschool co-ops as well as homeschooling her own three children. Laura is dedicated to the idea of educating children at a pace that aligns with brain and physical development milestones and respects neurodiversity in all its forms.
