Learning to Adapt

Learning to Adapt; Adapting to Learn

February 27, 2012

What makes a good homeschool mom?

I really think it all comes down to this: being willing to adapt. I am constantly questioning, constantly evaluating and re-evaluating everything I do, down to the most minute detail. (I tend to be pretty self-critical.)

Sometimes I wonder if I'm good enough. Am I a good enough teacher? Are my kids going to turn out normal?

Fortunately, something always comes along to give me that boost of encouragement I need. Our God is faithful to keep us on the path that He has chosen for us.

As a homeschool mom, I have to be willing to release worry and fear, and lean instead on God, faith and the realization that no situation is ever perfect. I am going to mess up. I am human. That's what we do.

Fortunately, I have a perfect God who can turn my errors into perfection. He is faithful to guide me to the right path, so long as I keep my heart fixed on him.

I submit my homeschool to His guidance, and I try to keep my heart open to hear His voice.

The last few weeks have been a little rough with our homeschool. I let go of structure completely, and things went a little haywire. We were waking up way too late (after 10), starting even later, and by the time we began I was exhausted and ready to quit. I didn't feel like I was getting much time with the kids at all.

In retrospect, I wonder how much of it was mistake and how much was just circumstance. It's hard to separate fault from accident sometimes. I do know, though, that have been much relieved in the last week to have returned to a more structured day.

We are waking earlier and finishing school by the early afternoon. That has freed me to work in the afternoons instead of dragging through late at night...when I'm too tired to have any motivation to accomplish much of anything.

We are even managing to keep the house picked up, so that we awake to (relative) cleanliness and order. It feels good.

I try to keep in mind, though, that bad days will come again. I will get flustered. We will get unorganized...BUT, we will muddle through. We will make adjustments, and we will be back onto good days again.


Homeschooling requires that willingness to adapt...to shift gears and try something different when you get stuck in a rut ...to come at obstacles with new directions and innovative perspectives ...to be willing to simply keep going, even when it gets hard ... to be willing to learn to adapt.