How you ever noticed couples that focus more on the wedding and the honeymoon than the marriage? The normalcy of wedded bliss causes many to go their separate ways. I think many of our newly minted homeschool families are making the same mistake. They are focused more on the curriculum, the cute décor, the Pinterest worthy chalkboard first day of school posts then the everyday, day-to-day, normal that homeschool must be. As with focusing on the glitter and gold of a wedding, marriage is not sustained by doughnut walls and glitter canons. No one is there when the recipe turns or burns no marriage coordinator to bring in a backup or a photographer to take the Insta worthy food pic. The same is unfortunately true with homeschooling. When the lesson blows up into tantrums and tears or when it results in a “story” post on the brilliance of your child and your amazing skills as a homeschool mom. And though we are in our homes we don’t have to be alone, we don’t have to do this alone. This is what homeschool support groups are all about.
Your homeschool will be what it will be, picture-perfect, or covered in messy creative clutter at all times. That isn’t what matters the most. What matters is recognizing that homeschool isn’t a sprint, it’s more of a marathon if it is a race at all. It is the long haul, it is crossing the country in a VW bus versus transporting Star Trek style. Homeschool involves being a parent, teacher, cook, janitorial supervisor, taxi driver, don’t forget tech support. Managing all these rolls with the normal and abnormal stressors we all find ourselves under will cause you to search out your favorite hiding place. Don’t deny it we have all eaten a candy bar while hiding in the master closet!
I want to prepare you for the road ahead. I don’t want to tell you how to get there, what your vehicle should look like, or what your destination should be. I want you to know when you hit the wall, when you hit the doldrums of November or February, when you want to shut up shop early and buy next year’s curriculum that not only is that NORMAL and expected but that I have been there and we can help each other out.
Homeschool support groups like our P.A.T.C.H. or the social media options we have available to all ages can be your community, your sounding board, your source of accountability, and where you can come to share the celebrations and high points of watching your child “get it” for the first time. When the light goes on, when they look to you like you just opened the door at the back of the wardrobe and they are seeing a whole new world…those moments we share, we polish, we add our own too, these are the golden moments, they don’t glitter and fade they only get better with time.
