The Unhurried Homeschool: Practical Tips for a Spirit-Filled, Peaceful Journey

 

"Keep your focus Christ-centered and you will have peace,

 he will never steer you wrong."

I wanted to share with you a few things that helped me in hopes it will make your journey easier.

At the beginning of my homeschooling journey I was so frazzled, stressed, and worried about what to do with my kids, I wondered if they were learning or if the curriculum was the best one amongst many other things. However, the key component that was missing was that I was not including Christ in this journey and I was not using his teachings about rest. Rest is not laziness but it’s the peace and wisdom he gives us while navigating in this world.

I am not saying there won’t be any stressors, but when we lean on God’s word and the way he teaches us to be, we can homeschool with more comfort and realize we aren’t alone.

These tips are going to be practical as well, so even if you are not a Christian they can be beneficial for you, and my prayer is that you will consider Jesus and that the gospel message gets to you very soon. xoxo

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes -Romans 1:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. — John 3:16

In a world that’s filled with so much chaos and confusion, things can get overwhelming even for the believer. We want to protect our children from the world but at the same time we have to teach them how to focus and be the light in it, all while sticking to biblical principles and sharing the love of Christ

Aside from us knowing we have to put Christ first, how do we do that while giving our children a quality education? How do we make sure that we are managing our time and still showing them how to interact with other humans? This short blog post will give you 4 simple tips on how to do that even if you don’t have a lot of time.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4: 6–7

Simplifying Your Day

The first thing you want to do is start your day with the word of God. Pray and ask the Lord what he wants you to read for the day. If you still are not sure, I recommend picking a Psalm for comfort or a Proverb for wisdom. If I am reading a Proverb, I choose whatever goes along with the date to keep it simple.

Have your lessons planned for the week. Each Sunday I take the time to plan out all the boys (I have 4) lessons for the week. I keep it simple. I have 4 boys, and one is a toddler, so over time I have learned not to overthink the process. I tear out the sheets in their books each week and put them in a folder I have set aside for each boy and I date the sheets. That way when it’s time to get started each day I just grab their folders and pull out their lessons for the day and we can get started quickly.

I also grade most of their work the day they do it to make life easier, however, there are days when I can’t so I put those sheets in a separate folder and grade them on Sunday before I lesson plan

Give Yourself Grace and Trust God

When you are feeling overwhelmed, stop and breathe and trust God. Anxiety is not from him. I like to meditate on these scriptures, when I start to feel overwhelmed. I like to meditate on the scriptures listed at the bottom of this page.

Give yourself some grace! There will be times when you are frustrated and overwhelmed, whether the lesson didn’t get finished that day or if it seems like your child does not understand, the lesson, keep in mind the world will make you anxious and put pressure on you to perform and do this perfectly today. That creates anxiety and that is not from God. Trust me when I say this, your kids are learning more than you think. It’s okay to take a little extra time on the area they need help with even if you don’t finish the other lessons for that day. It can get done the next day, or later in the week, and God will make sure you are ok, and have the wisdom you need to keep going.

When I start to feel overwhelmed or anxious I like to meditate on this scripture:

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

-Matthew 6:31–34

Include The Word of God in Your Curriculum

In a world full of such craziness, it is important to share the word of God regularly with your kids so that they can learn sound doctrine and apply it to their lives the way God intended. I initially was going to say do this daily, and daily is the goal, however, that doesn’t always happen. So try the best you can and don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or some days, you can make up for it. This will help them so they can help others and have a better life, the way Christ wants us to.

Have your kids read their bibles. You can keep this simple and the great thing is that kids are like sponges. Even 5–10 minutes a day is good. The key is to get your kids in the habit of being consistent. The book I use the most for my boys is called, The Bible Made Easy for Kids”, by Dave Strehler. This book is biblically sound and easy to use and will take 10 minutes of your day. You can do this right before your lessons start.

It’s OK to Create Your Own Assignments if You are Short on Time.

Remember that we don’t have to operate like the world and it is ok to teach from a place of rest. It’s ok to pause and let the Lord know if you are overwhelmed and he will give you ideas for the day or you can make up your own.

On days when you don’t have time or energy, it’s okay to create your own assignments for the kids. If anyone understands that overwhelm it’s me. I have 4 boys and one is a toddler and I run my own business from home so trust me If you looked in the dictionary and saw the word overwhelm, my picture would be right next to it...lol. But keep in mind that our kids are getting one-on-one help from us and that’s very beneficial.

On days when you have less time, spend 15–20 minutes on each subject reviewing some things your kid may have had trouble with. Then you can supplement with some learning channels from YouTube.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30

To sum things up, I hope these tips help you and I plan on sharing more things in the near future, that can help others not make some of the same mistakes I have made.