Don’t be fooled by their laminators, extensive knowledge of curriculum choices or their seemingly well-rested kid- homeschool moms do not have it all together all the time. We have our horrible days and we feel like something is always left undone, just as everyone else.
Sometimes we homeschoolers get pegged as cape-wearers . . . and sometimes we get a little prideful of that, too. But the fact is, we have days when the toddler dismantles the backdoor and lost the screw in the process. And what happens when the homeschool kid isn’t the geography whiz everyone assumes? With all the plates spinning, one or two sometimes wobble off. Is that okay?
My own superhero status was in major jeopardy when I was pregnant with my son and my older girls were in second and third grades. During the first trimester, I could barely keep my eyes open during the ever-painful phonetic readers. There was one particular day that I handed my kids the laptop with a science video queued up and found somewhere to lie down. I never found out if my kids watched that video or if they learned anything. All of my great intentions flew out of the homeschool window . . . and thankfully, too…. because the birth of that third baby went very differently than I planned and all of my great preparations were scrapped.
For the momma who feels the stress of getting it all done superhero style – relax. Let’s be real and admit that everything will not get completed like you want it. There are storehouses filled with great books that match perfectly with your lap book themes which won’t get read . . . and that’s ok. Pick your priorities and focus on those things. Outsource as many chores and tasks as you can and let the rest get completed when it gets completed. If the kids are fed, relatively clean and learning at a steady pace, then you’ve earned superhero status for the day.
For those looking into our mysterious, homeschool comic book world – take a moment to consider what you don’t see. You didn’t see us lose our patience with the kids for the millionth time. You did see us prepare an incredibly unbalanced meal of buttery pasta and pancakes because it’s the end of the month. And you didn’t hear the sigh of feelings of defeat when the kids’ coursework isn’t going as planned. We are regular moms that just happen to have our kids around several more hours a day than others and know our way around a reading lesson, blindfolded.
Let’s all peel off our eye-masks, take off the knee-high leather boots, and see ourselves and each other as we truly are – moms loving our kids in all kinds of great ways! Raising kids is super tough work and we all deserve a bright, red cape for doing it well.
Lindsay Banton is a caffeinated mother to three great kids. She never expected to homeschool, but has found that it is a wonderful addition to their lifestyle and wouldn’t change it for the world. In addition to homeschooling, Lindsay works alongside her husband in campus ministry at a large university in Connecticut. She grew up in Virginia but has settled into life in New England, learning to love the long winters, cool springs, green summers and gorgeous autumns- and has built a boot collection to meet all the demands. She is currently blogging at www.oaksreplanted.blogspot.com.