Motivational Monday (Back to School Blog Hop)

 
Welcome to Monday and the first day of the Back To School Blog Hop featuring the members of the Homeschool Review Crew.  It's all of our hope that throughout the week, we can bring you a bit of insight, motivation and encouragement.

For those new to homeschooling, or those who are dreading the start of a new year, we kick off the week with Motivation Monday.

Now, I would love to be the one to tell you that Homeschooling is always such a blessing, that the kids will respond well to what your trying to teach them and they will always try their hardest to soak in all the information give to them.  Alas, that was not my homeschool journey.  Instead, my journey was originally one of chaos.  My kids would NEVER sit still and they would constantly cry because they didn't want to read or to write.  Honestly, they didn't want to do anything.  Everything was a fight, especially with my son.  There were plenty of times I sat in my bedroom at night and cried, wondering if I was making the right choice keeping them home. I worried that maybe I should at least send my youngest to public school because I didn't want her education hindered by my son not wanting to learn.   Things were NOT working in my homeschool.

On top of the behavioral problems we had early on, there was also a huge problem with me.  I couldn't keep organized to save my own life.  Books were scattered everywhere, I would write lesson plans and not follow them.  I don't know how I expected my kids to do what they were suppose to do when I couldn't do what I was suppose to do.

Point is, I made a lot of mistakes in those first few years.  For one, I expected that my kids would perform just like they would have had they been sitting in a traditional public school classroom.  But wasn't that what I was homeschooling them for in the first place - to avoid a traditional public school classroom?  Why would I keep them home just to mimic public school at home??   And so we change things up and I found other teaching methods that my kids responded better to.  I catered learning to their strengths and their interests, tailoring our lessons to what I knew they would want to learn from.  We steered away from textbook learning and instead used more videos.  Why read about the Panama canal and how it works when you can instead watch a documentary showing how it works?

“Don’t wait on perfect conditions for success to happen; just go ahead and do something.” –Dan Miller

Don't beat yourself up over those things your students don't respond well to.  If a curriculum isn't a fit, either modify it to be a better fit for you or sell it to recoup your money and move on.  Don't force you and your student to make it fit just because you think you NEED to do it.  Like Dan Miller said, "Don't wait on perfect conditions for success to happen; just go ahead and do something."..  If you wait for perfect conditions, you might be waiting a long time.  Instead, do your own thing and make learning happen.

Also, remember there is nothing wrong in taking a day off every now and again and allowing yourself to reset.  If a particular math lesson has caused large amount of stress, take a day or two off from the lesson.  Instead, head outside for a nature study.  Look at clouds, identify plants, get your hands dirty. That math lesson will be there when you return and if you're stressed, your kids are probably stressed too.  Taking that moment to take a break and recharge might just be what all of you need.  You might just be surprised when you return to the lesson to find that it goes much easier afterwards.

But most of all, remember this.  You are doing a GREAT job.  Even if it seems otherwise, you are setting the foundation that your students education will build upon.  Even if you only manage to teach them a few things in those early years, each block will provide the support for later down the road.  Slow and steady will win the race and you've given your child a great start.

Click the banner below to read other Motivational Monday Posts from the Crew. 

The following Homeschool Review Crew Members will be participating in the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop.  Click on any of their blogs to read what messages of motivation they have ready for you today :)  

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Angie @ Run Ran Family Adventures & Learning
Annette @ A Net in Time
Ashley @ Gift of Chaos
Betty @ Let’s Get Real
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses