Homeschool Help: The Right Path

Stay On Your Path

Homeschooling is filled with so many ever-changing seasons.

At the start, and having little ones, our first year was met with excitement, encouragement, and instant reward. As the years (thankfully) keep stacking up, there has been a natural shift and change taking place. While our love for learning on our own terms has grown immensely, there has been an evolving groove taking place that I feel is important to share-

not just for those just starting on their journey, but those who have been in the homeschool trenches for a while.

At the end of our first year, I was pumped to start planning for the next. For a number of reasons, I expected our years to continue with the same momentum it had began with. What I discovered was that, while we were still thrilled to be homeschooling, each new year the momentum didn't propel as far. Encouragement from others began to stall, (largely because we were doing so well) excitement tapered, and progress required more investment than before.

By year four, I began to wonder...

Are these feelings right?

Things were feeling different than what I had previously experienced.

I certainly didn't want to stop homeschooling, we absolutely love our homeschool, so why was I not experiencing the same sort of "OOMPH" or "PIZZAZZ" that I had before?

Was I losing my touch?

Or worse, was I losing my motivation?

Feelings like these can begin to make you doubt,

Are we on the right path?

A New Season

Before heading down a rabbit hole of clouded feelings and doubt, I took a breath, prayed, and began to look back.

Reflecting on all we had created; the progress, the struggles, the accomplishments, and the laughs.

I remembered them little, eagerly embracing every bit of learning, playing, and discovering things at every turn.

I remembered them learning to read, investigate, and question.

I remembered them testing their ideas, formulating information on their own, and explaining new concepts.

Then it struck me-

Our path hasn't changed, while it may be looking different than before,

it's still our path,

it's just in a new season.

A season of maturing.

The years spent laying a foundation for a love of learning were laid. It was now being built upon and utilized.

Homeschooling provides such an amazing opportunity to grow along side your children, in every aspect of life, that much I knew and appreciated. What I didn't realize though, was while I had been continuously cultivating and nurturing those opportunities, I had overlooked that I had been changing too. Just as their learning was evolving, so was my readiness to change with them. Whether that be in my approach to teaching them, or taking a step back, and giving them more independence with their learning techniques.

Whichever was needed, it was indeed a change.

AND CHANGE IS GOOD!

Even when it feels unsettling.

It's a bit difficult for me to articulate the feeling properly, and perhaps, with more time I will be able to, but I do hope that if you are at the cusp of entering a new homeschool season, blindly like I was,

let me encourage you;