Whether last year was heavy or light, we can start this next year off with hope. Why? Because we have Jesus, and that makes all the difference.
Today I would like to show you just how this year can be your best one yet. We will be talking about three keys that will unlock this gracious gift for you:
* Enthusiasm—being so enthused with learning that it catches on with your kids.
* Knowing Your Purpose—fighting for the Kingdom one child at a time.
* Goals that inspire—ones that will carry you through the hard days.
Implementing these three keys will help you open the gift of the Father’s great heart of hope for you in your role as mommy to your children.
First, let’s talk about the importance of enthusiasm.
I know what you’ve been led to think; that the most important things are shoving facts into brains and getting good grades.
But those things are only peripherals. It’s really all about RELATIONSHIPS.
This is the singular element you need to homeschool. It is more important than what books or methods you may choose.
Relationships in all different directions; relationships between subjects, relationships between eras; relationships between the spiritual and the physical; relationships between actions and consequences; and, yes, relationships between people.
In fact, the most impacting part of homeschooling is the relationship between the teacher and the pupil; the relationship between you and your children.
Within this primary relationship flows the entire schema of your child’s education. No matter how hard we try and divorce ourselves from this fact, it is inevitable.
Your child’s concept of reading, math, and learning in general will primarily be shaped by your attitude. Note that I did not say it would be shaped by your ability.
To illustrate this, just think about the education of Dr. Ben Carson. His mother was unable to read, yet she fostered a love of reading and learning in her boys that helped her son attain to some of the greatest heights of medicine and government.
It was her enthusiasm that made the difference, not her ability.
Looking over my own past, I remember best the teachers who were enthusiastic about the subject they were teaching. The rest faded into my memory.
There was one history teacher in particular I remember. He didn’t rely on the textbook, but he was excited about the founding fathers and spent most of the hour he had each day telling us story after story and enlightening us on the details of the events we were studying. This inspired me to look at origins of the United States differently and left an impression that followed me into homeschooling my own children.
Sadly, he was replaced mid-term by a teacher who didn’t care. After barking out a few instructions about reading the next chapter and getting ready for the unit test, this replacement spent each class period at his desk behind a newspaper.
He turned history hour into nap time.
Just like most of us, when I first started teaching my children, I assumed it was all about shoving information into their minds. I also assumed the most efficient way to do this was with prepared curriculum.
At first, the sparkle of all the new books was exhilarating. We stacked them up, flipped through them, even smelled them (am I the only one that enjoys the scent of printed material?).
But, after the newness wore off, we were left with the tedium of reading canned information and filling in endless blanks with predictable information.
The curious, creative part of us was being smothered by the procedural requirements of the material.
What I could not stand was watching my dearest, most precious little boy sitting for hours with his chubby hand tucked under his chin as he scribbled in line after line in his workbooks. He was trying desperately to please me, so he was enduring the boredom, but he wasn’t happy.
Thankfully, I started to research and explore other options. Via different periodicals, limited online research, and limited online encouragement, I was able to look past the curriculum to the roots of true learning.
I ventured out beyond the scope and sequence of the typical school schedule and started tackling subjects that sparked my own interest.
Before long, homeschooling was not a horrid bore; it was the most delightful part of the day. We all rushed through chores so we could sit around and feast on learning together.
Inspiration sparked fires in each of our children that continue to warm and enthuse as they have gone on to be adults.
More than good grades and good jobs, this should be the goal we adopt as we homeschool.
Next, let’s talk about knowing your purpose.
Do you know your purpose? Why are you doing this homeschooling thing, anyway?
It’s OK if you are a bit confused about it. I think you could say I have been pretty ditsy at times myself (I’m a natural blonde, so it may just come with the territory).
It used to be I was homeschooling for two main things:
* To raise religious saints
* To raise absolutely successful geniuses
These two purposes looked pretty good at first, but I soon found out their main flaw: it was all about ME.
Oh yeah, it would be great for the kids to become devout intellectuals touted by the leaders of the world—it would make me look pretty good and vindicate me for homeschooling in the first place—but it would be wrong.
It would be wrong because it wouldn’t be about:
* God’s purposes.
* The child’s purposes.
Besides, what did I know about religious saints and successful geniuses? I had never met any, and I found the portrayals were not accurate at all.
For one thing, religious saints usually are not religious, and they are rarely hailed in their own time. Typically, no one even knows about them until years after they have passed, and they mostly lived humble, unremarkable lives.
For another thing, the term “successful genius” is an oxymoron. Those who are successful are rarely geniuses, and those who are geniuses are rarely successful. Also, geniuses tend to be paupers, and those who are successful tend to be immoral or aggravating to the point of taking success and leaving destruction in its wake.
No, these purposes were only ego-stroking on my part.
God’s purposes for each child are different, and He doesn’t always share them with me.
What He does share, if I am listening, is the next step.
So, my purpose is to listen, then obey.
This is your purpose, too.
As you deal with your child, and as you sit and try and make sense of what your child needs and when, you must develop your ability to be quiet and pay attention to that still, quiet voice within you. Ask God, and He will help you. It may not come to you all at once, and it may not occur to you as you are perusing a homeschool supply site.
It may be that He gives you insight as you are stirring the gravy or folding the towels. It might be in the middle of the night with a dream.
But if you ask in expectation, in faith, He’ll give you what you need. He will supply the purpose as you go along.
Feeling unsure about this step? Just remember what Jesus said: “Only believe.” Relax into your faith with expectation and it will come, trust me.
Thirdly, let’s discuss goals, which we have already partly addressed.
What are our goals?
In the world’s understanding, our goals should be something like graduating our children with all A’s.
That’s the simplistic, surface way you’ve been taught to look at education. With this in mind, any old curriculum will do, just as long as you can shuffle your child through the grades so they get to graduation, then you can breathe a sigh of relief that your job is done.
Hopefully, you can coax your child into going to college or pursuing some sort of career, and that will put the necessary feather in your cap.
Homeschooling this way is basically the same system we opted out of, only with a few Bible verses thrown in.
But what if there are higher goals?
What if learning to read and write and do math is more about preparing them, not for college or a job, but for a whole life?
Our existence is more than filling a space in a cubicle somewhere. It is about those relationships we talked about.
Your child needs to know more than how to fill out a job application; he needs to know how to be respectful, kind, and to do good work even when no one is watching.
Your child needs to know how to handle a boss who is nasty, a spouse who is disagreeable, a child who is whiny.
They need to know what to do in an emergency situation, and how to diffuse someone who is out of control.
They need to know what to do with boredom, depression, and happiness.
If you keep the goal of growing a whole person in mind, it will solve a lot of your anxiety.
Instead of seeing your child as either a success or failure based on pure academic performance, you will be able to accept them for their personal strengths and weaknesses and adjust accordingly.
It will relegate academic performance to its proper place in the backseat of the car, or as the servant to the more important parts of one’s existence.
Whether your child is three or thirteen, you can begin incorporating these three things as soon as you finish reading this post or listening to the podcast.
To recap they are:
* Enthusiasm—so that your children will be excited about learning for the rest of their lives.
* Knowing your purpose—to listen and obey one step at a time.
* Knowing your goals—to rear a child who is prepared for life as a whole person.
With these precepts in mind, 2026 can become your best year yet!
If this post has inspired you, there is more to come. In the Mom Delights community we go deeper than curriculum reviews into the why’s and wherefores of homeschooling.
In the following weeks My intent is to go more in depth, beginning with the idea of enthusiasm, because without this vital key nothing else works. After expanding on these three main principles, I will show you a picture of how these principles can be applied in real life.
Until then, be blessed in Jesus!
