"I could never homeschool my kids"

That's what people say to me all the time. Yeah, me too. I could never do it if I wasn't certain that it was what I was supposed to be doing. Sort of like getting the flu....you don't get it because you want it, you just get it. Although there are a lot more benefits to homeschooling.

Homeschooling is hard work. Relentless, you might say. It's there, staring you in the face on Monday morning, and every morning, except maybe Saturday and Sunday. It's a full-time job, but it doesn't take you out of the home. You stay in the house with all your kids, messing it up all day long. Quite unlike sending your kids off to school on the bus and going to the office while your house stays as neat (or as messy) as you left it.

Planning for the next year often starts in the spring, before school is even out for the summer. If you wait until July to order books, chances are there will be shipping delays and back orders. Most of my summer is spent planning and entering lessons into Homeschool Tracker. I rarely am able to tackle more than one of those big jobs on my list that need to be done around the house.

You're with your kids all the time. All day long. And it can be hard to get a break. Even if you have a great husband, like mine, who says, go to Mom's Night Out, or go to a movie, or go out for coffee with a friend, or whatever, it doesn't seem to be enough. I've done those things and had a great time, but I came home and the world just came crashing down around me again. All the stress, the mess, the to-do lists, the needy children. The relaxing times never helped for more than a few minutes.

There's only one way to succeed at homeschooling that I know of. Prayer. Preferably not a "God help me. I'm at my wits end" prayer, but a prayer for God's glory. Prayer where you draw yourself close to Him and give Him the love He deserves, and in return He gives all you need.

Don't get me wrong. I fall waaaaay short of this goal. It's a constant effort to pray more, do more spiritual reading, get to Adoration more, but it's an effort that pays off abundantly. Unlike, say, the laundry, where constant effort will still result in more work to do. The times when I've been really diligent about morning prayer have always been the most fruitful and peaceful for me and the kids.

Homeschooling Helps:
Daily Mass as much as possible
Weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament---with or without kids. "With" can be difficult and trying, but very beneficial!
Morning Offering
Morning Prayer/Spiritual Reading---Magnificat has been one of my favorite tools. Children can be taught to wait for a few minutes while you do this. Read to them for your book, or have a basket of Bible and saint stories for them to read to themselves.
Family Rosary---We just pray a decade of the Rosary every night as a family. I try to get my own rosary in as often as possible.

During busy seasons with small children, just remembering to offer different activities to God for a special intention helps. Every effort to draw closer to God helps, even if it's not the quiet, uninterrupted prayer of a monastery!

I'm sure some of you have tips, too. Carol??? Shelly? Anyone?