Homeschool Interrupted

Homeschool Interrupted

Like any good over-organized, super-structured homeschool mom, I had the plans laid out for the day.  We would get up, eat a healthy breakfast, start our day in God’s word, then move strategically on to our core subjects, which my children would look forward to with eager anticipation.  We would get our work done by noon and maybe even fit in mission project – all before naptime!

There was one thing I didn’t see coming.

Well, five actually.  As I looked outside, I thanked God for this beautiful day He had in store for us.  That is when I saw something.  Five somethings.  There appeared to be five donkeys standing in my front yard!  Now, we do live out in the country, but even so, this was a little odd!  My kids were elated. (I was too!) Since we were distracted for about 2 hours (all of which involved calling the Sheriff’s department), our perfect schedule for the day was ruined.  Or, was it?  As soon as we saw the donkeys, we decided to do a little research about donkeys in general and even looked up the particular breed that had invaded our day.  It was a great science lesson that had landed in our lap, or should I say, yard!

Since it was near Easter, we had been learning about the Triumphal Entry, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey.  Now we could see them up close and personal and even go further in depth as we imagined what it must have been like for Jesus to ride on a donkey and the meaning behind it.  It turned out to be a much better “school” day than what I had planned.  No, we didn’t get to our reading workbooks or our history timeline, but we took advantage of what God had in store for us that day.

Still, the nagging guilt remains.  

After having spent years as a public school teacher, I often find myself measuring the success of our homeschool by what material we have covered by the end of the week.  Did we cover all the objectives?  Are we staying on track to meet our goals by the end of the school year?  Are we spending too much time in one subject and not enough time in another?  It is great to ask ourselves these questions and reevaluate our direction, but we can’t miss the forest for the trees.

Our main calling is to disciple our children.  

We often cannot do that well when we are rushing through curriculum at daring speeds just to “get it all done” and to feel accomplished.  We feel like we can mark another things off our list, marveling and what we have gotten done that day.  Meanwhile, did we shepherd our kids’ hearts?  Do we know their struggles?  Did we (yes, I’m going to say it…..) play with them?

Maybe some of the public school teacher in me attributes to the fear of “falling behind,” and the constant pressure I feel to get everyone back on task.  At the end of the day, though, the only thing that matters is the eternal.  Did I show them Jesus?  Did I teach them about His character?  Am I living out the truth of the gospel in my home?  If we are having trouble answering these questions, we need to go back to the drawing board, and back to the foot of the Cross.  Is our ultimate mission to finish our curriculum or to make disciples that can go preach the gospel to the ends of the earth?

My name is Andrea.  I’m a daughter of the King, church planter’s wife, and mom of four amazing kids.  I am a public school teacher that felt God’s tug on my heart to start homeschooling my kids.  I have a heart for family discipleship and write about my daily experiences of God’s grace on my blog at gracefoundus.com.  I’ve been married for 10 years to my amazing husband, Kris.  Our kids, ages 3-8, include three boys, Kaleb, Noah, and Brady, and one girl, Mercy Grace.  As a family, we love to work with the homeless ministry in our city.  On the weekends, you can find us riding bikes and eating anywhere kids eat free!