Perspective At The Finish Line

Do you remember that feeling you got as a kid when you were racing someone and about “out of gas,” and then the finish line came into view? The adrenaline kicked in, and you’d get a crazy burst of energy when you thought you were completely drained, right?

Well, we’re at the time of year when we get to do the homeschool parent version of that. For some of us, it feels like we have nothing left to give. Others may feel like we’ve fallen down so many times this year that we’ve already lost.

But, the finish line is in sight! And, we all have the opportunity to finish well—and even gain some important perspective about the homeschool year we’re completing!

If you’re feeling like this was less than a successful year, right now is a great time to re-align your thinking and do an assessment of your homeschool year with the definition of Christian homeschooling we talked about last week in mind.(If you missed that article, you can read all about it here.) We noted that…

Christian Homeschooling prioritizes the hearts of children. When priorities are in line: hearts are won, academic excellence is achieved as love of learning develops, and confidence grows in parents and children alike.

In light of your mission of going for the hearts of your children and allowing the academics to follow, how has your year really gone?

➡️ Did you spend time in conversations with your kiddos to get to the heart of a struggle or issue they were struggling with?

➡️ Did you find time to learn really cool stuff that may or may not have been on your lesson plan?

➡️ Did you have fun and build relationships with your children in a way that you couldn’t have done had you not been present with them each day?

➡️ Did you share some experiences and memories you wouldn’t trade for all the world?

As our children get older, it becomes so much clearer to me that those things, and not whether every workbook page was finished, are the true rubric that show us whether we had a successful homeschool year.

When I first started, I was plagued with a ton of doubts and questions, and I ended many of our homeschool years feeling like a failure (and sadly, often acting like Momzilla trying to rush through all the things I thought would indicate a successful year.)

The truth is, though, that learning is a very natural thing, and I’ve discovered that my children have learned things I didn’t even realize I was teaching. Three have already graduated and God is using them in amazing ways now. So, I promise that if God can work through my feeble efforts, He can use ANYONE!

Through the years, our family found that learning together has been an extremely fun way to live. I LOVE that God called us to homeschool. I LOVE that I was privileged to spend each and every day with my children. I LOVE that I got to know them so well, and I LOVE that I had a front row seat to see God at work in their lives day in and day out.

I imagine you do, too.

And, I encourage you to make those things front and center in your year-end performance review of yourself. I suspect the year you just spent with your children will look quite a bit different to you if you do!

Enjoy a much needed time of rest now that you’ve arrived at the finish line. Whether you homeschool all year round, or keep to a more traditional school calendar, it’s great to take a breather and mix things up a bit. You’ll be a lot more excited to start back up again if you do… and learning will continue whether you’re counting school days or not.

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