There are parents, who because of their circumstances, find it difficult to squeeze one more hour out of a day. However, it is very easy to overestimate the amount of time it takes to educate our children at home. Education is all about learning to live, and homeschooling provides the time to cultivate life!
Most homeschoolers spend approximately half of the day fulfilling “state requirements” or the basics. Remember, your child doesn’t have to wait for the rest of the class to finish, endure busywork, or stand in line.
If you take advantage of the flexibility homeschooling allows, you will go the speed your child is comfortable with rather than scheduling in 60-minute blocks.
As you encourage your children’s independence, your time will not be constantly required as your children work through their various activities. They may even surprise you by coming up with some pretty amazing projects on their own!
“For the Christian, time is transfigured as we see it held in the love of God, created by and for Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the primacy over all created things and who existed before everything and holds everything together. We see the past as God’s continuous action in man’s history, giving him freedom to act, and the future as belonging also to Him and holding for us the hope of redemption. We are given the present within which to choose whom we will serve, knowing that this moment affects the next and we are accountable for it.”
Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline: The Glad Surrender
Managing our time boils down to managing our priorities. What higher priorities can there be for parents than carrying out the work we have been given, being good stewards of the blessings that have been entrusted to us?
Additional Resources
10 Ideas for Overcoming Lazy Habits
OK, maybe you are not lazy, but here are ideas that might help you get more done.
Managers of Their Homes by Steven and Teri Maxwell
One of the most difficult things to get a handle on when we start educating our children at home is our schedule. There are only so many hours in a day. Along with our duties as wives and mothers, we add curriculum planner, tutor, and a host of other duties related to our homeschool. Whether you use this book as written or modify to fit your needs, you will nonetheless come away with ideas for getting it all done! Read our entire review.
Scheduling
More scheduling helps.
Time-Saving Devices
Part one of a three-part series on managing time.
Further Reading
It’s About Time!
“One of the first things I noticed in homeschooling my children was that the academics didn’t take up as much time as I thought they would, and we were able to do a lot of additional productive, fruitful, and creative activities both inside and outside the home…. We all have the same number of hours in our days, but homeschool families have the flexibility, blessing, and opportunity to use them wisely and efficiently.” Article by Deborah Wuehler, Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
The Truth About How Long Homeschooling Takes Each Day
And the answer is…it depends! Article at Sonlight.
You must be logged in to post a comment.