As we begin our 3rd year of homeschooling, I am seeing more and more every year how homeschooling is about me learning too. I am learning right alongside my children. Not necessarily academically (although as we begin Classical Conversations this year I think I will be learning right alongside of them academically and I am very excited about that) but as a person. God is using my role as homeschool mother to shape and mold me to be more like Him. This is not something I was expecting when I took on the role as “teacher” to my children. However, homeschool mom is my biggest, most important role right now in life – it is my calling in this season of my life – so it only makes sense that God would use this as a way to mold me more to His image.

1. Focus my mind on the Lord first thing every morning.

We began school on July 13th and did 3 weeks of school before taking 1 week of break for vacation to the mountains. Those first 3 weeks of school I really tried to make an effort to put my mind on the Lord first thing when I woke up. This meant that instead of reaching for my cellphone to check email or texts upon waking up enough to be coherent, I would focus my mind on what God has called me to do in this season of my life. And in this season of my life my job is my children. When we are going about our day and I see a heart-issue arise in my daughter, I can take the time right then and there to stop what we are doing and talk about it with her. I can teach her what God’s Word has to say about the issue at hand and I can lead and guide her to the way that pleases the Lord.

It is so very easy for me to forget that this is what matters in my life right now: the hearts of my children. I have the most influence I will ever have on my children right now, while they are young. I not only have the privilege to mold their little hearts to the ways of the Lord, but it is my God-given responsibility as their mother to mold their hearts to Jesus.

In the midst of a baby, dirty diapers, dirty dishes in the sink 3 times a day, food littered under the kitchen table just as many times in one day, the girls fighting and arguing with each other, toys spread over the house and the battles that ensue in getting everyone to clean up, homeschooling a child that some days just has a rotten attitude…..it is sometimes hard to remember what is most important and what my calling in life is right now.

But if I turn my focus to the Lord in those few minutes before I roll out of bed to begin another day, I have found that my perspective on things that happen throughout the day (all those lovely things mentioned above) is drastically different than if I fill myself up with scrolling through my cellphone in those few precious moments I have before getting out of bed. If I choose to fill myself up with that, when the girls start arguing 3.5 seconds after leaving the breakfast table, I am more likely to get frustrated with them and ask them why they can’t just get along for once…which accomplishes nothing!

If I’ve consciously put my focus on the Lord that morning and thought about what my job is right now, I am much more likely to stop what I am trying to get done before we start school and help the girls work through their problem by teaching them ways to solve conflict with one another. Because, after all, they are just children who are sinners – just like me! – and all they need is direction and teaching in the ways that they should go. Even if you’ve taught them this for the 1,459th time.

I am no saint. I think because of my quiet nature, I am sometimes perceived as having it all together and that I am always patient with my children. I am a sinner just like everyone else. I wish I could say I’ve never gotten angry at my children.

We just went through an especially trying week or so with Little Bug recently. Weeks like that drain me! One morning I was laying in bed dreading having to deal with Little Bug again, and, instead of reaching for my cellphone, I prayed. I prayed God would give me the strength for another day dealing with her antics and the wisdom to know how to mold her heart towards God. In that moment it dawned on me that that was how I should start every single morning. Since that morning, I’ve been trying to train my mind to go to Jesus upon waking up.

The mornings I have successfully put my focus on the Lord first thing in the morning, I have noticed a huge difference in how I deal with the circumstances of the day. My heart is focused on my tasks at hand. And I’m not talking about all the nitty-gritty mundane tasks that fill my day every day. I am talking about the Big Picture view of my days.

I am able to see more clearly the privilege and blessing that lies before me each morning as I have another day to teach and train my children in the way that they should go.

2. Keep a mindset of simplicity as I school my children.

I wrote here how God has essentially used the circumstances of Sarge’s sudden adoption to draw my heart towards a Classical Education for my children. This year our educational focus will be simple, yet rich. I will begin to pour foundational core knowledge my children will need to know down the road in their educational journeys. As for this year, we will keep things simple with language arts, math, handwriting/copy work and Classical Conversations Memory Work. The rest of our time will be filled with reading good books, exploring nature and building community with our CC group. Knowing that is all I need to do for my children in this stage of their education is so freeing. A 1st grader with more subjects on her plate than fingers on her hands is just not necessary! I am so thankful to feel like I don’t have to do more with my children to give them the best. When it comes to educating them, less really is more. This year I want to continue to fully embrace this way of thinking and to continue to learn how to educate my children classically.

Here are my previous Mom Goals: 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

- Elaine