2008-04-1

Bad Homeschool Days are like Giving Birth

Children refusing to cooperate shower me with tears and pelt me with complaints. Some days distractions swallow every plan, or we work on nothing but attitudes. Bug mopes in his room. Sweet Pea sobs at the doorway. And Sunshine plays hide and seek, except I didn’t ask to play. Where is that child? I find her in the bathroom painting her toenails with mascara. I want to scream. I want to quit, but quit what?

Viggo Christian Fredrick Pedersen, A Mother and Children by the Window at Dusk

I cannot stop being a parent. I cannot stop loving my children. Yes, my oldest could attend school. That has been suggested by well-meaning family and even by my son, but would that bring resolution? Our time would be more compressed, and character issues are not erased by trading one circumstance for another. There is no utopia.

Perhaps the only solution is to endure for the joy set before me. The joy of reasoning with my children. The joy of seeing them grow in wisdom. The joy of learning love through suffering.

After a terrible, no good, very bad day, the uneasy dread of the experience stays with me, but spiteful words and specific instances are harder to retrieve from my memory. Bad homeschool days are like giving birth. Once you behold the result of the effort, the pain fades.

Find out more about the Challenges of Homeschool at Home Education Week

Related posts:

  1. Preserving Sanity
  2. No Degree Required, Reason 3 Why I Homeschool
  3. Can I go to School?
  4. Homeschool Freebie of the Day
  5. Home

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14 Comments

  1. Morning Rose 2008-04-1, 3:22 pm

    I enjoyed your post. Homeschooling isn’t always easy, but the results are worth it. I like the verse in your header too.

  2. Rebecca 2008-04-1, 3:35 pm

    After today, I needed that reminder. Thanks for sharing this reflection. BTW, I love the new look of your blog.

  3. Christy 2008-04-1, 4:00 pm

    For what it’s worth, I always say, “I’d rather give birth than have tooth pain.”

  4. Julie 2008-04-1, 4:19 pm

    I had Marissa in school through 7th grade. We have been homeschooling 3 years. My worst homeschool day is better than my best public school day. Homeschooling at least ends. The public school sends work lasting well into the night.

  5. Emily 2008-04-1, 5:05 pm

    yep. I understand FULLY. You’re right about trading one thing for another. I agree w/ that.

  6. Cheryl 2008-04-1, 6:17 pm

    {{Sigh of relief}} It’s not just me!

  7. Heather Young 2008-04-1, 6:20 pm

    :) Yep, some days are like that both as a parent and as a homeschooler. :)

  8. Charity 2008-04-1, 7:59 pm

    “spiteful words and specific instances are harder to retrieve from my memory”

    That happens with me too. Sometimes when my husband comes home and asks me how things were, I can’t recall why it was a bad day, I just know it was, but usually by then things are better.

    I love your analogy!

  9. Dana 2008-04-1, 9:08 pm

    Beautiful post, Renae. And I can relate to this, for I’ve thought it myself:

    I want to quit, but quit what?d

  10. Jennifer in OR 2008-04-2, 1:19 am

    What a true analogy for homeschooling/parenting. God is so good and wise to make our brains forget certain things. :-)

  11. Renae 2008-04-2, 8:37 am

    Thanks so much for all of your encouraging comments. It is nice to know others face the same sort of days. And we never go through them alone. God is always with us.

    Christy,
    Hmmm…There is probably something profound there, but I haven’t drank enough coffee to figure it out. ;)

    Julie,
    That’s true. And in homeschool we can focus on what is most important. When attitudes and thoughts of the heart are dealt with the time is redeemed.

  12. Renae 2008-04-2, 8:41 am

    Charity,
    I don’t forget quite that quickly, but after a day or two vagueness mists the memory.

  13. Angel 2008-04-2, 3:00 pm

    Boy does this sound like my yesterday. Thanks for answer my call even though you did not know you were doing it!

    My post:
    http://amlp311.blogspot.com/2008/04/will-real-homeschoolers-please-stand-up.html

  14. Melinda 2008-04-2, 5:17 pm

    Oh, I can SO identify with your description! Today was one of those days here, quite similar to what you described!

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