Homeschooling moms make friends in the strangest places. Like Aldi parking lot. For real. Several years ago, while my 8 year old daughter and I were loading the back of my vehicle with a month’s worth of groceries, a mom with her three young children began loading groceries into the trunk of their car which was parked next to mine.
Our eyes meet, we smile, maybe one says ‘hello’ or something . . . and then, this young mom asks me, a complete stranger, a simple question. “Excuse me, but I noticed your daughters dress and leggings. What a cute outfit. I’m having trouble finding things in the stores for my daughter, where did you get them?”
I’m sure one of us asked the other if we homeschooled – because, who else does their grocery shopping with kids in the middle of the morning in the middle of the week? Turns out both of us lived a ways out in the boonies, but in opposite directions. We said our nice-to-meet-you’s and have-a-nice-day’s and went our own way.
But God had other ideas. Over the next couple years our paths crossed at unexpected times and in unexpected ways and a friendship was forged. Maddy has been a delight in my life. Always sharing how the Lord is working in her life and family. She’s been my sounding board for ideas and frustrations, joys and dreams.
Friends for Life
This dear friend of mine has a love for the Lord and a heart for her family that inspires and challenges me. That’s why I asked her to share some of her thoughts on her years of homeschooling. They’ve been at it ‘officially’ eleven years and counting! And now, from my friend Maddy:
5 things I’ve learned and loved:
- Seeing the unique individuals that God has made each child. They are each so fascinating.
- Seeing my older children begin to take personal responsibility for their walks with God. Getting to point them to Him as their Father.
- There are no formulas. We have to do what is right for our family.
- Embrace the “moments”. They come and go quickly.
- Be careful who I take advice from. Take all advice to the Word of God and my husband.
5 things that challenged me or were difficult:
- Seeing the unique individuals that God has made each child. They are NOT mine.They are His to decide what He wants to do with.
- Seeing my older children begin to take personal responsibility for their walks with God. Their walk is not going to look like mine.
- There are no formulas. I’m a very one, two, three kind of person. This does not work in actual life.
- Potty training and teaching reading. Don’t stress the “moments”. They come and go quickly
- Taking everything to the Word of God and my husband will lead to my homeschooling looking different than anyone else’s.
This is a wonderful adventure. No two days are alike. God is so faithful!
I sure can relate to Maddy’s lists. How about you? What have you loved and learned? What has challenged you? If you’d like to visit with more veteran homeschooling moms, check my intro post for a list of five in this series.
You’ll find more encouragement from homeschooling moms who are sharing their own 5 Days of Homeschool series below:
What a great list! For me the biggest and best lesson has been patience. I had none of it as a teen and even into my twenties. It is a gift given to me by my children as I raise and homeschool them. I can’t wait to read tomorrow’s post!
Patience is a big one, Kirsten! I try to let moms know that patience is not a prerequisite for being a homeschooling mom because our children will give us plenty of opportunity to learn! So glad you visited today. It will be fun following along with everyone’s 5 Days posts 🙂
Oh I just love how you two met! I met my homeschooling friend on my block of all places. It’s a new neighborhood and we lived mere houses away from each other for 2 years before meeting. Our common curriculum brought us together. Makes me wonder if God planned this waaaay back when we deciding which curriculum to use. Now how come you’re making me add 2 digit numbers down below!! 🙂
A homeschooling friend just 2 houses away? How awesome! What a blessing 🙂 The two of you must be great support for one another.
As far as the math goes? I don’t know! There’s a setting somewhere I can’t figure out how to turn off — I’m going to try again, just for you 😉
She’s about 5 houses down. It is a true blessing. We actually just hang out more than talk school. It’s nice to have someone you can lean on in the neighborhood. We watch pets and houses when on vacation. I was just joking about the math. But it was kind of a hard problem 🙂
love having a friend to just hang out and talk, and after being gone on a long vacation, I know exactly what you mean about having someone to watch the house and pets!
so, did those math problems disappear? took me a while (like MONTHS!) but I think I finally found how to turn them off 😉 thank you for persevering and leaving your sweet messages!
I think I would agree with all. 🙂 After fourteen years of homeschooling, I’ve seen many, many blessings and had a few struggles. I’m loving seeing my teens growing up and becoming the people God is shaping them to be. I agree that it can be difficult sometimes, but it’s also so exciting!
I’m stopping by from the Encouraging Hearts and Home linkup. 🙂
I’m so glad you stopped by, Leah!
You are exactly right – homeschooling is rewarding, and challenging, and exciting 🙂 When mine were little, I really thought if I had just the right formula and did certain things just so-so, they’d turn out great! Then as they grew, and I saw my own short-comings more clearly, we had to figure out how to push through. God is so much bigger than I am and I praise Him for that. Blessings to you and your family on your homeschooling journey.