Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Homeschool Moms Should Be Homeschool Students Too!

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up into the art of teaching. We have the latest books, games, or DVDs and we can't wait for our little sponges to soak up the exciting new material we've found for them. In the excitement of teaching it is occasionally possible to overlook the fact that learning can be hard work.

One good way to keep this fact in mind, and encourage our homegrown scholars at the same time, is to let ourselves become the students. Homeschool parents often expect their children to pick an interest, and then pursue it with a certain amount of independence. Have you tried learning that way yourself?

With every new season, I try to pick up some new skill or subject. Sometimes I'm learning something with my children - like knitting, or piano. Sometimes I'm pursuing my own interest - like Biblical Hebrew or blogging. It's a good reminder to me of how much work and discipline mastering a new subject can take, and it's good for the children to see Mom working and often struggling with a new concept. It has encouraged them to persevere in their own studies - after all, they can't play the piano any worse than Mom! And it has given me a greater measure of patience in dealing with their struggles - after all, they play the piano a lot better than I can!

It's great to be a homeschooler!

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