You Don’t have to be Perfect to Homeschool

For many years, I stayed at home with my little ones, but sent them to school during the day. Unfortunately for me, I always believed that I was supposed to be the perfect mom and perfect wife. Each day, I would barely finish the things on my to-do list. Between dropping off and picking up the older kids, my baby kept me on my toes throughout the day. When I decided to start homeschooling, my concerns of not being able to do everything, grew even more. Thankfully, all these years later, I can tell you: You don’t have to be perfect to homeschool.

Families who choose homeschooling each have their own reasons why. Perhaps you simply enjoy spending time with your kiddos, because you know they grow too quickly. Maybe you like the idea of your child learning more in shorter amounts of time. Or, just the plain old fashion being able to choose what your child learns and how they learn it.

Whatever your reasons are, be assured that it’s okay not to have perfect healthy snacks prepared (like the ones pictured above). No amount of spare time in the world would enable me to line up a whole week’s worth of healthy, homemade snacks. I’m just not capable of preparing, keeping it all fresh, and convincing my kids to eat them. No worries there. However, if you do wish to prepare meals and snacks ahead of time, the option, of course, is there. Cooking meals in bulk, and freezing some for later is a great way to save on your time and energy.

Keeping the house perfectly clean and organized, was another struggle I faced. Being able to sit down and teach my seven-year-old math, English, and everything else while breastfeeding my newborn, didn’t exactly go hand in hand with picking up after my three-year-old. At the time, she was a very hot tempered toddler with a knack for scattering tiny pieces of paper she’d ripped, along with the Littlest Pet Shop toys. Having clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat from, remained my top two high performance achievements over a period of several months.

With my husband’s schedule at the time, it was nearly impossible to go for the quintessential outings and field trips that homeschoolers are famous for. He worked six nights a week as a nurse, which for me, meant making sure the house was quiet enough for him to sleep during the day, and a lot of mornings out in the yard with the kids. I didn’t feel as though I had the physical strength or the financial means to take the children to a museum, or the zoo, for that matter. Our lessons outside were very enjoyable, and now, when I look back on those mornings and realize how big the kids are, I’d do it all again.

Whether you’re afraid of being judged, or you simply fear that you won’t be able to do it all, I just want you to know, that it all works out. It’s nice to look back, knowing that I spent all of that extra time with my children when they were little. Plus, the added bonus of not having all of the attitude in our home, that they would have picked up from attending the overcrowded school in our zipcode.