Instant Credit, Instant Baby Food – Why Not Instant Homeschool?

We have instant mash potatoes, microwaved food and yes even instant baby food, then why shouldn’t we have an instant education?

Today, reality is that our lives are very different than our parents and grandparents.

Life is more hectic, faster and along with that folks have become more impatient, even about their education. How about you? Are you impatient with the progress you are making?

A lot of us try to move quickly in our first, second, third and even into our fourth year.

We believe we can instantly give our children a good education.

To try to right all the wrongs of public school, but yet follow the same methods used by the public school is a contradiction.

In public school there is no room for individualism. If a child veers off the curricula, he is behind. If he wants to supplement, it has to be approved.

We try to look for shortcuts like online schooling, boxed curriculum and co-ops that function more like private day school than families who actually meet together to benefit from the strengths of others.

Before I go any further, I want to let you know I don’t have anything against the things I just mentioned as I sometimes encourage ones to use them off/on during their journey. We need short cuts and helps.

The Art of Slowing Down

The truth of it is, that homeschooling is nothing more than plain old work and determination. There are no shortcuts to success.

It takes time for children to grasp concepts like math and reading comprehension.

It takes time to teach penmanship. We can have both beautiful penmanship and computer typing skills.

It takes time to build science projects together or reenact history. It takes time to build the character of the child through every day involvement with the family, Bible study and by serving others.

How about us as teachers? Are we taking time to learn how to teach?

We need to focus on ourselves too. It takes time for us as teachers to get off that public school treadmill.

It is easier sometimes to abdicate a majority of the teaching to somebody else, but is that what brought us to homeschooling in the first place? Will we have the same results as somebody that has spent years and years personally and tenderly cultivating the hearts of their children?

Does your child want to learn from you? Are you prepared when you sit down to teach him or does your lack of organization frustrate your child? Are you the kind of person that exudes warmth and tenderness when conveying knowledge to your child?

The interaction you have with your child on a day to day basis draws your child closer to you. Problems can be revealed gradually and solved slowly.

This takes time. Folks today just don’t have time. Although we want to utilize every convenience made available to us through the internet, interactive classes and skills of other parents like at a co-op, we want to never forget that our children need us.

Just like we would be careful about the type of instant and convenient food that we serve our family, education is similar. Quick fixes may serve in a pinch or for a change, but for long term success, we don’t want instant anything to be the norm.

Our children’s education is no different. There is no substitute for the time we as parents can give our children. Our time and hearts with our children is one of the most valuable things we can give our children. Don’t cheat them.

Keep on keeping on!

Hugs and love ya,

Check out these other helps:
Why the Hectic Pace in Homeschool?
Controlling the Time Spent on Homeschool Subjects or Running a Homeschool Boot Camp
Biggest Challenges to Homeschooling

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