We live, learn and serve in our community. For me, it makes sense to include community resources into my support network. These community resources will look different from city to city and from family to family. I have learned that even within my family, my children’s different needs and personalities means I tap into different community resources for them.

After more than ten years of homeschooling, two college graduates, and four girls currently at home, we have learned much about making our curriculum work for us – and not the other way around! The beauty of homeschooling is that each child can learn in a way that is as unique as they are. This may sound strange coming from someone who uses full-service BJU Press Distance Learning for each child, but we’ve found a way to customize the curriculum to provide each of our children with the inspiration, excitement, and interest they need to enjoy their homeschooling adventure!

Spring. It’s that magical time of year when grass and trees become lush and green. Flowers peek up out of the earth and beautify our yards. Birds serenade your morning wake-up routines and get you going with a song in your heart. It isn’t long before you start planning for warm weather activities and some time away from homeschool studies.

As my children got older, keeping up with grading got harder. Most of us, when we chose this journey, did not choose to homeschool because we were dreaming of grading and the great joy it would bring to our souls. I was finding myself grading on evenings and weekends and resenting the free time the rest of my family had. I have found a few things helpful for becoming more effective with my time.

Rrrring. . . “So you read pages”. . . Rrring. . . “36 and 37” . . . Rrring. . . “while I take this call.”
Hello.
Beep. (From the washer)
Beep. Beep. (From the oven. Preheated. Time to put lunch in.)
Ding. (Facebook message.)
MOM?!!? (Give the “I’m on the phone” look.)
Step to the next room to take the call in peace.
Kids (likely): Break Time!!!!

In the early days of my homeschool journey, I spent hours days looking through curriculum catalogs and browsing websites to choose my curriculum for the year. One year I went through a 1000+ homeschool catalog page by page. I am not kidding. I read review after online review. I even read reviews of curriculum I had already used in the past. While I gained a great deal of knowledge about the existing choices on the homeschool market, I wasted many hours that could have been spent directly with my children. I was spending a lot of hours “homeschooling,” but my children weren’t getting most of them.

When you are considering and committing to homeschooling, it is not only a commitment of your time, but also a commitment of your finances. You need to decide how much you can budget towards homeschooling and of course, what to purchase.

I remember as a young teenager that it was a treat to get to stay up and watch David Letterman. My favorite part was always his Top 10 List. And so, as a nod to good memories and since it is rather late as I write this, I want to share with you my Top 10 List: Why I Need Veteran Homeschoolers In My Life.

We have moved 8 times in 22 years of marriage. That is a lot of moving and a lot of rebuilding friendships. I am thankful that I have been able to maintain many close friendships despite my moves. However, I am also thankful that God has blessed me with new friends wherever I go. Whether it is sharing motherhood, sports, or homeschooling, I know the importance of having a group of friends who are one of my support networks. When we began homeschooling, I knew that my husband would support me, but I also knew that I would need friends who were walking a similar journey with me. My school aged children (4th and Kindergartener) would no longer be in public school. And by default, my support network would no longer be fellow classroom moms.

There is no question that my husband and I both felt the call by the Lord to lead our children in homeschooling. We would each be investing a different amount of time in the actual schooling, with my contributing the most hours as the stay at home parent. However, that didn’t mean there was a difference in our commitment level. We knew that; we wanted our children to also know that. How would we do this? It began by building my spouse as a part of my support network.