Hello, Homeschoolers!

It's almost here!  Summer is just around the corner.  I always know summer is approaching because  it's taking twice as long as it normally does to get through our schoolwork each day.  This is due, I'm sure, to the mysterious fever known as "spring".   It's funny how just a few days of 85 degree weather can turn our thoughts from science to swimming in a real hurry... but I won't tell if you won't!

This issue of FCHM's ezine is all about being REAL.  Parents who homeschool sometimes face enormous pressure--- pressure to have "perfect" kids, pressure from curious neighbors and relatives who want to quiz the kids each time they see them (what is the square root of 249?) and pressure from other homeschoolers.   It's often a real struggle to be honest about the day to day joys and frustrations of homeschooling.  Why?  Because being real means sharing your joys and your sorrows, your successes and your failures.   

For years, I allowed other people's expectations to set the pace of our homeschooling.   Later,  I  let the same mentality bring legalism  into our homeschool.  I worried about my approach to education (classical?  eclectic? unschooling? school-at-home?) and soon I was overwhelmed and frustrated.   To schedule or not to schedule?  Should we sew our own clothes?  Garden?  Bake our own bread from wheat we grew in our little city garden?   What if I didn't like gardening?  What if my kids didn't mind store-bought bread?

I will never forget the day when my mini-van pulled up in front of the church for our homeschool co-op classes and the evidence of half eaten Happy Meals fell out from the sliding door.  My "fast-food secret" was out.  God must have been laughing at my embarrassment over such a small thing.  But it didn't feel small to me.  I was trying to live up to an expectation that didn't come from the Lord, and our kids were living with it, too.

Thankful for His Grace,
Heidi St. John

Jay and Heidi St. John have been married for over 18 years and are the homeschooling parents of six children who range in age from sixteen to two.  Heidi speaks to mothers with humor and grace on many subjects dealing with homeschooling.  If you are interested in having the St. Johns speak at your event, please contact them through FCHM.