Have you ever ran into, or know someone that just seems to run circles around you in terms of how organized they are, how they get so much done during the day, all events they seem to have going on with their children and families, even their kids seem smarter than yours! Or, any number of things.
We all have and we all will meet or run into these people again. It’s inevitable.
If you are new to homeschooling or just starting out, you will, no doubt put high expectations upon yourself both as a teacher and a parent. Early on you will feel as though you hardly get anything done during the day because you spend much of your day researching homeschooling lessons and ideas trying to make sure you get everything just so. And as each day goes by and each day you feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to address everything that is on your ‘to do’ list, you may begin to feel a bit uncertain about your decision to homeschool. Always feeling as though the people that you read about have accomplished so much, while you feel as though you accomplish so little.
Don’t let the apparent success of others dictate the feeling that you have for yourself. Homeschooling methods are as varied as those who teach. You will find yours. And while you’re taking time to make the homeschool adjustment, don’t worry about what others think you should do. Appreciate what you have accomplished.
Remember as you work to refine your homeschooling schedule, every item on your ‘to do’ list can’t be a #1 priority. Every task can’t be marked as ‘High Priority’.
If you do this, you will always feel overwhelmed. Sure, tasks should be prioritized and that’s fine. But don’t get caught up in everything is a show stopper. It’s not. If you have five things to do and they all have a priority of 1, then take the time to sort them as 1a, 1b…. and so on.
You are not super parent and you probably don’t have a cape. I never did. But keep faith in yourself, know what you are doing is what you are suppose to be doing and all will work out.
Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and has written many articles on
for the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit (
) for more of Mary’s articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information.
