Making Motherhood

Hey mamas, sisters, and friends! I want to chat with you a little about homeschool and share some biblical resources to help you grow in wisdom. As some of you may know, I used to teach middle school for five years before we had our first daughter. Being a teacher comes natural to me you might say, but did you know that homeschooling your own kiddos doesn’t require any formal training? What a grace! I have so much I want to share about education–mainly because I aspire my own education to something that’s always on-going. “Being lifelong, in whatever it may be, is essential to fulfilling your purpose.” –Vanessa Yevsin

Here are the topics I’m going to share about: education isn’t only for your kids, when do I start homeschooling, and some resources to help you along the way. 

With my background in education, I have some honest thoughts about being a teacher. I wrote a post about my days as a former public school and charter school teacher two years ago. To preface that post and most of what I’m talking about, I’d like to say that these are my own opinions based on research, convictions, and most of all, personal experience. Choosing the path of education for your own children should also be based on where you live (the school systems you’re in), doing your own research on the schools if you take that route, and also praying about it! Things can change from year to year, so visiting those three points as your kids age and grow would be helpful. With that being said, whatever I may suggest and share in this post is going to come from biblical principles and the convictions of our own family. Whether you’re a homeschool mama or not, I hope this post can still encourage you in some way! If you’re curious about why we’re planning to homeschool, then you can check that out as well. 

1. Education isn’t only for your kids.

How does that statement make you feel? Do you raise your hand and say ‘yes, amen friend!’ or do you cringe and think ‘yeah…learning’s not really my thing’ ? Or maybe you’re somewhere in the middle: you know that education is important, but you don’t really have a desire to further your own learning at this current time. Well let me tell you mama, this is your encouragement to “Get wisdom! Get understanding!” (Proverbs 4:5). If you keep reading in verse 7, scripture says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” The bible tells us to go and get wisdom! Where are you going to get it from? Mainly from the bible of course, but also from sound, biblically-aligned writers, speakers, authors, and teachers. Think about your pastor. He provides wisdom to you on a weekly basis when you attend church. Or what about the podcast that shares about biblical based parenting? Yep, that too! Or what about the book you’re reading from a ‘bible-believing mother of 10’? Yes! In all areas of life we will come across people who pass along their wisdom to us; which is why education isn’t only for your kids. Day in and day out, us mamas, sisters, or friends, have the ability to learn something. How awesome is that! Put down your iPhone and pick up a book. Set a timer and read for ten minutes a day. Do this every day until you finish the book, and I bet by the end of it you’ll be surprised to be reading longer than the ten minute timer! I exhort you, friend, to start making education a priority in your own life, especially if you plan to homeschool your own kiddos. 

2. When do I start homeschooling?

This point is going to have some ambiguity to it because I don’t have a one-answer-fits-all. If you plan to homeschool, then you should probably (or already are) researching about different curriculums, styles, and approaches. Side note: you’re educating yourself on homeschool! See point number one. For my personal approach, I am dabbling into a little preschool with two toddlers. I have a two year old and a three-and-a-half year old. Woah! Isn’t that a bit early to start, Vanessa. Is it, though? Mothers send their children off to ‘preschools’ as early as age two and what do you think they’re doing there? Playing and learning the basics. That’s primarily what I’m doing with my girls. Being a full time SAHM, has its perks in the educational realm. I have the ability to start and stop different activities if they seem to work or not, I can turn baking muffins into a homeschool lesson, I get to work one-on-one with my children, and I can adjust my schedule to the plans we have that week. My biggest takeaway for deciding when to start homeschooling would be to analyze your kids. I don’t think it’s ever too early to start learning ABCs, numbers, colors, days of the week, months, and the weather. These are concepts you’re probably already talking about to your young children anyways. When it comes to starting a formal curriculum for homeschool, I think you need to do the research and see where your kid’s at with their interest/age/learning level. Once again, the answer is ambiguous, but there are general guidelines that society has for kids starting formal education; however, the concepts of grade levels can go out the window (to some degree) for homeschoolers. Homeschool also aids in individualized learning and differentiation for your child to learn at the level they’re truly at (maybe they’re advanced in one subject but need remediation in another). So to refresh when to start homeschooling: do your research, look at your kids, and make a plan from there!

3. Some resources to help you along the way! 

I am by no means a professional or seasoned homeschool mama–I’ve only just begun the journey and my children are preschool age! However, I do value resources and insight from those who have gone before me, so I want to give some resources for the things I do have.

For Preschoolers:

• I first purchased the Mommy and Me Preschool Program for my girls. I found it to be helpful if you have no educational background and consider yourself a beginner in starting this homeschool thing. It requires minimal prep, with good ideas and a solid plan. This is a good place to start for preschoolers if you have a two to four year old. However, the program was extremely basic compared to the Gentle and Classical Preschool I purchased instead. I asked for a refund with Mommy and Me since I was not 100% satisfied, but depending on how you’ve assessed your kids (see point number two), this option could work for you. They have tons of positive reviews, but like I said, it just wasn’t the right fit for us. A benefit to this program is that you don’t have to have a printer–just materials in your arts and craft drawer. 

• Gentle and Classical Preschool is the curriculum I just started with my three-and-a-half year old. Her sister who just turned two is also tagging along for the ride, and she’s actually picking up the information! I would recommend this program to anyone that is serious about homeschool and wants to invest into a very enriching program. I was extremely satisfied with this preschool program and I can’t share about it enough! I plan to complete this program again for next year when my girls are four and three and maybe sprinkle in some other resources. Everything you could want or ask for in a curriculum is in this–and the best part is that it is affordable (if you purchase the Digital Only file and you print at home). The only ‘con’ –which isn’t really a con in my opinion, is having to purchase extra resources: books. You can check out many of the books from your local library, but I figured I might as well purchase them second-hand so we have them as part of our own library. These are living books and they’re well worth the investment. If you wanted to get a glimpse at what the curriculum is like, she has a free Teacher’s Guide at the time I’m writing this that goes through all the plans. 

• I have three preschool resources on my TeachersPayTeachers page! Two of them are free and one is paid. The two FREE resources are the ABC Nature Walk and the Alphabet Cards. 

For Middle Schoolers:

• When I taught middle school, I specifically taught sixth and seventh grade Language Arts. If you check out my TeachersPayTeachers page, I have a handful of free and paid resources for you there. Some of this may be helpful if you’re a teacher, or also if you homeschool and read some of these novels.

For Moms:
Remember our first point when I chatted about getting wisdom? Well mama, let me share with you a couple podcasts I recommend.

• Courageous Parenting: rich content, biblically aligned with sound doctrine, and they’re always backing up their content with scripture. This podcast is run by a husband and wife who are seasoned in their parenting journey. They have eight children, and a couple of grandchildren already–so they know what they’re talking about! Wonderful resource for parents of any age. I’d even recommend listening to this with your husband. 
  
• Focus on the Family: wonderful content that ranges from parenting, to marriage, and Christian living. The program is centered around Christ. I always know their episodes will provide wisdom and clarity depending on the topic they’re talking about.

• Now that We’re a Family: fun, relaxed Christian content. This podcast is run by a husband and wife who have six kids under eight. They are young parents, but still provide a plethora of knowledge. Their content is more ‘fun’ to listen to, as opposed to gaining wisdom every time. They are aligned on protestant Christian values and I believe they have sound doctrine.

• M is for Mama: another great Christian podcast that specifically covers motherhood. I referenced a link to her above. Abbie is a bible-believing mama of ten! She knows her stuff and gives insightful wisdom.

That’s all I have for today! Thank you so much for reading along and joining me in my journey of growing in wisdom. As scripture says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” –James 1:5 Thank you, Lord, for your Word! Peace be with you mamas, sisters, and friends!