Refocus: It's For The Children

Recently a light went on in my car saying something about "engine tune-up". It was one of those precaution lights warning me it was time for a check-up. Thankfully, it wasn't a warning that something was seriously wrong, just a reminder that it was time to slow down and take care of the engine before something did go wrong.

Every now and then it's good to have our focus in homeschooling tuned up too. When I did this, I always came to one conclusion: I do this for the children. Did homeschooling send me in a tail-spin over complicated algebra problems? You bet. Chemistry equations? Oh, brother!

And since my kids weren't alway perfect angels, sometimes a call to the local public school didn't sound so bad. But when I stopped and refocused, I knew it was worth it. For the children's sake.

Our community has an active homeschool support group which is a great blessing. But it's also a source of disagreement especially since we homeschoolers seem to come in a variety of backgrounds, most of which begin with the adjective "opinionated". (Yes, including me.) When our homeschool sports program runs into snags, I remind our sports coordinator of one thing: we do it for the children. When our co-op director receives more complaints than compliments, I remind her of the same thing: we do it for the children.

So if you're having "one of those weeks" at home or within the homeschool community, maybe it's time for a focus tune-up. Why do you do this anyway? The over-riding answer that always kept me going was: for the children.

That warning light on my car mysteriously disappeared while I was away on a trip. I'm suspicious my husband had something to do with it. If circumstances in your homeschooling has flashed a warning light, take that time for a check up and refocus.

Your children children are worth it.