{"id":666,"date":"2011-10-20T19:00:38","date_gmt":"2011-10-20T23:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carouselandrockinghorses.com\/blog\/?p=666"},"modified":"2011-10-19T22:55:23","modified_gmt":"2011-10-20T02:55:23","slug":"overcoming-the-3-most-discouraging-questions-to-homeschool-teachers-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carouselandrockinghorses.com\/blog\/overcoming-the-3-most-discouraging-questions-to-homeschool-teachers-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcoming the 3 Most Discouraging Questions to Homeschool Teachers – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve been homeschooling my children ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.carouselandrockinghorses.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/massage-oil-279x300.jpg\" "\\"massage-oil\\"")
since my oldest was 2 years old. I\u2019ve come across many supportive people and a few not so supportive ones. Unfortunately, it\u2019s these discouraging naysayers whose comments and questions linger the longest with me, most likely because I\u2019m not usually snappy and sarcastic to strangers- so I often replay the things I could have said differently. Among all the questions I get asked, there are 3 that seem to pop up the most. Sadly they are also the most discouraging. Whenever I get asked these questions I try to think about how the Lord would answer them-so to accomplish this, I must go right to the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
Question #2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWhat about \u2018YOU\u2019 time?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nBelieve it or not, another popular question I get is often this one\u2026but it is usually phrased as a comment similar to this: \u201cOh I\u2019d never want to homeschool! I start counting down to the school year the day summer vacation starts!\u201d To a certain degree I can understand this way of thinking but it also saddens me that it seems that children have become a burden to their parents. Look, remember- I have 4 little ones so I get it. They are loud, fast, interrupt, want this, that and the other\u2026.even as I write this I have been interrupted for everything from juice to the need to find batteries for my son\u2019s mechanical dinosaur! If anyone understands the need for a break it\u2019s me! I have no real close friends or people I would trust with my babies nearby and my only family is almost 3 hours away on the border of the next state! So it\u2019s just me and my husband in charge of the children 24\/7\u2026.and he has the \u201cluxury\u201d of working outside the home 12 hours a day, 6 days one week, one day the next. If it\u2019s not to the gym or running errands I rarely leave our home. That could drive a mama batty! I will admit there have been times I have entertained the thought of trying to save enough money up to send them to Christian school. Then I could have my 6 or 7 hours of quiet, have my clean house\u2026maybe even\u2026dare I dream, a job<\/em>?! But then I remember my beliefs- that this home and everyone in it are<\/em><\/strong> my job\u2026 my honored duties.<\/p>\nProverbs 31:27<\/strong>: \u201cShe watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness<\/em>.\u201d KJV<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nIn my case, the affairs of this household include my children\u2019s education as well as how the place is kept up and running. Pleasing the Lord is of the most importance to me, and I don\u2019t believe that sitting at the computer all day watching Youtube videos or texting idle gossip would be very pleasing to Him. My \u201cme\u201d time usually comes at night after the children have gone to bed. True it may mean sacrificing sleep- and if it\u2019s a night where my youngest refuses to stay asleep or my son has his night terrors, well, then, it doesn\u2019t come at all. But when it does, it\u2019s in the still quiet of the night. That\u2019s the time that I use to talk to friends and family online or to do my blogging. Sometimes I do my devotions or watch long anticipated movies. It\u2019s even better when my husband is home. We make it a point to have our date night- which usually includes snuggling down in bed with Chinese take-out and that new rented movie. It\u2019s something I look forward to every other week! I don\u2019t need to stick my kids in school to get my time. And come summertime, I get a bit of a break in that I have no formal school to teach, unless my girls decide they want to get a head start on the coming school year.<\/p>\n
See, when people ask me this question, right away my mind wants to ask, \u201cWhy bother having children if all you want to do is avoid them?\u201d Between the school day, after school activities and parents\u2019 jobs- it\u2019s a wonder families spend any time together at all! Our dinner table never has less than 4 children and a parent sitting at it at any given meal time. I watched an episode of Wife Swap<\/em> once where although every member of this one family were home for dinner every night, they ate their meals in a separate room in front of a television. That kills me. Again, why bother having a family if you don\u2019t want to spend time together<\/em>? Just stay single and alone. The Bible says that if I seek first God\u2019s Kingdom, everything else- all the extra stuff- will be added. (Matthew 6:33)<\/em><\/strong>My decision to <\/em><\/strong>homeschool our children is my way of telling God that I value the gifts he has given me as a parent and a teacher and how I educate them is all to honor Him\u2026so the extra stuff like my \u201cme\u201d time, God will take care of.<\/p>\nMaria Votto is a Jersey girl living in Spencer, WV. She is a devoted housewife and SAHM to 4 children ages 8, 5, 4 and 2 and in her limited free time she loves writing at her blogs <\/em>The Heart of Ruth<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>8 Years of Growth<\/em><\/a>, baking healthy treats for family and finding ways to save money through couponing and making homemade products.<\/em><\/p>\n