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omeschooling is such a faith journey, isn’t it? My mom used to always say that while she was homeschooling us, God was homeschooling her. Truth. Now I know what she meant. The mysteries and challenges that come with each year and each child are enough to make even the most confident among us feel shaky.
That’s why as our homeschooling trees grow taller each year, we must also work to make sure our roots are growing deeper—deeper in our ability to trust God and be led by Him. As our questions become larger, our belief in God’s faithfulness to help us through each and every one of them should too.
Fear is a debilitating thief. It tends to sneak into places we don’t expect and with relentless determination takes as much as it can from us. Stealing our joy and replacing it with worry. Worries that even make sense, mind you.
Here’s the thing though: we don’t have time for that.
You, like me, are in the trenches. We’re in a battle not just for our calling and peace in Christ, but for that of our children’s. When we allow that thief to steal from us, the ripple effect will be felt by our kids. There’s no shame or blame in this; condemnation is just as much of a thief as fear. This is one of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis:
In this issue, we will be breaking free from a fear of failure. So let’s look failure straight in the face and remove it as a tool of fear. Instead of fearing failure, let’s allow it to serve us.
We can change our perspective and see it for what it really is: a chance to learn and try again. This year, we’re going to push back. Ha, you thought you would cripple me, fear? I don’t think so. I choose to embrace a more lighthearted approach to life. If we take everything so seriously, failure is the edge of a big cliff! If we’re in a state of peace and trust, failure is a bump in the road that makes us stronger for the rest of the journey.
It all comes down to this, do we trust God enough to believe He is guiding us and will show us when we need to make adjustments? What you really believe will protect your heart and mind from falling into the fear of failure. Do you believe (feel sure of the truth) He is for you? With you? Leading you?
Often what we can’t see is what God is doing on the other side of failure. Failure could be the best thing for us at the moment. We usually learn something valuable and get reminded that we can’t do this in our own strength. Our children get to see us relying on God. Then, when our kids walk through disappointment, they learn how to handle it or correct any behavior that led to said failing. Failure, many times, is a blessing if we’re looking through the right lens.
e are staunch supporters of homeschooling because we’ve seen the value of what this choice has to offer. In our homes, it was enjoyable, filled with learning that lasted, and built on the foundation of relationship. We are now continuing this legacy of freedom in learning with our own children. Parents, we believe in the power of influence you have as you walk with God, to provide everything your children need to fulfill their destinies. We believe that homeschoolers are uniquely fitted to become world changers because they’re used to doing things differently. Having been shown the true value of learning and what they’re capable of, these children will look at the world with eyes to help, lead, problem-solve, and display a depth of character that reflects the convictions of their faith.
This is what our children are called to, but it won’t happen if we walk in fear. Our mission is to come alongside you with encouragement and practical help, to remind you that we’re in this together, and to help you see past the present trials into the reality of your true calling: equipping your children to be the remarkable people God created. Whether you are homeschooling for a season of life or the years to come, this movement can be a catalyst for change. It will be through our ability to shed fear and embrace courage that we will enable our children to do the same!
We choose to homeschool boldly!
- The Voices of Homeschooling Today podcast. Listen to some of your favorite columnists as they read their articles to you.
- Clickable links. Access the resources and info mentioned in the articles. All with a click.
- Videos. You can sit with Ashley and Kay as they chat about real-life homeschooling. See the Dear Durenda video response with expanded advice. Watch the ladies of Bookshelf & Beyond as they share some of their favorite resources.
- Healthy relationships provide a strong foundation for all home learning.
- Children were designed to learn from the day they are born.
- Each child has a unique blend of learning preferences, talents, and passions.
- There’s no one-size-fits-all education—including what they should learn and when they should learn it!
- The more ways kids interact with concepts, the better they understand them.
- Different seasons of life may require different approaches.
- Education should be an adventure!
- YOU are the best teacher for your children.
That’s why we bring you a variety of resources from trusted sponsors and recommended companies we choose to partner with. We hope you’ll check them out!
Yes, my son was whining about schoolwork and dragging it out. It seemed the only thing he wanted to do was build LEGOs. Sitting him down to have a little talk, I let my frustration out in an empty threat. And I saw a little part of him close up.
Did he need to do school? Yes. But my words weren’t motivating. They were threatening, and we should never threaten our children. Threats are not the same as consequences. Threat means “a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done.”
I never wanted to do that to my precious son again.
Immediately I knew I was wrong, and I apologized. He wanted to be home. He wanted to do the right thing. But he was also still a little boy—one who wanted to play more than he wanted to work.
Yes, that was one of my epic fails as a homeschool mom… as a mom. But it wasn’t the end of the world. My failure also gave me an opportunity to say, “I’m sorry.” Those words can be pretty powerful coming from a parent who means it.
Our children need to know they will fail and that we will, too. We need to know that we will fail. There’s good news though! When we fail—when we fall—we can get back up again. That same child is no longer a child. He’s twenty-three and I doubt he even remembers that day. We have a great relationship, and he often asks us to give him advice or to pray for him. He wasn’t damaged for life and neither was our relationship.
In this issue, we want you and your children to know that failure isn’t the end of the story. It’s just a bump along the road. Bumps may make us fall, but we can choose to get up again and keep going.
You can read more about how failure is an opportunity for growth from Durenda as she shares her own “fail” story in her article, An Opportunity to Learn. Todd gives a completely different perspective as he tells husbands 5 Ways to Set Your Wife Up for Failure.
Jennifer makes us laugh with more of her Hifalutin Hints in Mistakes Were Made (which was one of that same LEGO loving son’s favorite phrases), while Colleen gives tips on how to help differently-wired kids, especially the perfectionists, deal with their own fear of failure.
If you’ve ever been Traumatized by Math, Steve is ready to help! Or if you dread leading family devotions, he’ll simplify it for you in The Elephant in the Room.
Of course there’s more including some new features for this year. Carrie Fernandez will teach us all about notebooking in Sticky Note(booking), Charla McKinley combines parenting tips with how to set kids up to be financially healthy, and Tricia Hodges helps us appreciate beauty in The Art of Nature Study.
Enhanced – read by the author
I sat across the restaurant table from my husband, I explained in great detail my frustrations with our four teen sons. Over the course of the previous two weeks, it seemed as though no matter how much I talked to them, they were tuning me out. The more I talked, the less they listened. I couldn’t get through to them, and I was at the end of my rope.
My husband listened but said very little. However, as we were driving away from the restaurant he turned to me. “I need to tell you something about the boys, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
At this point, I was so relieved to have gotten everything off my chest, I told him I was ready to hear whatever he had to say.
Enhanced – video response
children’s beautiful mess?
It’s evidence that a home is lived in!
Often our frustrations are an opportunity to teach our kids important life skills.
We want our kids to learn to prioritize through organization because it’s a necessary skill for life. Teaching them these lessons within their own space allows them to really own this because they “have skin in the game,” so to speak.
bestselling author
bestselling author
Enhanced – read by the author
with Steve Demme
have conducted many workshops encouraging men and training them how to lead regular times of family worship. There is always an elephant in the room. It is the fear of failure. According to pollsters, people would rather die than speak in public. Public speaking and the fear of failure are usually listed as numbers one and two. Dying is listed as number four or five on the same list. I think the reason fear of failure is listed right after speaking in public is that we have the potential to fail in front of people as we speak.
Thankfully, God is not calling us to deliver scintillating sermons. He is calling us to faithfully lead our families. We are to be faithful facilitators, not successful sermonizers.
In our home, I saw my responsibilities as twofold: gather the troops and then turn the meeting over to Jesus. One of my favorite promises is, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20) When we are assembled as a family and ask Him to join us, He will show up.
Enhanced – read by the author
with
Ashley Wiggers
You know how there are all these memes nowadays about what we imagine something will be like versus the reality? They make us laugh out loud every time because it’s so true. Or maybe that’s just me.
What we imagine our homeschooling life to be like versus the reality…
I didn’t imagine that my kids wouldn’t want to do the many things I come up with and suggest. I guess I just thought, you know, they’d go along with me and be as excited as I was? It’s okay, you can smirk.
There are pictures out there of kids in cute little outfits doing schoolwork in their “schoolroom” seemingly designed by Joanna Gaines herself and I’m thinking, I was feeling really good about the fact that my son didn’t pee his pants tod… never mind. There’s always tomorrow.
Enhanced – read by the author
by Kay Chance
by Kay Chance
I’m dealing with some autonomic system issues. You know that “fight-or-flight” response when adrenaline kicks in? Well, mine will sometimes do that because I stood up or sat down. It acts like a very dramatic toddler at times.
And dramatic toddlers can make you really tired.
Crochet is something I can do when I’m too fatigued to write or read or think too hard. And there’s something meditative about the repetition that seems to naturally calm my overly excitable mini-me. It helps me to relax and feel like I’ve accomplished something worthwhile even when I don’t feel as well as I might wish.
- Elective credits available
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Join our virtual classes so you can learn ANYWHERE
Carrie Fernandez
Carrie Fernandez, the owner and publisher at Daily Skill Building, brings you a featured column this year—Sticky Note(booking). She’ll be sharing how this easy-to-use, flexible tool breathes creativity and life into the way your kids do school.
- Incorporates multiple skills and elements
- Offers an excellent way for students to be creative and let their personalities shine
- Works with multiple learning styles
- Gives kids a creative outlet to express themselves
- Is fully customizable
The easiest way to understand notebooking is to think of journaling. It is a tool that combines what kids write with what they draw and sketch. It compiles their narration, sketches, diagram labeling, and more into a unique creation that showcases what they have learned.
“All milestones in life will involve failure at some point. It is in failing that we really grow emotionally, socially, and cognitively.”
Letting Go of the Fear of Failure
God knows moms.
I think it is easy to forget how really and truly known we are—from the sleepless worries running through our brains to our tired, aching feet.
We are convinced that He knows and loves our “momness.” Why? Because the very first advice He gave to the mother of His son was to “Fear not.” He knew we would struggle with worry, anxiety, and fear. He was aware of our frailty and yet trusts us to move forward and take care of His children. He also knows how forgetful we are (we do have a lot of details to manage!), so He reminds us in his Word over 365 times, “Do not be afraid.” It’s as though He gave us one of those page-a-day calendars to keep us from falling into worry and fear.
Enhanced – with website links
with
Wendy Hilton
some ways, homeschooling in the spring is challenging. After all, many of our children (and we homeschooling parents, too) experience spring fever. After being indoors much of the winter, it’s hard to sit and get work done.
Now for the good news. You don’t have to sit to get work done!
Whether you plan to have a flower, herb, or vegetable garden, begin by going outside and marking your garden spot. Or, get some raised beds or even containers ready for planting.
If you only have room for a single pot, plant a pizza garden! A pizza garden is simply a pot full of the plants and herbs you’ll need to make your own pizza once it’s harvest time. For example, you might include bell pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, and tomatoes. You can find instructions for making a pizza garden on Only Passionate Curiosity.
If you have more room for a garden, raised beds, or multiple containers, browse some seed catalogs together or take a trip to the local garden store to buy seeds or seedlings. This can double as a lesson in budgeting, using money, making change, writing and following a list, and more! If it’s not quite warm enough to plant outdoors, find out how to sprout your own seedlings indoors before planting outside later. There are so many ways to make gardening educational.
There are lots of butterfly kit options! This makes a fun and hands-on way for kids to watch the butterfly life cycle up close. Some kits come with journals—or you can make your own. Keep in mind that mail-ordered kits usually come with a certificate to use to order your butterflies.
with Wendy Hilton
some ways, homeschooling in the spring is challenging. After all, many of our children (and we homeschooling parents, too) experience spring fever. After being indoors much of the winter, it’s hard to sit and get work done.
Now for the good news. You don’t have to sit to get work done!
Whether you plan to have a flower, herb, or vegetable garden, begin by going outside and marking your garden spot. Or, get some raised beds or even containers ready for planting.
If you only have room for a single pot, plant a pizza garden! A pizza garden is simply a pot full of the plants and herbs you’ll need to make your own pizza once it’s harvest time. For example, you might include bell pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, and tomatoes. You can find instructions for making a pizza garden on Only Passionate Curiosity.
If you have more room for a garden, raised beds, or multiple containers, browse some seed catalogs together or take a trip to the local garden store to buy seeds or seedlings. This can double as a lesson in budgeting, using money, making change, writing and following a list, and more! If it’s not quite warm enough to plant outdoors, find out how to sprout your own seedlings indoors before planting outside later. There are so many ways to make gardening educational.
There are lots of butterfly kit options! This makes a fun and hands-on way for kids to watch the butterfly life cycle up close. Some kits come with journals—or you can make your own. Keep in mind that mail-ordered kits usually come with a certificate to use to order your butterflies.
Enhanced – read by the author
by Connie Albers
My parents didn’t make a fuss if I didn’t get straight A’s or made mistakes. Their usual response was, “Did you do your best?” If my answer was yes, the matter was settled as far as they were concerned. They encouraged me to try new things and never give up. As a little girl, I remember being a risk-taker. I can’t recall being afraid of trying new things. I believed if things didn’t work out, I could always try again.
Throughout my teen years this mindset served me well, but as a parent I’ve discovered that not every child is wired this way.
With both art and nature study, children develop observational skills and eyes to see the beauty around them. Drawing, painting, and chalk pastels give kids a creative way to fill their nature journals with flowers, trees, birds, and more.
Tricia begins with the most “natural” place to start by answering the question, “How can I build a habit of nature study in our homeschool?”
Enhanced – read by the author
Jennifer Cabrera
Only believe 75% of what your friends offer of their homeschool endeavors. Then, imagine what they don’t share and use it to fill in the intentionally untold parts of the story. That way, you can continue to like them for the real people they are, with cracks and insecurities just like yourself.
Why? Because at the very least, we all have a pile of abandoned curriculum, botched attempts at science, and bad attitudes we don’t speak of in polite society, right?
Traumatized by Math
On one occasion I was conducting an all-day seminar for teachers at a private school in New Hampshire. I was teaching how to use manipulative blocks to illustrate algebra. One of the teachers sitting to my right put her head down and began to sob. During the next break I went over to her and asked if she was okay. She looked up and said, “I have never understood algebra, and now you are encouraging me to teach algebra to my students. The reason I am a second grade teacher is that is all the math I can do.”
Michelle Moody
t’s fascinating to discover the stories behind inventors and the process that led them to their contributions. In many cases, it’s a story of perseverance and determination despite failed attempts. Each failure really was a learning opportunity that often led to success and even additional inventions.
Super Popular Invention
In 1982 while exploring ideas in his bathroom and basement for a refrigeration system for NASA, Lonnie discovered some of his bathtub testing resulted in a very powerful stream of water. Well, as they say, the rest is history! But, it took nine years to make his powerful squirt gun idea into the Super Soaker®—still on the market today. Mr. Johnson’s life story is fascinating and filled with perseverance, both on a personal and a professional level.
Charla McKinley
Colleen Kessler, M.Ed.
Gifted, twice-exceptional, and otherwise neurodiverse children know this expectation well. In fact, they often set exceptionally high standards for themselves. After all, striving for perfection in the sense of learning to excel can be healthy and admirable, right?
with Cheryl A. Bastian
with Cheryl A. Bastian
We’re tackling some of the most common questions parents ask and sharing simple action steps to make it easy.
Question:
My child wants to get into a specific college, but he didn’t finish some courses he needs. What do we do now?
irst, remember that the story hasn’t ended. Moving forward takes courage for both parents and high schoolers. Breaking free from what seems like an end—a dead end or unanticipated roadblock—might be the beginning or the middle to a new destination. Yes, courses might have taken longer to complete. Test scores may be lower than expected. But take heart and breathe. High schoolers yearn for encouragement from people who care about them as they recover from disappointment. They need help to process, evaluate, and regroup.
Enhanced – review video
Gina Burmeier & Amber Garcia
ord games are a fabulous pastime, but younger kids sometimes miss out on all the action. Early Reading Game by Briarpatch® offers a simple game for your youngest students to gain confidence in their skills! Children spin a spinner to see how many letters along the alphabet board they will advance. When they land on a letter, they place a word-ending card from their hand next to the letter space to form a three or four-letter word. If they land on a vowel, they find a card that matches with that vowel instead of forming a word. If the word is valid or the vowel is matched, the child gains a hat token. The player to reach the end of the alphabet with the most hats wins! With basic gameplay mechanics and completing words rather than spelling or writing them, even the youngest children can join in on the learning fun! For two to four players, 20 minutes play time.
Gina Burmeier & Amber Garcia
ord games are a fabulous pastime, but younger kids sometimes miss out on all the action. Early Reading Game by Briarpatch® offers a simple game for your youngest students to gain confidence in their skills! Children spin a spinner to see how many letters along the alphabet board they will advance. When they land on a letter, they place a word-ending card from their hand next to the letter space to form a three or four-letter word. If they land on a vowel, they find a card that matches with that vowel instead of forming a word. If the word is valid or the vowel is matched, the child gains a hat token. The player to reach the end of the alphabet with the most hats wins! With basic gameplay mechanics and completing words rather than spelling or writing them, even the youngest children can join in on the learning fun! For two to four players, 20 minutes play time.
• Inspires a Love of Learning
• Produces Independent Thinkers
• Nurtures Curiosity
• Easy to Teach
• Inspires a Love of Learning
• Produces Independent Thinkers
• Nurtures Curiosity
• Easy to Teach
Enhanced – read by the author
ad, this article is for you. You play a vital role in homeschooling your children. You may not teach a course, pick up a book, or map out a lesson plan, but your role is crucial to the success of your homeschool and the well-being of your wife and children.
I talk to homeschool moms all the time who, with tears in their eyes and strain in their voices, say, “My husband thinks I’m lazy… that we don’t cover enough… or he expects so much.”
The sad thing is sometimes I do or say those very things too. I don’t mean to and know I’m wrong, but I was thinking maybe you fall into the same patterns of discouragement.
To set us both straight, I thought I’d share the five things we do to set up our wife for failure and discouragement:
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