Dear Mom,

Bless your heart. Let's begin with prayer.

Jesus, as we journey through those times in our lives that are filled with confusion and frustration, shower us with the graces necessary to understand the truth in Your promise to never leave us orphan or to leave us alone to face our challenges. Lord, help us to see Your hand in all that we are asked to face. Lord, give us the courage to make choices that will benefit our lives thus drawing us all the closer to You. Lord, we ask that You empower and inspire this dialog at this time so as to bring a sense of comfort and a certain unmistakable peace to our dear sister in Christ. Lord, we love You and long to see Your face. We long to feel Your presence in the challenges that we must work through in order that we are able to work through them with determination and resolve. All this we ask in Your name. Amen.

I suppose my first question would concern the curriculum choices that you have made. I notice that you are using some CHC materials and I am wondering if you are using a curriculum from a curriculum provider? Let me explain the nature of my question. Some curriculum providers offer many choices of subjects to study in a particular school year, however they may not necessarily require that all those subjects are completed. In fact many curriculum providers prefer the parents to make the choices as to what they will or will not study. Still there are those curriculum providers that require that each subject be completed and that nearly all of the school work be sent to them for grading and record keeping concerning grades and achievement. Either situation is good depending upon whether or not it is a good fit for the family.

Many times when we do not choose a curriculum to be the bones of our study (whether the schoolwork is documented by the curriculum provider or not) we have the tendency to actually put more on ourselves than is necessary. For example, at the elementary level, science is not considered a core subject. This is true in public school as well as private and homeschooling. However science is one of those subjects that children enjoy and can be taught in many different ways up to and including formal education. Most schools offer some sort of science at least once a week.

When we are planning a course of study for our children it is vital that we are realistic in our goals and the amount of work that we will take on. Even teachers in the public system must make prudent choices concerning subject materials in order to spend quality time ensuring that the core subjects are covered and that full competency is accomplished.

Reading is one such core subject. It is vital that children be literate and able to understand what they read. From reading your letter I am in a position to say that you have reached a point whereby the lack of reading skill is severely interfering with the ability your children have to work independently thus causing you great stress in the way you are able to address their needs. There is an old saying...First things First. Reading is fundamental to all education. It would be my suggestion to put away all the books and work exclusively with improving the reading levels of all the children that are having difficulty. (Please go to your library and check out the book The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.) Reading is the basis of all education. Take the summer to go to the library and spend time reading aloud to your dear children. Identify those areas that are in need and address only those areas in order to understand where the challenges are and how to work to correct the problems.

Remember that homeschooling is a lifestyle. That means that we must allow that the rhythm of our day moves peacefully with the goals we have set in the homeschool. For example, this week I am working everyday to put in our garden. The morning is the best time to work in the garden because it is cool and it is easier to work outside. The children have to help me, because it is more than I can do alone. Therefore school must wait until the evening when we have the time. This is just one example of how homeschooling tools a family's day.

You have a heart for children because you express that you regret that you are not able to do the wonderful activities that appeal to your inner child. Have you ever considered that perhaps the extra activities that you have allowed your children to do may be the reason that they are robbed of time? There are many articles out there about just such issues. It seems that we homeschooling moms can be just as guilty as other moms and ever so inadvertently overload our schedules with demands that take away from our ability to be peaceful. I would suggest that you reevaluate those activities that you are involved with and see if there is something that can wait until there is more time. These activities can add up financially and that burden is stressful as well.

I admire you very much, because I sense in you a mom that is striving to do the work ahead of her. I sense in your letter the frustration borne of outside pressures. The Tempter works to niggle at us and steal our peace. Outside stresses and inside forces can be devastating to our peace. Remember that peace is of the Lord. Keep up your prayer life and know that I am praying for you. You may have to make what appears to be hard choices but in the long run if those choices are made through prayer then you will know a certain unshakable peace that is of the Lord.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn