Dear Mom,

I want to thank you for entrusting your question to this forum. It is obvious that you are in the process of discernment as to the calling to enter the homeschooling lifestyle. Please continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide your efforts as you strive to know the Lord's will.

I would be happy to 'walk you through' a typical homeschooling day if I knew for sure what a typical day looked like. I am not trying to be irreverent but the truth of homeschooling is that it is a lifestyle in every sense of the word. As a lifestyle it molds itself around the life of the family who is called into this vocation. In other words one of the great blessings of homeschooling is the fact that schooling is woven into the very fabric of the family and their life in that 'school' becomes an opportunity all through the day. We are created to learn. All people learn. It is in learning that we yearn for the Lord. Therefore homeschooling families find that they are journeying into an adventure whereby they seize each moment and put it to use in education. Education becomes life and therefore learning becomes a lifelong joy.

When we have younger children who are not ready for the discipline of formal education we must work schooling of older children in and around their schedules. When I had little people and nursing persons I would reserve the rigors of schooling to the times of the day that were the most peaceful for the little people. This for me was the mornings. I would get the little guys settled with their needs and then it was to the kitchen table for the books with the older children. I would work on the subjects that required my hands on attention. I really used the format that many public school teachers must rely on. I would instruct carefully, answer questions, and then allow the student to work independently (this is the reason homework is brought home at the end of a school day). Later in the day I would reserve time to check over their independent work and answer questions and teach. The ideal that I strived for was 2-4 hours of teaching time throughout the day. Mind you this is one on one with the children who are in formal school.

I have homeschooled through highschool and find it a wonderful lifestyle. Older students are expected to work independently and to be accountable for their efforts.

I try to keep to a schedule allowing for the normal day to day interruptions of life. Classroom teachers have the same interruptions as well. In fact all persons who are working (life's work is work) must deal with interruptions. We must remember that in those interruptions we are receiving a call from the Lord to do a task for Him. With that thought in mind I tried very hard to limit the number of needless interruptions. The telephone is one example.

I have been using the first person in my explanation of a homeschooling day and the reason for that is to show you that the way a day is spent is personal and unique to the family that has the blessing of another day together.

I would suggest that you talk with several homeschooling families and listen to the way they work their day. Listen to the heartfelt emotions that are not spoken but are understood in the way they approach the homeschooling day. You are likely to hear moms speak of colicky babies, maybe gardens that need attention, difficult pregnancies, or silly toddlers. There will be stories of sorrow that are handled lovingly as these families still strive to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. There will be lost months while mom recovers from a delivery and cares for a newborn or an entire family moves to another state. Some will speak of dads being the primary educator while mom works outside the home for a time. But in every description of a 'typical' day you are likely to find one constant and true ingredient. This ingredient is the most essential to the success of every homeschooling day. The ingredient.... A love of Jesus and a desire to do His will with our lives through the circumstances we are given in a day. The Morning Offering is a powerful prayer in that it powerfully reminds us that our lives belong to God.

Catholic homeschooling families are striving to pass on the Catholic faith, using each day as a classroom.

Keep praying. Keep asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in the discernment process. If Jesus wants you to homeschool you will find a certain peace when the choice is made to go forward into this lifestyle. You are in my prayers. I admire you greatly for the courage to discern what the Lord would have you do. This is a great blessing. Your household is a loving and busy one I am sure. Praise God!!

Let us pray together the Morning Offering.

Oh Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary we offer You all our prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for our sins, for the intentions of all our associates, for the poor souls in Purgatory and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father for this month. Amen.

Sending out a prayer,
Rita Munn