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Question:

Having eight "stair-step" children, I am curious about the actual dynamic of a typical day for homeschooling. Having small children as well as school-aged children, I want to know more about how to teach the older ones while keeping the little ones at bay. Knowing that I have my work cut out for me, I want to make sure that I am completely prepared for what lies ahead. Though my husband and I have only been discussing homeschooling for a week or so, I am ready to take on the job of researching it. I have realized that my children are only small for a short time and that their time at school is time that I would like to share with them. Influences are prominent, homework is going into the extreme, and the pressure is building. I want to play a more influential role in my children's lives. I want my husband and me to step up and be their mentors, their spiritual leaders, their guide. We have eight of the best children that God has given this world, and I want to be more involved in their lives. They are precious to me, and they are growing. Soon they will be grown and out of the house and I want to know that I did my very best at helping them to become responsible, devout, and intelligent adults. I want them to grow together and be friends into their adult lives. I feel that through homeschooling, the focus is on the family and its objectives. I just want to make sure that I know what I am getting myself into. I am very strong-willed and focused. I take my family and my faith very seriously. The Catholic school that my children are currently attending has met every single one of my expectations for my children. My only intention is to be more involved in my children's lives. No one sees a child like a mother can. I want to help my children reach their full potential, see them for who they are as individuals, and maintain a very positive relationship with them. Can that happen with small children?? Thank you for your time. I appreciate all of your input.

Answer:

Dear Mom,

God bless you and thank you for such a powerful letter. Your reasons for wanting to homeschool are exacting and certainly speak to the heart of the reasons why many families feel called to this lifestyle. You have a heart for children and for the holy work of parenting. Remembering that Jesus does not show us the full extent of all that He will ask of us, we go into this work ready to meet the challenges that may arise.

To describe a typical homeschool day would be tedious and certainly unrealistic in that my day would not be like another mother's day. Yet both of us would have accomplished what we set out to do, that is if what we desire to do, for any one day, is the will of the Lord and is done in the most peaceful and holy way possible. I am not trying to be vague but I think it is important to tune your day to meet the needs of your family and the specific challenges that Jesus sends for that day.

For example, today the girls and I were up very early (5am) . We walked and then had breakfast. We studied Latin and creative writing. Later in the morning we left for a doctor's appointment. Now we are busy preparing the house for a birthday celebration and a puppet show for one of their older siblings. This evening we will have a party and my husband will call a Contra dance for us to end the celebration. Is this a typical day? I prefer to think in terms of 'a day'. We are together, enjoying each other's company and working our priorities to meet the needs of one another. Our day will end with the family Rosary. To me, being together praying the Rosary and offering up one another's intentions is the best of any day.

Please pray to know the Lord's will for you and your family. Pray with your husband and consider that homeschooling is just one of many ways that parents choose to educate their children and it does not ensure that there will be a life free of challenges. However, when parents pray together with their children they can rest assured that the Lord will honor their desire to know Him, love Him and serve Him.

Let us offer up our prayers this evening for all those families that find they must face severe challenges and sorrows. Let us offer up our prayers for those families that find the holy days of Christmas to be particularly painful, owing to the fact that they may face this holy time far from family and loved ones. Let us pray that they seek the comfort of knowing that no matter the situation in which they find their family, the prayers offered for one another reach across all boundaries.

Sending out a prayer,

Rita Munn