by Stefany Smith

Created on: January 04, 2009

You are right, I confess. I am not even close to the most intelligent person. I have very little patience. I am a college student. I work outside of the home. I am far from the super-mom image attributed to homeschool mothers. And last but not least, I am poor. So what qualifies me to homeschool 4 children?

Simply put, it is love and understanding. I love my children enough to want the best for them. I understand them enough to figure out what that is. I love them enough that I cannot stand the thought of pushing them off to be raised by someone else. I understand them enough to know that they desire my attention.

While I make a point that I believe love and understanding are the key elements which make me capable to homeschool my children, I also understand that there is a lot more to it than that. Those weaknesses I confessed are also my strengths. Without them, I would be a failure. With them, I have all the power in the world.

Knowing that I do not have all the answers, and I have a lot of room to grow, allows me to help my children explore on their own. I don't have to teach them all the facts they need to know to graduate. I only need to teach them how to find the answers for themselves. This is a much more powerful tool than filling their brains with tons of memorized facts and figures, because my kids choose what, when, where, and how they learn new things. And this will benefit them for their entire lives.

Having little patience forces me to spend more one-on-one time with each of my four children. It also pushes me to be imaginative and inventive in the ways I introduce ideas to my children. I can understand their patience and interest levels better, through my own. Plus, on the occasion mom needs a timeout, there is a ready-made, real-life learning lesson on social skills for the children.

Many could assume that the time and energy I have to devote to my education and work would decrease my ability to educate my children. If I allowed it to, it would. However, I use these opportunities to help my children. Seeing their mother poor her time and attention into school work, and work toward goals to better her life, are great examples for any child. My older children often ask me about my studies, and give me opportunities to share new ideas with them. One of my girls has even used some of my textbooks for her personal discoveries.

Having knowledge of my imperfections allows me to constantly work toward bettering myself. Plus, I never portray myself in a way that my children could assume I know everything or have all the answers. Yes, they can depend on me for their basic needs, but they know that they have to depend on themselves, and look on their own for some of life's answers. Also, examining my faults, and not hiding them from my children, allows me to work through them in plain sight. This also provides ready-made life-lessons for the children.

Without a surplus of money floating around the house, my family has to be frugal and inventive. My children aren't being raised with the "got-to-have-it-right-now" mentality that so many of today's youth are. They have to work for the things they want. They have to set goals, and make plans to achieve them, create fundraisers, and follow through if they really want that exciting field trip or new video game or science equipment. Having to work for these things creates a sense of accomplishment and ownership for the children that they couldn't get in any other educational system.

So, yes, I confess that I am less than perfect. Far from it really. But that is truly what makes home schooling the adventure that it should be.

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