The Gift of Time

by Vicki Stormoen

The beginning of a new homeschool year usually brings a cacophony of mixed emotions. There are some of you that are likely excited to get started and some of you that….well, not so much. That is all perfectly normal! Allow yourself some grace as you ease back into the routine and flow of another school year.

One thing I have learned to appreciate over the past 27 years of homeschooling is the gift of time. I have come to view homeschooling as a 13-year journey and not a year by year test. Having the benefit of taking several kids “all the way through,” I can clearly see how everything fits together and how the learning process is so individual and unique to each child. I have lived through the “this child will never, ever, learn to read” to “will you please put that book down and do your algebra!” I understand now not to panic when they still do not know their multiplication facts in 3rd grade. I know you do not need to lose sleep over the fact that you may still be doing dotted letters for your 1st grader.
As homeschoolers we often talk about the fact that we have the ability to tailor our kids’ education to their individual skills and abilities. And when they excel above the grade defined textbook, we applaud our efforts and talk about how successful this all is. But when they struggle or can’t read the grade defined reader, we convince ourselves we are inadequate to the task, or there is something wrong with that child. But it is in that moment, that moment when they are struggling and can’t do it, that homeschooling is the most successful. In a classroom situation, everything cannot come to a screeching halt while everyone waits for your child to “get it.” In a traditional school setting, your child cannot progress to the next grade level without being (more or less) exactly where everyone else is. Not so with homeschooling. You slow down when you need to (just as you speed up when you need to), and sometimes you just work with the difficulty and wait for it to work itself out in a year or two.

My reminder for all of us as we start this new school year is this: You have time. Lots of it. Your children will get some things faster than others, and most likely, will get some things slower than others. But they will get it. Work with their strengths and slow down where they need you to. That’s the beauty of homeschooling. If you start at the beginning, you have 13 years to work with. Looking at it that way makes the journey much less daunting, in that not everything has to be learned on a predefined timetable. Enjoy your child, and this precious time you have one-on-one with him, encouraging and leading him in his weaknesses and propelling and challenging him in his strengths. When he finally graduates, knowing everything he was "supposed to learn", it won't matter that it wasn't until 5th grade he finally mastered his math facts. But that time and relationship you built in those years will matter. Focus on that.

Have a great educationally custom-tailored year!