Things That Are Hard About Homeschooling

So...just in case you thought life is perfect here...!!!

I thought I'd share a few of the struggles that I have with homeschooling.  Sorry, no cute pictures to go with these ones :)

It's a lot of work.  No joke.  There is just no getting around this one, it really is a lot of work.  There is prep-work, and clean up, and planning.  And then there's the actual doing of homeschool.  It's hard work, and even though I love most aspects of it most of the time, it is still pretty exhausting.

The weight of responsibility.  There is always (for me) a feeling of "Am I doing enough?" and the weight of knowing that I am, for now, responsible for my kids' educations.  I do not feel this pressure weighing heavily on me all the time, but it is definitely there.  I am learning to trust that I know my kids, that I know the progress they're making, and they're on track...but it's still there.

Spending all day with three little ones.  It is an all day, every day job that never ends.  There are sometimes short breaks during the day but for the most part this is a busy season of life.  I have never been so tired.

Having time to work individually with the boys.  They are young and still need me for most of their work (although Matthew is becoming more independent all the time).  Hannah took a few weeks to adjust to the new schedule, and I'm not going to lie - it was rough.  Every day when Brad came home I was telling him that it may not be too late to enroll them in school...!  And the thing is, I really meant it.  I was not sure at all that I could do this.  It felt overwhelming to have Hannah be so needy, on my lap, whining, while also trying to teach Matthew a reading lesson.  It felt impossible.  But slowly we have found our groove and now Hannah happily plays for 1-2 hours while I work with the boys.  We are all in the same room, and she certainly comes to me to check in, or when she is done with something, and I often redirect her to a new activity.  But it is feeling much more doable.

Fighting.  Being together all the time lends itself to lots of time to work on sibling relationships :) Much of the time, they get along very well and play together happily.  But some days, it is all I can do not to lose my mind as I try to help them work out disagreements and learn how to communicate with each other.

I can't think of anymore!  Had you asked me week one of this year, I would have gone on and on about how hard it was.  Now....I'm starting to really enjoy homeschooling!  I am seeing so much growth and change in the boys this year.  Nathan is starting to really be able to hear letter sounds in words and know which letter is making the sound, and that is so exciting because now he is one step closer to reading!  Hannah learned to cut out circles this week!  Seeing their successes day by day makes it worth it.