I was flipping through a homeschool magazine and a comment caught my attention. When your children are in school then the responsibilities are spread across a lot of different positions – teacher, principal & VP, school nurse, school board, therapists, counselor, janitor, gym & music and art teachers, school board, curriculum committee, cafeteria staff, etc, etc, etc… each of them does a little (or a LOT) for your individual child. (Though they are working with many, many children of course – not just yours.) But there are a lot of adults involved in choosing curriculum, implementing it, preparing and planning and assessing, administration, nursing, cleaning, feeding, etc, etc…

When you homeschool it’s just you and your spouse. Therapists if you bring them in, though you’re covering the daily therapy. Specialized teachers if you hire them for music or art. But you are doing it ALL – picking a curriculum, setting goals for and with your child, planning lessons not just for one age group but for each of your children, attending seminars and classes to learn more about learning styles and teaching methods, doing the daily teaching, clean up, counseling, crowd control, damage control, feeding, encouraging, disciplining. You are doing it ALL. No wonder burn out is such a real concern. 🙂

BUT, you also know your children in a way that no one else does and you, unlike anyone else, are promised inspiration and guidance and wisdom beyond your own if we prayerfully seek it. All parents desperately need this but when you are taking on the additional challenge of educating your child at home then I think it becomes even more crucial. We can have that inspiration in making these decisions, big and little, as we try to fill so many roles. I find great comfort in that!!