For all homeschool moms, you have been officially elevated to a higher status than other moms as you are deemed to have more patience. 😉
Seriously, I think all moms are wonderful and I do not like the typical comparisons of work at home vs. work outside of the home moms. However, I was at the library yesterday and there is a mom that is there quite frequently for story time and her dc look to be about the ages of mine so while the dc are in story time, I ask her if she is homeschooling. She says, “no, I do not have the patience.” I smile, nod and say “neither do I”….of course, she is perplexed by that response so she tries to explain what she means; however, I am quite serious in that I do not think that God bestowed an extra measure of patience on homeschool moms.
This wonderful mom just taught her oldest to read and her youngest is quite bright and her dh thinks she should homeschool being that she is already home with them and ‘teaching’ them but she feels that she doesn’t have the patience. Instead they are going to send him to a school in September for K-4 for $5,000. That’s when it dawned on me..maybe I am just cheap. 🙂
I did not try to brow beat her into homeschooling because it is like anything else in life in that if you do not want to do it that will show in how you do it. Therefore, I do not think parents should venture down the road of homeschooling in a foolhearted fashion as we are talking about darling little souls that need nurturing and guidance. However, I did try to share with her that she is already doing it and that based upon where her children were academically by what they have learned at home under her lack of patience teaching has probably put them ahead of others that she is going to send them to school with….I know of 6 year olds that are now readers having been taught in K at public/private schools and hers is starting to read at 4 and who knows where he will be by September.
Back to patience, I think that God included patience as a fruit of the spirit because it is something that we must daily (moment by moment) seek to have as we walk in/with the Holy Spirit. As a result, none of us have a lock on patience and the moment we think we do, we are dealt a situation in which our lack of patience is quickly revealed to us. I am always struggling with patience and I know that I definitely have more now than I did a 5 years ago but I know that there is still more that I can have and marriage, motherhood, parenting, homeschooling and life drive that point home to me on a daily basis.
I was really struck by the thought that those that homeschool are thought to have more patience, we are just extraordinary moms, like all extraordinary moms, trying to do what we feel is best for our children. Remember, the only way to gain more patience is putting yourself in a situation that tries your patience. 🙂
3 comments
April 18, 2007 at 6:45 pm
onlysometimesclever
Ah, yes, patience. I get “accused” of having that in abundance. However, I most oftentimes don’t *feel* patient. I think there are surely some homeschooling moms who are naturally patient, but I am not one of them. I do, though, regularly practice patience, and *act* patient w/ my kids, even when I don’t feel like it (like today, when my 5yo was just NOT getting the idea of rhyming — totally not getting it).
And, then, there are other times when I *don’t* act in patience… But, you know, tomorrow is always a new day. 🙂 Learning and growing and maturing and doing better day by day is as much for the mom’s benefit as it is for the kids’.
But, in general, I think a self-diagnosed lack of patience is a lousy reason to not homeschool.
April 19, 2007 at 2:18 am
Mel
Homeschooling moms have more patience, huh? I must have been in the restroom when the bonus patience was handed out. 🙂
I think the most important component to being “able” to homeschool is a real and true desire to make it work. Sure having a lot of patience helps, but like you said, patience is something to be worked on daily.
April 19, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Michelle
You are so right. We don’t learn how to ride a bike unless we actually get on the bike. So we can’t learn anything about patience if we aren’t face to face with a bunch of things that tries our patience–and kids know how to do that! I think I hear this comment probably more than the socialization comments. It’s really funny that all of a sudden once our kids become school aged, we don’t have the patience for them anymore. It’s actually sad, not funny, but I see it alot. My sister has one child who is 2 and she tells me all the time that her kid is driving her nuts. She sees him probably 2 hours a day and weekends, unless she hands him off to the grandparents. When I hear her say that, I think how sad it is that the only time she has with him is a few hours and during those times he is driving her nuts…wow. I must be patient then because I actually enjoy my kids. Yes, they drive me nuts at times too but I think I’m allowed considering I’m with them 24/7!!
Anyway, those are my two cents. Thanks for the reminder. I think I needed it today.