You have this amazing plan in your mind on how each day is going to go for your homeschool.  Kids are eager to learn, the housework is getting done and dinner will, indeed, be served on time.  I probably do not have to tell you that things don’t always look like what we imagine in our minds. My ideals of a perfect homeschool day rarely become a reality.  I sometimes struggle with the question on whether I am doing enough or are we really covering the things that we need to do?  Every summer, I am in this reflective mode of evaluating how our homeschool year went.  Would I change anything?  What do I want to do different this year? Is it time to look at hiring someone that could do a better job than me? Okay, maybe I don’t want to someone else teaching my kids but in the moments of failure, it is a fleeting thought.

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of taking a class online that was about bringing focus and alignment to your year. I actually try to take this class every summer before my homeschool year starts.  I have always known that I wanted to homeschool my kids and that we would homeschool them all the way through highschool.  I felt like God has called me to homeschool and that it was the best education I could give to my children. This helped greatly when I wanted to quit. When I had those random thought of how my kiddos might have a better education without me.  

I knew that I was supposed to continue on my journey of homeschooling despite trials that we might have walked through in our lives.  But what I loved about this class was that it brought words to the calling that I felt about homeschooling.  It also brought clarity to what I knew was the most important things to focus on.  I was able to put into words what I wanted my kiddos to leave with when they graduated from our homeschool.

This class was given by Sarah Mackenzie from ReadAloudRevival.com.  The class is called “Focus and Align”. It is part of her membership classes.  Sarah Mackenzie is a homeschool mom of six who is a great encouragement to homeschool community.  She has “Master Classes” that help equip homeschoolers with more tools for their journey.  If you get a chance to take one of her classes, I would encourage you to do it.  I have homeschooled for over 11 years and her class blessed my homeschool world.  She also wrote a book called “Teaching from a State of Rest”.  I think every parent should read this book.  She gave words to what I had been feeling for the last couple of years.  God desires to have us teach from rest and to not leave the unshakeable peace that he has for us.  Definitely worth your time to read this book.

In the “Focus and Align” Class, Sarah talks about having a “Rule of Six”. This is simply a list of six top things that you want your kids to come away with once they leave the nest. When I listed my six things, I was surprised to find that none of them had much to do with being at the top, academically. Although, I do believe, the by-product of following my “Rule of Six” will result in higher academics. Each family is different, so what is important to my family and our homeschool might not be what another family values. The point of focusing on what my goals in homeschooling are wasn’t to align with everybody else, but it was to bring focus to what I really wanted to teach my children and what I wanted them to walk away with.

Here is My “Rule of Six”:

Now, does this mean that I don’t value higher academics? Of course not! I have a daughter on the journey of pursuing medical school and in that process, she has to learn high levels of math and science. I have another child that at 16 years of age has started his own marketing company and is working on being successful in his own business. My kiddos are in love with speech and debate and compete at national levels.

My “Rule of Six” is the focus I want to have and out of those pursuits, I will see my children explore higher academics. For example, my daughter is in love with science. She is chasing wonder as she explores the microscopic world. My son is seeking deeper understanding as he learns to run his own business. I will admit I am a little bit of a control freak so the realization of what I truly wanted my focus to be in my homeschool spoke freedom. I didn’t need to stress about whether I was teaching my children enough or whether I was checking off all my boxes. I just needed to guide my children in their pursuit of their own love of learning.

So, when my house is in disarray or my kids only know the language of being obstinate, I think of my “Rule of Six”. Honestly, some days in our homeschool are more character building days then getting academics done. Other days, the only thing I did was read a story to my kids among the chaos, but I learning to recognize that this is okay! Those are the days that stretch me and I learn to let go. This journey of homeschooling is not a sprint but a marathon. This is a brief season in my life where I have been given the opportunity to live life, love and teach my 5 children. I am learning to enjoy and embrace the process. It’s a gift and its so worth it!

Resources:

Master Class: ReadAloudRevival.com- Sarah Mackenzie-Focus and Align and Focus and Align 2.0