"Geography?  I don't remember ever learning much about geography. I'm not even sure what hemisphere the Mediterranean Sea is in," the mom of four elementary age boys bemoaned.  We were both watching our children play on the playground.

"I'm a terrible writer. I don't know where to begin to teach my child to write well," a young mother with two babies on her lap admitted to me over lunch.

"I don't know a thing about good art or good music. How on earth can I teach my children to appreciate fine art and fine music?" a mom who was considering homeschooling asked me as we discussed the possibilities for taking her children out of public school.

The biggest problem we face as homeschooling moms is not our ability to teach our children, but our confidence level in our ability to teach our children. We all have areas where we feel inadequate simply because no one can know all there is to know. In educating our children, we lay a foundation of knowledge in several areas and give them the tools of learning so that they can learn anything they need to learn.

So, know for the question, "How do I teach IT if I don't understand IT myself? That is a great question. Almost all homeschooling parents will encounter this dilemma. It might be that you've learned it, but forgotten it. Or it could be a gap in your education. Either way, there is an easy solution!

The solution to teaching something, that you don't know or don't understand yourself, is to delegate it to someone else or to learn about the subject quickly. I seldom delegate for this reason because I love to learn and I look at this situation as an opportunity to learn more! (I usually delegate because I just don't enjoy teaching something...like science experiments! smile).

Delegating

Monday morning and no need for an alarm clock. I popped out of bed with a song in my heart!  Barely sipping my coffee, I turned my attention to the day's assignments. What fun lay ahead for the children and me!

However, Tuesday morning was a completely different story.  I overslept, drank three cups of coffee, and still could not find an ounce of energy inside!

Solar Powered

What made the difference?  I am solar-powered!  If the sun is shining, I have energy. When the sun disappears, so does my energy. How blessed I am to live in the Sunshine State! Some of you are nodding your heads because you are solar powered too! Some of you love rainy days and you think I'm crazy. But all of us do have one thing in common...apart from Jesus we can do nothing!  In that way, we are all "solar powered!"

"I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing," (John 15:5 NIV)

It is hard not to be task oriented when you are homeschooling. In fact, to homeschool successfully you have to be woman with a plan. But we don't want to plan focused homeschooling moms, we want our focus to always be on Jesus. He is the One that has an even better plan than the one we have made. We can trust Him when He changes our plans to have our best interest at heart. That is why we can surrender each and every homeschooling day to Him.

Surrender

We often talk of surrender. We surrender our "whole lives" for His glory. Yet it is often the details that we hold onto because we have not truly surrendered. Giving up control of our lives does not mean that we don't have an agenda. However, we hold our agenda loosely always wanting the greater will of God to prevail. It is in the place of surrender that the grace of God is poured out. 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

The beginning of power is surrender. It takes humility to surrender. Humility allows us to admit that God's ways are better than our ways. It is perfectly ok to say to the Lord, "I just don't know how to teach my son this subject." The great thing about belonging to God is that He knows exactly how to teach your son that subject. We can receive wisdom from our heavenly Father as long as we are willing to humbly ask for His instructions.

The year we studied American History this year, five families united to  coop every Tuesday in my living room, kitchen, backyard, and nearby park. We  listened to numerous books read aloud, shot arrows from bows, worked on timelines, recited famous speeches, and created many hands-on projects. The fascinating thing to me about American History is the deep devotion to God that once lived in the hearts of men and women in this nation. Even those who rejected the Gospel admitted that God had His hand in the formation of this great nation.

Today, my heart aches for a nation that has turned away from the Lord and looks to the government to solve its problems, seemingly unaware that we are experiencing judgment as a result of our rejection of the God of the Bible and His moral laws. I am saddened to see how far we have strayed, yet hope cannot keep from rising inside me. God can still bring revival, changing the hearts of men and women once again, so that they seek His face.

This hope is tempered by the realization that it not only takes loving God, but knowing and obeying HIs Word to make a nation great. We must seek His Wisdom, found in Scripture on how to govern a nation, enact moral laws, and transform our evil culture. God speaks about history, law, politics, leadership, culture, and justice in His Word.

Orthodox Christianity is a list of beliefs that Christians adhere to. We may disagree on the non-essentials, but on this set of beliefs, Christians agree. This is the non-negotiable part of our doctrine, or core of beliefs about Who God is and How God does Things.

Do not compromise on these truths:
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• There is one God eternally existent in the Triune Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus Christ is God, the only begotten Son of the Father, eternally co-existing with Him from and beyond eternity. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again of Third Day. He ascended in bodily form into Heaven where He awaits us, is seated at the right hand of the Father and is interceding for us.

That God created the world and all that is in it. He has ownership rights over all people

"Bring back the good ole days," I find myself thinking sometimes as I pick up new-fangled, fancy curriculum that seems to have more bells and whistles than meat.

But, honestly I had very little idea of where to find that curricula.

In fact, I had little idea what these textbooks were actually like.

​That's all changed now because I got to review the Eclectic Education Series.

The Eclectic Education Series (EES) is a set of textbooks that were used in the latter part of the nineteenth century (1800's). Over 10,000 independent school boards across the nation chose to use these textbooks. Some of these textbooks will sound familiar to you, even after they have been out of use for 100 years: Ray's Arithmetic and McGuffey's Readers. All of these textbooks emphasize traditional values, patriotism, and the Bible. ​
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"Functional Neatness" was a concept I could latch on to in Homeschooling at the Speed of Life by Marilyn Rockett, a helpful guide to organizing your home and life. Full of practical wisdom from a mom who's been there, this book helps you stay on task while keeping your priorities in balance. This book might be very helpful for you! It was for me.

This book covers all the topics that are difficult and stressful for moms like me: de-cluttering, taming the paper monster, and keeping organized records. Marilyn is very administrative. She sounds like she enjoys organizing and de-cluttering. The book is positive and upbeat because her enjoyment shines through! Though I have learned to organize and keep tidy records for our family school, I don't enjoy it one little bit. I see it as a necessary evil. If you are like me, you will appreciate Marilyn. She is truly "The Mom's Mentor" dispensing wisdom with encouragement. Marilyn thinks that we can get organized and she just might be right.

Marilyn is refreshingly honest and real, but the bottom line is that she knows how to manage her home and homeschooling. She can pass on to us what she knows. This is a Titus 2 woman!

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God," (Titus 2:3-5 NIV).