Do Hard Things

I'm guest posting again today over on the CME Retreat blog. Have you ever hit a roadblock in your homeschool day and wondered, "Is something wrong; should it be this hard"? Have you ever heard that your school days should be filled with joy, or you risk killing your child's love of learning? When things get hard, does it mean that we're doing something wrong?

Have you ever noticed how a particular idea can suddenly appear all over the place, seemingly all at once? Recently I have heard some rumbles on the world wide web that homeschooling is supposed to be a joy-filled endeavor. They say that if it's not, the problem is either with you, the way you have trained your children, or the curriculum itself. They say, homeschooling shouldn’t hurt. If it does, you will kill your child’s love of learning. The moment they leave your home, they will do nothing but play video games and eat fast food all day long. To prevent this catastrophic outcome, dump your current curriculum―maybe ALL curricula―and find something more fun. (Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit, but only a little.)

It sounds so good. Who wants our days to be hard? If there is a secret that can make it easy, who wouldn’t want that?! But we are called to be wise and discerning. I know that just because something sounds good and appeals to me doesn't mean that it's true. One way I know to test an idea is to look at other parts of the world and ask myself whether this idea fits what I know to be true. Are there other situations where we get to experience wonder-filled days, joyful times where we and our kiddos are reaching our goals and desires? Well, yes. And no...

Please head over to the CME Retreat page to read the full article. After you do, I would love to hear from you, here or on the CME Retreat blog. Have you had to overcome a particular struggle in your homeschool? What did you decide to do about it? How did it go for your family?