“Thou shalt not compare thyself to other homeschoolers.”

I was very fortunate to have homeschool moms in my life during the early years who were very real and honest with me.

They told me they made mistakes.

And that it’s okay when I make mistakes.

They shared some of their frustrations and how they were learning from them and they listened to mine and encouraged me. …. We all need that.

We all need to know that life on the other side of the pretty family portrait or the impressive science fair project or the clean and tidy blog page is not perfect. Their grass is not greener. We all have weeds, brown spots that need water, and large patches that flourish and grow. And we don’t need to fool ourselves in to thinking that we aren’t good enough and that if we could only be like them everything would be so much better. Or worse, that we aren’t good enough and should just quit.

Never, ever give up because you don’t think you can compare to “everybody else.”

The truth is that I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I mess up. But I am the perfect teacher for my children. I know their hearts. I have a heart for theirs, with their best interests in mind.

I know their fears, their interests, their strengths, their weaknesses. I know how to encourage them, challenge them, inspire them.

It’s just that sometimes I forget that. DO YOU??

When we do, we can get right back up and dig right back in. Having a heart for homeschooling your children, loving them unconditionally, doing your best and trusting God with the rest will go a long way toward covering over the little mistakes.

Don’t get me wrong.. there’s a lot to be learned from other homeschool moms. (This post, case in point. I hope that I can help encourage you in some way if you’re struggling with comparing and feeling inadequate.) I enjoy talking to other moms and reading other blogs to see what other people are doing. Sometimes another perspective on something is a good thing which leads you to a different conclusion that you would not have come to on your own. If it were not for other homeschool moms I wouldn’t know about the Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory System, the Westminster Catechism for Kids workbooks or Teaching Textbooks — all of which are good things that work for us.

On the other hand, you will find much more than you could ever do in your own homeschool, and much of that will not be a good fit for you. The Workbox System is a wonderful thing but we’ve tweaked it to fit our own needs SO MUCH I’m not sure it can even be called a Workbox system anymore. And the history timeline seemed like a FABULOUS idea at the time but we never could get around to making it happen. (We’re going to try one more time, though!)

The point is that we can’t all be like everyone else. And we don’t have to be. We aren’t supposed to be.

And that’s okay.

Be you.

Be the mother of your children, the keeper of your home, the one who knows what will and won’t work for your family. Seek God because He will give you wisdom in these things and find your value in the value that HE has given you and the mission he has called you to. No one else can give you that.

Go forth, enjoy each other’s homeschool stories, be encouraged, inspired — but whatever you do:

No comparing!

God Bless. =)

~~

This post is a part of the ABCs of Homeschooling series by Dawn @ 5 Kids and a Dog. It was born out of need, as lately I have seen more and more homeschool moms online despairing of their battle with feeling inadequate and comparing themselves with others. I am so fortunate that I was able to establish a habit of Not Comparing early in my homeschool ‘career’ thanks to some very wonderful women God placed in my life. Whenever that ugly monster tries to rear its ugly head I can put it back in its place! It’s my prayer that you will be able to release the need to compare and give it over to God, that he would free you from these feelings of inadequacy.

If God has called you to it, He will equip you to do it!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew: 7:7-8

You can find the rest of my ABCs of Homeschooling posts here:

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Amber

Hey, y’all! I’m Amber and I wear many hats. I drink a ton of coffee and I’m constantly sweeping crumbs off the floor. After 20+ years of homeschooling, we are starting over at preschool with our fourth, Lil Miss Mouse. She keeps us young and she’s the main reason for my excessive coffee consumption. Drink up!