"Am I really giving my kids a good education? Who needs to wear clothes, anyhow? I haven't showered in a week! Why isn't my son reading "The Lord of the Rings" at age 5 like Sarah's kid? The only prayer I have time to pray is, "Lord, help me!" Has anyone seen the answer key for the spelling book?" All of these stresses make it so hard to keep joy in your life. Trying to homeschool, keep the house in order and keep track of everything, all at once, sometimes is very overwhelming. Build the foundation of your life on three key pillars and it will be easier to find the joy.
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I get how you're feeling and I'm here to help. In my experience of over 20 years of homeschooling, I probably have seen it all and experienced most of it. The good news is that because of that I can help you to keep JOY in your life and your A GAME on. I mean, really, if you're going to homeschool, you might as well all enjoy it as much as possible, right?
Over the years I have found that the three main pillars of a joyful homeschooling mom are the following. She is:
- Prayerful
- Organized
- Engaged in self-care
Now, that's not to say you can't be joyful if you're missing one or two, but I truly believe that if you, an incredible and heroic Catholic Homeschooling mama, want to enjoy the journey you are on with your family, then engaging in these three practices will make a world of difference.
A caveat: I've discovered how important these three things are in order to have joy in your life, but it was done over a number of years. Realize that this is a journey and it might take you time to develop solid habits in each of the 3 pillars.
Being Prayerful
This allows you to have something to start and end the day off right with. It allows you to have something to fall back on when things get rough, and it gives you a multitude of Saints to help you to walk the path God has called you to walk.
In this blog space I'll share with you ways that I've found that will help you to be more prayerful and give you the respite you need.
I'll also be sharing a lot of resources that have been helpful through the years. Here's one to start: praying the rosary live every morning on Instagram.
Being Organized
...just makes life so much easier. You might not think you have it in you, but everyone can learn to be more organized!
I even have a book that can help you to get there!
Let's talk about getting your homeschool day more organized as well as planning out your meals. How about your chores and even your personal and family time? Do they need some TLC? We will do that here, too!
Engaging in Self-Care
This is a must! Want to exercise but don't have time? Want to get your errands done and the bills paid but don't know when you're going to ever accomplish that?
Need to stop playing the comparison game? (btw, the answer to that is YES!) I'm totally convicted that comparing your family to another homeschooling family can ruin your homeschool experience.
We'll also spend time talking about ways to bolster your self-confidence as well as your productivity.
My Journey
Born and raised Catholic, it was over 25 years ago that I had my reversion back to the faith and I've been homeschooling my seven children for over 20 years now. Well, I currently am only homeschooling two of them as the other five have graduated. I have a sense of humor and still have all of my faculties intact (LOL) so I'm excited to help you out on your journey to keep yours intact, too, and to help you build a firm foundation that will allow you to keep joy in your life.
My job is to guide you through this process, giving you tips, tricks and humorous anecdotes, great information and a whole lot of encouragement!
I'm glad you're here. Look around and join in the conversations. Please check back in and then share what you like with others. Let's make this the best homeschooling journey we can. I mean, you only get one chance to do it right. Wait, you get as many chances as you have kids, I guess, so let's make each one count.
I hope you'll share your wisdom here, too. I'm so excited for this endeavor and, with God's grace, look forward to being here for a long time.