Welcome to Learning Together Tuesday!
Today I wanted to share some of my favorite resources that I’ve gleaned so much from as a mother and a homeschooler. I believe that an important part of schooling my children is continuing to educate myself on ways in which to grow as their mother and teacher.
Out of the thousands of articles and books available about homeschooling and mothering, I have several that I return to again and again. They are articles that I’ve printed out and put in a binder so that I can read them on a regular basis to remind myself of some important truths.
These words have changed me. They have helped me to put my homeschooling and mothering goals in a proper framework. They have given me encouragement to live peacefully even when at times, the sometimes gritty reality of day-to-day dwelling, learning and growing together seem to cloud out my bright educational vision.
I hope that you will take the time to read each of these articles, even if you have to bookmark them and return to them when you have time to yourself and a cup of tea. 
Even if you aren’t homeschooling your children, there is so much to glean for any parent. Happy reading!
1. A Day in the Life of Homeschooling: 7 Rungs - Ann Voskamp
I return to this article at least once a school term as I think about how I want to fill our days. Its an awesome responsibility to decide what I, along with my children, will do with our precious time. Whatever I decide to make a priority in the day will be the things that my children will think are the most important. Ann’s wise words have helped me to place those priorities wisely.
From the article:
Our choices add up.
Habits into hours, decisions into days, lists into a life.
The way in which we live our moments, our choices for the gift of the next 24 hours, are rungs on a ladder. The rungs take us somewhere. These moments are rungs scaling each and everyday… making a life.
How do we know everyday what is a worthwhile investment of our time and what will burn up, straw at the end of time? How do we cultivate not simply well-trained minds, but nurture holistic, well-lived lives? How do we work everyday towards raising up children, who are not merely academic automatons, but exuberant, soul-healthy, worshipers of God, committed to meaningful, eternal Kingdom work? How do we set our ladders against the right wall, and make the opportunity of today count for eternity?
Simply put, how do we make our way through a day?
Read the rest of the article HERE.
2. How to Parent: Just Guide Gently - Ann Voskamp
The advice in this article is so important for us as mothers to understand. It’s far too easy for me, being the perfectionist that I am, to push my little ones through their academics and other tasks.
Come along with Ann as she observes her own mother teaching her daughter how to sew…
“If you’ll look closely, do you see how it puckers here, when you push the material through? Don’t rush, or push the fabric along. If you push the material through, you’ll end up with wrinkled, disappointing handiwork. You just guide….”
“Gently?” Hope offers.
“Yes! That’s it precisely: no pushing…or you’ll wrinkle everything. Just guide gently.”
Continue reading HERE.
3. Solving the Crisis in Homeschooling – Reb Bradley
This is a rather lengthy article but I believe a must for anyone choosing to homeschool. My copy is highlighted and Dan and I have had many discussions based on Mr. Bradley’s sound wisdom.
The introduction to his article states:
When my three married children were young, I was overly-confident in my approach to parenting. I was convinced that my children would grow up godly, and that they would avoid significant struggles with sin because of my parenting. I was absolutely certain that since I was training them ”in the way they should go”, and I was doing most everything I had written in my book, I would be a success as a parent. However, I had yet to discover it wasn’t all about ME and MY success. In fact, I had yet to learn that the parent who thinks it’s all about THEIR success is often contributing to their children’s struggles…
As each of my three oldest children reached adulthood I was shocked to discover that they did not conform exactly to the values I had sought to give them. They had retained much of what I had given, but not everything. Instead of being perfect reflections of my training, they each turned out to be individuals who had their own values and opinions. I had wrongly thought them to be exactly like wet clay, me being the potter with total control over what they would become. I was not prepared for their individuality, nor was I ready to see them as fleshly beings. As I watched them each face off with the Lord and have their own struggles with the flesh, like I had when I was their age, my homeschool dreams crashed royally.
After several years of examining what went wrong in our own home and in the homes of so many conscientious parents, God has opened our eyes to a number of critical blind spots common to homeschoolers and other family-minded people. Bev and I still stand behind what we have taught on parenting in the past. However, we urgently add to it the following insights…
Read the rest of the article HERE.
4. 10 Things to Do with Your Child Before Age 10 -Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn
A great list for all parents, homeschooling or not. If we forget all the fancy curriculum and focus on these 10 things, there’s a good chance our children will be on the road to a lifetime of loving to learn.
From the article:
“If you lay a firm foundation, then you can build upon it a mighty edifice. But if you skimp on the foundation and begin hastily, then the building may sag and lean, and parts may fall as the foundation sinks or crumbles beneath it.”
Read about the 10 things HERE.
5. Reducing Stress with Peaceful Living - Mrs. Stanley Sherman
A wonderful list of practical ways that we can reduce stress in our lives. Whenver I find myself too stressed out, I pull out this article and remind myself that I’m often contributing to the normal stresses of life instead of helping to minimize them.
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There are so many books on homeschooling that it’s hard to even make a list of the most helpful ones. However, there are three books that have a prominent place of my shelf so they can be read over and over again. If you haven’t read them, I can highly recommend them with confidence that they will give you a fresh vision of educating your children.
For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
When Children Love to Learn edited by Elaine Cooper
Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell
Please feel free to add your own favorite homeschooling and/or mothering articles or books in the comment section below. I’d love to read them.
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Thanks for joining me for Learning Together Tuesday! For previous Tuesdays, click HERE.
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