How To Work It In ~ 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop

So, this post is a perfect example of today’s topic on how to work in things that are worthwhile or important. This is for you AND/OR for your students. Both are necessary.

For You –

Let’s start here because a happy Mom really reflects on a happy family. What do you do for yourself? When do you fit it in?

Honestly, sometimes it doesn’t fit in. I wish it did! I am waiting for the day I can join the community band again and play. But, it doesn’t fit our schedule at this time. However, I also enjoy writing (thus the blog!) and I enjoy finding encouragement, whether through reading or listening or talking to friends. So, how do I “work it in?”

I listen while I walk in the mornings. I have recently been listening to a parenting seminar by Steve Minor that we attended a couple of years ago. It is tremendously helpful and encouraging. (Take a listen through the church website. This particular one is the first in the series and there are a total of five lessons. The series is titled Family Matters! – 2016 Family Seminar. It is from December 2016 and the best way to get there from the main lessons page is to filter by the year 2016. It shows up on that first page after setting that filter.)

My writing generally takes place at night after the girls have gone to bed, as that is when I can write and focus and not have a million interruptions. (You know, don’t you?) So, I write and share and post. And that is good for me. And why this is a perfect example of working it in – we got home from worship services this evening, and then I had to get the girls to bed and the kitchen needed attention and the laundry and now, here I am at 10:30 PM writing the post I had hoped to get up first thing this morning. But, I worked it in. And I am hoping it is an encouragement to you.

As far as friendships go, I get a lot of joy from spending time before and after worship services chatting with others. I get a lot of my friend-time after Wednesday evening services as one friend in particular and I tend to chat for an hour or so after church. It helps that our kiddos get friend-time, too. Another time I get to work in some friendships is our monthly small group Bible study. We have several families that we are trying to get together with once a month or so to have a Bible study. And it is encouraging. Sometimes, it takes work to get it in, but we do because it is important.

For the Girls –

This is harder because it takes time and money for a lot of what they want to do. Their friendships – well, I mentioned those above but we also try to do some other things with their friends once a month or so. But their additional interests come with good friends, too. Dance and violin and library and sign language and volunteering – all these take time and money, to some extent. So, we talk about what is important, why they are interested in this particular thing, and then we decide whether to spend the time and/or money on the activity. This is the joy of home schooling, isn’t it? We do get to make these decisions and spend the time on it instead of sitting in a study hall or taking the same language class as everyone else because they only offer two at the huge local high school. So, let me encourage you to take with your students. Find their interests. And then search out ways to invest in the interest. Maybe it is just YouTube videos because that is all that can be afforded right now or you only have one car. That’s okay! (My dad taught himself wood turning through YouTube and he turns out gorgeous work! You don’t have to believe me – check out his work!)

Working it in is not the “easy way out”, though someone else may be doing the teaching. It is still a commitment. It still takes time. And, often, it takes money, even if only investing in tools or materials. It all adds up. But, look at the value! It is worth it to figure out how to work it in.

Blessings,
At Home.

There are more than 40 homeschool moms writing encouragement posts today on this Work It In Wednesday! I encourage you to visit the anchor post for the Crew and also some of the ladies’ blogs to gather more encouragment to yourself. You can do that by the linky on the Crew blog or by visiting some of the blogs below.

Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Angie @ Run Ran Family Adventures & Learning
Annette @ A Net in Time
Ashley @ Gift of Chaos
Betty @ Let’s Get Real
Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
Carol @ Home Sweet Life
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses

Tagged: Back to Homeschool, encouragement, TOS