Today we have a guest post from Trina Holden....

So you want to home school. You’ve researched, chosen curriculum, and made a schedule. But suddenly the school year is here and this is it and you’re freaking out.

You just don’t know if you can DO it.

Let me remind you of that day last month - remember? The kids were doing their big African Animal floor puzzle and you couldn’t help join in the fun? You got down on the floor and guided them to find the edges first and spot the difference between the sky and water pieces. When it was complete, you didn’t want the fun to end so you decided to sit and talk about the scene.

First you counted all the types of birds, and talked about why God gave them different features. Then you prompted them to spot the biggest animal, and the smallest, and the tallest. You taught them new words like “Wildebeast” and “Warthog”.

Then they asked a question you weren’t sure how to answer.

“Mom, why did God give an Ostrich wings if he can’t fly?”

YouTube to the rescue. You giggled as your daughter repeated your mumbled search phrase in her clear, inquiring voice - “Ostwich mating dance?” You showed the beautiful choreography of an Ostrich in love, and explained to your son that God gave Ostriches wings so they could dance to make their wives happy or something like that. Then you saw how dangerous a warthog can be, who would win if an elephant and a rhino faced off, and videos of vultures and hippos and lions and zebras and giraffes, and before you knew it, it was time for lunch.

Later that day, a visit to Grandma’s revealed a collection of plastic safari animals. The two-year-old identified every one and your son even remembered the new vocabulary words, telling Grandma that a family of hippos was a ‘pod‘, and crocodiles are helpful when they eat a dead hippo, “’cause it cleans the river!”

Then, the very next week, God gave you the opportunity to visit the zoo. (You knew it was Him because it was unexpected and free!). Your kids got to see a live rhino, pose by the glass as a hippo swam by, and watched an elephant cool off in his pool just 12 feet from their rapt little faces. As you walked through the zoo you talked about all the amazing animals God made, and the different features each one has to survive and be unique and beautiful, and suddenly you realized…

You just did a unit study on African Animals.

See? My point is, you’re already home schooling.

You’re doing math, geography, biology, social science, vocabulary, computer, and motor skills, all while simply spending time with your kids.

And when it’s time to open the books, it will be a natural progression of what you’re already doing. When the books get tougher, or you hit a wall, or your child hits a wall, or you have doubts about home schooling a highschooler, the Lord will provide that moment of affirmation, or a random trip to the zoo to show you that you’re not in this alone.

Homeschooling is a natural extension of your role as a mother, and He will give you strength and wisdom and joy as you fulfill your calling.

So jump in -- the water’s fine!

Trina Holden

Trina is a home school graduate who is just diving into her first year of home schooling her own kids, though she realizes she’s been ‘home schooling’ her 5, 3 and 1 year old since they were infants. She loves encouraging women and sharing her knowledge of sewing, making money online, and preparing real food {fast!} at her blog, All That Is Good.