This is my second year homeschooling my children and I’m absolutely excited!

During my first year, I found myself preparing classes for two grades, 2^nd and 4^th at that time. I’ll never forget the times when I had Nathalia (2^nd grader) working on her math problems while I gave Gianna (4^th grader) her spelling test. I recall Gianna saying to me one day: “Wow Mom! You’re a great multi-tasker! I definitely want to grow up and be like you some day!”

Homeschooling is a Rewarding Experience

Homeschooling my children has been life changing, emotionally enhancing and personally rewarding.

Homeschooling has given me the opportunity to know my children better and to really become close to them. I have come to appreciate their intelligence, talents, creativity, abilities and have seen how their level of emotional stability has increased. They are healthy and always joyful! I notice how this contributes so much in their ability to focus on their studies and be very productive.

My daughters share with me that when they were in school they would feel melancholic and at times would cry silently at their desk bowing their heads just wishing they were with me.

Challenges Modern Women Face as they Consider Homeschooling

We modern women face great challenges in maintaining the balance between pursuing our dreams in career and/or business, while meeting our responsibilities as loving wives and mothers.

Mothers have always had a great demand to be nurturers and providers of love and care. A house without a woman’s touch and her motherly love must be pretty empty and void of grace.

I love the fact that education is so available to women today. I personally got my education prior to getting married and having children. I met my husband in the middle of completing my master’s degree. The idea of quitting my dreams or completing them after we were married was never brought up, and it wouldn’t have been an option on my part as I’ve always been very goal-oriented.

(PS:  you know you’ll be marrying the right person if their relationship enhances your life rather than defer or steer you away from your dreams!)

Having a career is extremely beneficial. I personally experience greater respect and better treatment.

However, once you become a mother, you become acquainted with a deeper you: a self-less person who puts the needs of her children first. And you’ll do anything to make your babies’ lives a little easier!

I believe that marriage is the greatest test of humility.

Motherhood is the greatest test of love.

Changes in Perspective About Homeschooling

My outlook changed and I decided I would make the most of being with my babies because no one else gives a rip about them as much as my husband and I do. This is what keeps me going!

I was always used to doing business dealings and being among business people and entrepreneurs. I did not know how I would cope in being a homeschooling parent and entrepreneur!

I’ve discovered that this has been a high calling for me!  I find it a privilege to be so close to my children and watch them grow.

Plus, I know that in a few short years, my firstborn will be attending college, ready to spread her own wings and fly. It’s not many years away – just about 7!

I’ve learned that life does not end here.  Once the kids are off to college, a new phase in life begins. In the meantime, I can still pursue my dreams while I get to enjoy them.

Homeschooling is a Priceless Experience

My husband allowed me to see how I was so privileged to be home with the children. I always wanted to do that since I had my first child, but the circumstances then did not allow it.

And the results, are priceless!

My children are focused, very intelligent, they do their studies in a college-style independent level, they follow the curriculum to the teeth (while of course I stay on top of it!), they enjoy their hot lunches, my job of grading papers is  extremely easy as they get excellent grades, they take tests and quizzes every single week, I get to work from home….and they come with me everywhere – business meetings (when appropriate), board meetings, etc!

Can’t beat that!

Homeschooling is Affordable

My children were attending a very affordable great Christian school where they learned great manners and a heart for God and His Word. We all loved it.

My children did not go through the devastating experience other kids have gone through in the public school system. They were very well taken care of.

(PS:  All the bullying in schools affects children tremendously and the school system will not give my children the care, love and attention that they really deserve. If they don’t “fit” the mold or fit in with their “friends”, your children may be placed in a position  that could hurt them, instead of enhancing their learning. We’ve all been victims of that at some point or other when we were in public schools ourselves. One way it had affected me was in not voicing my opinion, thoughts and ideas. During my high school and college years, I had to change that. But it can affect children to be timid and suppress their real talents.)

Last year I pulled all my hairs out preparing the classes for two grades, etc.  I would be exhausted come 3pm.  Then this summer I learned about the “live streaming” program with Abeka, the same curriculum I had been using.  I bought the program for under $800 per child. I had checked on several Christian schools in the area and they were $10K per year, per child!!  I feel proud we did pretty darn good!

I basically have bought my children highly qualified virtual teachers for an entire year with all the books and teachers materials, etc for a very affordable price, while they get to learn from their comfort of their own home, stay focused, experience no distractions and have no bad influences.

Again, can’t beat that!

It is wonderful that I can be working and still see how they are soaking in learning from their virtual teachers… I love A Beka Academy Video Streaming and  God-centered curriculum – the Rolls Royce in Christian home-based education.

Homeschooling is Flexible

Because each minute is well maximized, you have the opportunity to add other activities and introduce your children to other things you feel important.

In my case, I’m a blogger and trainer. And I’m passing that to my daughters. I created their blog and am training them to document their thoughts, ideas and persuasions. This not only helps them express themselves, but they practice their writing skills they are learning.

Check out my children’s website at GiannaLima.com.

Homeschool Kids are Social

I used to hear the myth that homeschool kids don’t get the “social” aspect that they do when they are among other kids.

There are many ways to supplement the social aspect.

My daughters play soccer and have made really good friends with some of their teammates. There are many homeschooling parents groups locally that can organize activities to help kids meet other kids.

Homeschool kids are as social as any other kid. And on the contrary, you can tell the difference in their vocabulary when they hang around other kids!

So, how can you homeschool, while pursuing your dreams?

Thanks to the internet, career and business women who want to be part of their children’s lives in a more intimate level can do so.

Here are a few tips as you consider homeschooling:

1. Determine Your Why

Your why will sustain you when the going gets tough! Your motive, the reason why you are doing this must be greater than the challenges of doing it.

In my case, my children expressed that they wanted to be homeschooled because they wanted to spend more time with Mommy to build a stronger relationship with me.

That is heavenly!

How could I say no to such a sincere and pure desire and request?

How else would I respond when my two daughters ages 6 and 8 at that time got on their knees on the hard, cold, tiled floor of our kitchen and begged to be homeschooled for this very specific reason?

It was hard for me to let go of the things I was doing. At that time I had completed two major construction projects in my business just 6 months earlier. During that time, I was not able to get the adequate rest I needed after a surgery I had had because of the really tight deadlines I had to meet. I completed these 2 projects and then my husband had recommended that I rest.

Well, I sort of did!

It’s really hard to be still when you don’t have a lazy bone in you!

It was during this transition in my life that the opportunity to homeschool came. I took it. And I’m loving it!

2. Have Systems in Place

Create a schedule. Set expectations. Use a curriculum that educates your children in alignment with your values. Use online tools to make your life easier.

I personally create my daughters’ schedules on a monthly basis so that they can see the full picture of when they have tests, quizzes, and special reports due. I use a Microsoft Word calendar template and have created other forms for me to use. My daughters love the quality work they get from me. Download these Homeschooling Resources.

So what’s the key?

Organization.

And it comes easy once you’ve developed a system, which sometimes means working another part of my day after the girls go to bed. But everything in life requires a sacrifice, doesn’t it?

Get a curriculum that is solid, rich in content and that’s online. In this manner, your children will also develop and enhance their computer skills.

Both my daughters are absolutely enjoying their new online program. They love to log online. They get to choose the next class they’re supposed to be taking. They love getting their green “check marks” for completing each lesson. They actively participate with their online classmates. And I get to work on my business in the same room at the same time!

Again… you guessed it – can’t beat that!

3. Train Everyone to Chip In

I’ve taught my children to do their laundry and to keep their rooms clean and organized. My little one loves to play with dolls, and lots of them! But the rule is that if she is not willing to pick up the mess, then she can’t play.

We’ve learned to distribute tasks, train the girls to assist in various activities in the home, help put dishes away, wash dishes from time to time, and do their own laundry when Mom is really busy. At ages 7 and 9 they do a pretty darn good job at washing their own clothes, folding them, putting them away, and keeping their rooms organized.

My husband also helps around the house with cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc!

Don’t try to do it alone! Get help.

4. Enjoy Every Moment

Nothing in this universe can replace the warmth of a Mommy at home and what I see in my two daughters is stability, a deep love for learning, discipline, and an extremely close relationship with Mom and Dad.

When children are emotionally stable, they perform.

Period.

So my focus has shifted to build my businesses around the lifestyle I desire – my time with my children and the gift of home schooling, because that’s what it is, a gift that my husband and I are giving them, which they will never, ever forget.

Neither will I!

Naturally, when you focus on what you really want out of life and what you want your days to count for, you will say “No” to some things. When you say “Yes” to your goals, you automatically say “No” to everything else that does not move you forward or is not in alignment with your dreams. I love one of Dr. Mike Murdock’s Wisdom Keys: “The only reason men fail is because of broken focus.”

My husband, Nestor Lima, says that when you focus on your purpose, your purpose includes every you do and it excludes everything else that does not align with it.

I would not change anything I’m doing.  At first I was apprehensive, but as with anything, you eventually find your rhythm and create a system that works for you.

After a while, you’re fine and life flows peacefully and very productive.

Thinking of homeschooling?