I am beginning my 17th year of homeschooling and one thing that I have learned is that there has to be time built into my week where I can rest, evaluate, meditate and prepare for the next week. I have also learned in my 50+ years that God gave us the Sabbath for a reason. He rested. He wants us to rest. He tells us to rest. Just like a parent telling a child to nap because he loves his child and knows this is the best thing for a child, so does our heavenly Father tell us to rest because we need it!
God worked for six days, creating and establishing order on this planet. Then he stopped and rested. We, too, work for six days and if we are homeschooling, it might seem like six VERY long days. So do what God did and stop to rest.
I have attended several churches on my faith journey and the teaching on the Sabbath has been varied. So I am not going to get preachy about what is right or wrong to do on the Sabbath. What I can tell you is that I am a much different person when I have spent time in rest and reflection. I am a better teacher, a better mom and a better wife. My Sabbath rest is often physical rest (I do love those Sunday afternoon naps) and sometimes the day involves reading or pondering the morning’s sermon. My husband and I also enjoy watching the home makeover shows or 60 Minutes on a Sunday evening. But it is hard to grab rest time when there are kids around. Dinner still needs to be made, sometimes lesson plans have been put off all weekend or there is no clean laundry. Life just seeps in.
I would encourage all homeschool moms to pursue three disciplines. First, pursue just one hour each Sunday that is just your time. Read, sleep, meditate…be alone and put some fuel in the tank. Work this out with your husband or a family member who can help you guard that time. Perhaps if you start with one hour, you can eventually build it to two hours and as the children get older, perhaps you can have longer times of rest and rejuvenation. The second discipline to pursue is that of some monthly and weekly planning. Try to go away (to a coffee shop or park, etc.) once a month to do some planning. Waiting until Sunday night will most surely create panic. And finally, one other important discipline to build into your homeschooling/family schedule is to use the ‘off’ button on all the electronics. Turn off the phone. Turn off the computer. Turn off the TV. Modern day electronics is like a ‘leash’ around our necks. We feel obligated to be available 24/7 and I’m not sure why. In the ‘olden days,’ people had to wait months for the Pony Express to deliver a letter. And the world survived. One thing I consistently try to do is to ignore the electronics several times a week. This is a hard exercise, but well worth it! It is liberating to know that you cannot be reached by phone, computer or blue tooth!
Keeping the Sabbath is vital for the homeschooling mom. So look forward to that much-needed rest each week, even if it is just for a little bit. Your children will thank you! And they will model your behavior and look forward to that rest as well.
God worked for six days, creating and establishing order on this planet. Then he stopped and rested. We, too, work for six days and if we are homeschooling, it might seem like six VERY long days. So do what God did and stop to rest.
I have attended several churches on my faith journey and the teaching on the Sabbath has been varied. So I am not going to get preachy about what is right or wrong to do on the Sabbath. What I can tell you is that I am a much different person when I have spent time in rest and reflection. I am a better teacher, a better mom and a better wife. My Sabbath rest is often physical rest (I do love those Sunday afternoon naps) and sometimes the day involves reading or pondering the morning’s sermon. My husband and I also enjoy watching the home makeover shows or 60 Minutes on a Sunday evening. But it is hard to grab rest time when there are kids around. Dinner still needs to be made, sometimes lesson plans have been put off all weekend or there is no clean laundry. Life just seeps in.
I would encourage all homeschool moms to pursue three disciplines. First, pursue just one hour each Sunday that is just your time. Read, sleep, meditate…be alone and put some fuel in the tank. Work this out with your husband or a family member who can help you guard that time. Perhaps if you start with one hour, you can eventually build it to two hours and as the children get older, perhaps you can have longer times of rest and rejuvenation. The second discipline to pursue is that of some monthly and weekly planning. Try to go away (to a coffee shop or park, etc.) once a month to do some planning. Waiting until Sunday night will most surely create panic. And finally, one other important discipline to build into your homeschooling/family schedule is to use the ‘off’ button on all the electronics. Turn off the phone. Turn off the computer. Turn off the TV. Modern day electronics is like a ‘leash’ around our necks. We feel obligated to be available 24/7 and I’m not sure why. In the ‘olden days,’ people had to wait months for the Pony Express to deliver a letter. And the world survived. One thing I consistently try to do is to ignore the electronics several times a week. This is a hard exercise, but well worth it! It is liberating to know that you cannot be reached by phone, computer or blue tooth!
Keeping the Sabbath is vital for the homeschooling mom. So look forward to that much-needed rest each week, even if it is just for a little bit. Your children will thank you! And they will model your behavior and look forward to that rest as well.
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