Attitude Adjustment

Well, the school year is in full swing.  Homeschoolers are busy, busy, busy.  The schedules and routines are posted and the books are all purchased.  So, what’s with the chaos?

Sometimes things look great on paper, but the reality can be something quite different.  After a month or so of homeschool, the true picture has come into focus.  Moms may be saying, “What have I done?”

Children can easily become obstinate or just sulky.  They want to go to “real” school or just play video games all day.  In short, the attitudes can really stink!  Where on earth did this come from?

One thing I learned during my first homeschool year was this: My kids are around me all day.  Do I really want them to act like me?  They can see through any facade, and they need a mom/teacher who is worthy to be followed.

Boy, that was certainly a slap-in-the-face to me as a young mom.  I thought I just had to teach these kids reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Unfortunately, there is so much more to homeschooling (or mothering in general).  Our actions are emulated, but so are our attitudes.

Attitude adjustments are needed very often in our children.  They’re also needed in us.  Moms get little sleep, little help, and lots of intense situations that can lead us to frustration.  After days of frustration, it’s easy to have a bad attitude.

Homeschool moms get so busy teaching, cleaning, scheduling, and training, they can easily lose sight of their original homeschool vision.  We need to often adjust our attitudes.  We need to adjust our expectations.  We may even need to adjust our goals.

Often, we are too perfectionistic and feel like a failure if we don’t have the home or homeschool that we imagine others have. It’s better to not compare ourselves with others.  God gave us the children He wanted us to train.  We can accomplish His plan, with His help.

So, instead of yelling at the kids or threatening to send them to catch the bus, stop and breathe.  Evaluate your attitude.  Have you been rushing them, too intense, impatient?  Stop, pray and start over.

Your attitude adjustment will set the tone in your home and be a calming influence on the children.  Then, you’ll be better able to help them as they need to learn to have good attitudes. 

@2017, copyright Lisa Ehrman