Ways to Simplify (and Love) Your Homeschool Life

A Heart of Dakota Life

A Series on 50 Ways to Simplify (and Love) Your Homeschool Life

Heart of Dakota already makes homeschool life so much easier! With 2-page plans, open-and-go guides, supplies you’re likely to have on hand, and all subjects planned in a balanced way, Heart of Dakota’s guides go a long way to help you simplify and love your homeschool life!  However, one thing I’ve found through the past 17 years of homeschooling is that it is often ‘the rest of life’ that makes homeschool life a challenge.  First of all, we are just in our homes more.  That means more meals, more housecleaning, more chores, and more messes to clean up. Fortunately, it also means more time to talk, more time to pray, more time to spend with family, and more time to mold and shape our children’s hearts, souls, and minds.  So, this series is dedicated to finding balance in life with “50 Ways to Simplify (and Love) Your Homeschool Life!”

#1: Don’t Go It Alone

“We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power, and strength.”  – Charles Stanley

…crowds of people came to hear Him and be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.  – Luke 5:15b-16

Homeschooling can feel lonely sometimes!  There are many tasks to be done and many decisions to be made. It can be overwhelming, and sometimes we just feel so alone in it all. As I type this I am certain somewhere in the world there is one tired homeschool mom nursing a baby in the middle of the night, one weary homeschool mom nursing a sick child, and one emotionally distraught homeschool mom nursing an elderly parent.  No matter what stage of life you are in as a homeschool mom, I have good news!  You don’t have to go it alone.

God wants to be your source of strength.

God does not intend for you to face life’s challenges alone.  He wants to be your source of strength, and He loves spending time with you. He never gets tired of talking to you, He is available all of the time, and He loves you – always!  Just think how much you love your children because you are their mother.  Well, God loves us as His children even more deeply because He is our heavenly Father! We can see this in action because of Jesus’ own example as God’s Son.  When continually pressed with crowds of people who needed His time, His teaching, and His healing, what did Jesus do? He withdrew – often – to lonely places and prayed. Why? Because He needed to spend time with God to talk to Him, to sort things out, and to draw strength and direction from Him.  We can do the same!

Make Time to Be Alone with God

As busy homeschool moms, time alone with God won’t happen unless you plan for it to be a part of your day. First thing in the morning is best, but if you can’t do that, He has openings all day.  His schedule is never booked. Try to think of your time alone with God as an appointment you have scheduled at a place you love.  Plan it in your day, look forward to it, and make every attempt not to have to reschedule it – but if you do, reschedule it and look forward to it then. Try not to get hung up on the time of day you do it, the length of time you do it, or what exactly you ‘accomplish’ while you do it.  But, do make God’s Word and conversation with God a part of it somehow!

Take Action

Try planning a time in your homeschool day to be alone with God, to talk to Him and to read His Word. I like to do it first thing in the morning right before I begin homeschooling.  My alarm rings, I stumble downstairs to make a cup of strong coffee, head back upstairs, and open my devotional or Bible. I read and annotate my devotional or Bible, just like our kiddos read and annotate in Heart of Dakota!  I star things, underline things, and jot notes in the margin. Then, I jot my thoughts in a journal and pray. To choose what to read, I go to a Christian bookstore and make a big pile of Bibles and devotionals.  After reading through portions of all of them, I choose my favorite one(s) to buy.

No matter what I am reading, I’ve grown to love my time alone with God!  When I am tired, weary, or emotionally distraught, He injects into my body energy, power, and strength. He loves me enough to not leave me alone in this homeschool journey.  He loves you like that too!  So, the first way to simplify your homeschool life is simply – don’t go it alone!  Invite God into your homeschool life, and He will be the source of your strength. He will love you through it.