Where does the time go? It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that my friend Karen (the other half of Simply Charlotte Mason) will be graduating her two youngest children this year.
It’s a big commitment to homeschool for the long haul. As I talk with other homeschooling moms, I’m finding that the two main things most of us need are more know-how and more encouragement. Both can be found at your local homeschool convention.
Know-how and encouragement—two great reasons to attend.
For Your Children’s Sake
Now, lest you think it’s selfish to spend time and money on yourself (because most moms struggle with that thought), read what Charlotte Mason said about both reasons and how they will ultimately benefit our children.
- Equip yourself for your children’s sake.
“That the mother may know what she is about, may come thoroughly furnished to her work, she should have something more than a hearsay acquaintance with the theory of education, and with those conditions of the child’s nature upon which such theory rests” (Vol. 1, p. 3).
Being “thoroughly furnished” for our work as parents and teachers benefits our children. The more knowledge we can gain—about working with different types of brains and personalities, and ideas for discipling our children, and resources that will help us reach our goals, and what those goals should be—the better equipped we are to do our sacred job well. Learning more of what you are “about” is an investment, and your children will reap the dividends.
- Refresh yourself for your children’s sake.
“Frequent change of thought, and the society of other people, make the mother all the fresher for her children” (Vol. 1, p. 18).
When we deal with the same issues and challenges day after day within the same four walls according to the same routine day after day, it’s easy to develop tunnel vision, or maybe I should say “tunnel thinking.” Our minds can get stuck in a rut and lose sight of the big picture.
Spending a day or two in the company of other like-minded parents, in completely different surroundings, feeding your mind on fresh ideas, and enjoying some light-hearted laughter (not to mention not having to cook for the day!) will do wonders toward restoring your vision. You will return home refreshed, and your children will notice the difference in your spirit.
Attending a homeschool convention is not a selfish thing to do. Quite the contrary. It is a way to equip and refresh yourself for your children’s sake.
