evaluating homeschool Archives

Silencing Fears (& 4 Scriptures for battling a fear of man)

January 18, 2017Tracy

Sometimes, I have to go back and reread my own posts, take my own advice, relearn what I’ve already learned. The new year is definitely a time for that. Believe it or not, January through February is my time to doubt everything we are doing.

Is our history as effective as it could be?

Am I doing a good enough job with science or writing or math?

Would the kids benefit from doing this or that differently?

Maybe what we’re doing isn’t best.

And while some self-evaluation is healthy, I often succumb to a lot of unhealthy fears, mostly an enormous “fear of man.”

a fear that my kids will become discouraged or will suddenly dislike learning
a fear that they won’t know what other kids know (like the scientific method or the Pledge of Allegiance)
a fear of what others will think of my kids or me or homeschooling in general

And on those days, when I feel like I’m living in a Dr. Seuss illustration with my doubts looming in monster-like form, I remind myself that the fear of man is a snare, and I work through my battle plan for escape.

4 Scriptures for battling the fear of man

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25 ESV) Whoever trusts in the Lord is safe—what a promise! I’m safe from fear, from guilt, from the snare of comparison and from needing approval. When I’m trusting in Him, His is the only approval that matters.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10 ESV) In my moments of fear, I need a quick reminder about who it is I’m living my life for. I’m not living my life for the grocery store cashier or the person in the waiting room quizzing my kids on their multiplication facts. I live my life and raise my kids before Christ alone.
“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4 ESV) This is one of my all-time favorites: only God defines my faithfulness. Only He sets the standard. Only He determines my success.
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV) The end of the matter—don’t we just need to hear that, in the midst of those loud voices of disapproval in our hearts? This is the end of the matter. Period. My whole duty summed up in one verse: fear God alone. He is the only opinion that matters.

[ctt template=”8″ link=”R3e4f” via=”yes” ]I live before an audience of One—before others, I have nothing to gain, nothing to hide, nothing to lose. ~Os Guiness [/ctt]

I also pray for wisdom—and grace—and direction—and a huge red light if I need to stop or a huge green light if I’m okay. And then? Then, I make breakfast, pour a cup of coffee, write in my planner, and the day starts once more with my Dr. Seuss monsters shut tight in their respective cages, for the time being.

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A Year in Review

May 3, 2013Tracy

How do you evaluate a year? How do you look back on 180+ days, 36 weeks, and determine if it’s worth repeating?

I’ve been asking myself those same questions as I reflect back on our year. I know almost intuitively what went well and what didn’t. But my struggle has been how to articulate what is almost a gut-feeling. What do you ask to know if a subject or curriculum got a passing grade?

Is failure the only indicator?

Boy, that’s tough. Sometimes things are a clear FAIL. Your child isn’t learning; you hate teaching it; the lessons are a nightmarish struggle.

But sometimes, the answer isn’t as obvious. Sometimes FAIL isn’t stamped at the top in big red letters. Maybe all seemed to go well on the surface, but perhaps your kids didn’t learn as well as you had hoped. No terrible struggles, no tears, no apparent problems, but it just didn’t match your vision. Maybe there was some struggle, but nothing that would appear terribly abnormal. After all, we all have areas where we struggle. Do you switch curriculum or give it another go?

The answer can only come if you have a clear vision. What are your goals for your homeschool, for your year, for your child, for each subject? You’ll have no idea if you missed the mark without a mark to aim for.

From experience, the answer could go either way. We struggled terribly with Kindergarten math. My son fought and struggled to understand every new concept. Mid-year, he confessed as a kindergartener that he hated math. I made some mid-year changes to how I taught our existing curriculum, and we survived. He even managed to like math again, but I was burned out and ready to try a new program. My husband encouraged me to give it one more year, and he was right. This year was totally different. The program was much more organized and consistent, the changes we had made the year before were already in place at the start of first grade, and the year went very smoothly. It was the right decision to stick it out.

On the other hand, I’ve had an unsettled feeling about our kids’ current language program all year. No obvious problems or huge struggles. My son didn’t learn some things as well as I would have liked; my daughter had some melt-downs, but nothing extremely alarming. Then, the Lord brought along an answer I really didn’t even know I was looking for. We are switching programs, even without a clear FAIL. And I’m confident that the new program for next year will be an absolute success.

Bottom line, know what “FAIL” really means for you.

Is success the greatest aim?

Great question. And it all comes down to how you define success. Is it acing the standardized test? Is it a thrill for learning and discovery? Is it character-lessons and godly living? What is success?

I can’t know that we have had a successful year until I know the answer to these questions. For us, I had a vision of teaching the Bible within the context of history, of teaching geography that brought a greater understanding of the Old and New Testament, of tying in all of our learning within this framework.

So was this year a success? In some ways, absolutely! In a few places, not quite. But because I know what my vision is and what success would be, I’m prepared to make the adjustments for next year.

Need a little more direction? Download this FREE evaluating sheet to take a more in-depth look at your curriculum choices.