100 Days

Yesterday marked our 100th day of school here in the farmhouse! I could hardly believe that we had made it that far into the year, and Farmer Boy almost didn’t believe it himself when I announced it. A few weeks ago, when I was adding up our school days, I wrote the number 100 beside the date in my planner and had genuine intentions on having a full day of celebration with activities, crafts, and special snacks. I love traditions and tend to want to celebrate everything BIG! Yet somehow when I was planning out our lessons for the week, I completely overlooked that number 100 I had written beside the day.

I opened up my planner yesterday morning, saw the reminder, and my mind immediately went to self-condemnation. How in the world could I have forgotten our 100th day of school-especially during his very first year? I have absolutely nothing planned. If I were a better homeschool mom I would have gotten up earlier, prepared a special breakfast, and have all of our activities prepped and ready to go for the day. I was being so hard on myself, yet I could hear that still small voice that reminded me to give myself grace. Life has been so full here on the farm over the last 8 months and my husband and I are in the midst of making a huge decision that will be life altering. This has naturally left us tired, overwhelmed, argumentative, and a bit anxious. I’m just being real here folks!

I knew the self beat down was going to get me nowhere and that it could still be a fun, memorable day. When we sat down to our morning activities, I told our little Farmer Boy that I had something really exciting to tell him and a surprise for later in the afternoon. Of course he was full of anticipation to know what that was and when I announced that it was our 100th day of school, his eyes got huge and he said, “Whoa! That is a lot of days mom! Are you sure we’ve been doing school that long?” I assured him that indeed it had been that many days and was also really relieved that he didn’t feel it could be true. To me, that was an assuring message that he was sincerely enjoying our days and that they didn’t feel like drudgery to him. I’ll consider that a win any day!

After completing our daily activities, I told him that we were going to Chick Fil A for lunch and ice cream to celebrate! And, do you know what? That was more than enough for him. He was completely satisfied just to have a fun afternoon filled with ice cream and play place adventures; and truly, I believe it was more effective than a day filled with extra activities that would have left him with a mentally drained mama. We enjoyed a good lunch together, and then I sat leisurely drinking coffee and journaling while he enjoyed an extended time of playing and socializing. Space and time to think are what refuel me, and making new friends and playing to his hearts content refuel him. It was a win, win and we both walked out with full tanks, so to speak.

We reflected on all that we had covered over the last 100 days, and I was pleasantly surprised at all he could recall. I’m just a rookie, yet I think most homeschooling moms must struggle, as I certainly do, with feeling like there is not much happening in the day to day. We set about our daily schedules, complete the lessons, check off the list, and though our subjects include a wide variety of topics, somehow all the days run together and the mundane begins to take over. We do our very best and pray with all our hearts that our kids are “getting it,” but if we’re honest some days leave us with the unsettling feeling that we aren’t making much progress. But mamas, that is a lie the enemy wants to use against us to throw us off our game and try to make us believe that we are inadequate and failing our children.

For while academics are important, I’m after so much more than mere facts or sums that are parroted back to me. More than just educating my boys mind, I want to educate his heart and soul. I want him to know that he is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and that he is so deeply cherished by his mama and daddy. Of course I want him to successfully succeed in the crucial areas of reading, writing, and math. Yet, more than that I want him to have a deep, unwavering relationship with the One who has his name written on the palm of His hand and who knows the number of stars in the sky and hairs on his head.

This is precisely why I put him in the way of learning not only the necessities, but also continually exposing him to the most beautiful creations of God. Captivating compositions, wondrous works of art, breathtaking scenes and creatures from nature, timeless pieces of rich literature, and the unshakable Word of God are among the true things that seek to shape, define, and inspire our children to become the person of whom they were created to be.

Today, I say to myself and to all the other homeschooling mamas in the trenches-may we keep loving, keep teaching, and keep breathing life into the hearts of our children. No one else can take our place, and when we allow ourselves to wrap our minds around the truth that we are enough as mothers, that will be more than enough for them.

Abide in Him Always,

Ashley