Julie Naturally
natural self-reliance for Christians
Do you face the challenges of homeschooling? Maybe it’s homeschool cliques. Or, maybe it’s a pastor who hates homeschooling. Perhaps you struggle with depression or special needs children. You’ve come to the right place! In this section, we talk about the challenges of homeschooling and offer encouragement and solutions. It’s hard enough being a homeschool mom without extra stuff to deal with. We’re here to help and we’ve been there, my friend! Get ideas and practical advice you can actually use.
By the time I learned that my younger daughter has Asperger’s, I was already homeschooling two children with ADHD. Can you imagine? Now, to add to my mayhem, I would be homeschooling a child with Asperger’s, too. Thankfully, with her only age 6, I could stay a bit ahead of issues that may arise. Like …
When I was a new homeschool mom, I researched local support groups. I wanted to learn more about homeschooling, which had been first introduced to me through the now defunct Mothering magazine. At that time, only a few online sites about homeschooling existed. A to Z Home’s Cool was one of the few sites available …
Sometimes, homeschooling disappoints us. It’s true that often, when we first start homeschooling, many of us envision our child going to college early or winning the National Spelling Bee. After all, homeschoolers make headlines all the time with such amazing feats. We see potential in our own children and our imaginations take flight with all …
After my youngest son was born, I had four children eight years of age and under. All of them were either ADHD or Asperger’s. Looking back, I wonder how I survived. God made it clear that we were to homeschool them. My heart ached at the thought of sending them to public school, a place …
Should Homeschoolers Participate in Church Youth Group? Recently, I listened to a conversation happening among millennials sitting next to me at church. I wasn’t snooping as they eventually asked me a few questions to involve me in their discussion. But their observations and conclusions struck me. They knew my children and they knew a few …
Some days, nothing works out. The toddler screams and throws his toys. The four-year-old refuses to nap and the seven-year-old crosses her arms and pouts over her math. All. At. The. Same. Time. You cleaned your house yesterday, but today, dirty dishes cover the counters, an unattended spill dries on the carpet, and toys threaten …
Sometimes we want to change the world through homeschooling. When we hear someone say that they wish they could homeschool, our ears prick up. Before we can stop ourselves, we say, “I can help you!” or even think about homeschooling other people’s kids for them. Mostly, though, they outright ask us, “Hey, you homeschool your …
Lately, I have been wrestling with whether I have over-committed myself. I worry about whether my efforts are really my best or just “getting it done.” Is all the research I conducted going to be enough? Will it be a good homeschooling year or will I fall into the same traps as I have before? …
When I started homeschooling, I visited a couple of local support groups and joined one. That served our needs for a little while and then I discovered that a local church had a homeschool coop. That seemed like a fun idea, so we tried it for a couple of years. Since then, coops have become …
When my oldest daughter hit her teen years, she longed to see what it would be like to attend public school. She didn’t exactly hate homeschooling, but she tired of being “different.” She fought with us about it, but in the end we did not relent. She stayed home for high school and ended up …
I never thought that I’d have to deal with churches persecuting homeschoolers when I first started out. Boy, was I wrong. I had never heard of a pastor who hates homeschooling. I thought that the church would be especially friendly to homeschoolers. And many are. When I first started homeschooling, the pastor of my church …
