to uncover glowing coals and adding a
few wads of unimportant paper scraps
to spark that first warm flame reminds
me that it was often something seemingly insignificant that rekindled the
convictions that had originally stirred
my soul to the task.
Sometimes it was something that came
unexpectedly and unrequested, but often
it was inspiration that was an answer to
prayer as I petitioned the Lord to open my
eyes to the little pleasures I felt I was missing when I allowed myself to get bogged
down in the routine tasks of education.
. . . When I found my
fire for homeschooling
burning out, it usually
meant it was time to look
for some warm coals.
Often, in the midst of “putting our shoulders to the grindstone” and muscling our
way through a pile of lessons, I would
forget that homeschooling was a privilege and not a chore. Of course, there are
times when we must apply some grit and
determination to finish a difficult task, but
prolonged “plodding along” can sometimes simply bog us down further. What
we need is a little stirring to uncover those
warm passions that make homeschooling
fun and enjoyable.
There is an old adage that says sometimes “we can’t see the forest for the
trees,” and I think that often the root of
burnout may lie in a pile of curriculum
that seems overwhelming and endless.
Half consumed, it is like the pile of gray
ash that covers those glowing coals in
my fireplace.
After I had homeschooled a few years,
I realized that my children did not have
to complete every problem on every page
to learn the needed concepts from the
lessons nor did I have to throw away half-finished curriculum when we were bored
or bogged down in order to gain a fresh
perspective. I could simply look through
the lessons and determine the main concepts that they needed to master, and
then we could work on those problems
by approaching them from a different angle, frequently incorporating them into a
unit study or some other project that rekindled a desire to learn, in both myself
and my children.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
Some years we would find an inter-
esting audio book—usually historical
fiction—around which we could base
a short unit study. Many times the fuel
that reignited our interest in learn-
ing would be something unexpected in
terms of education, such as the year we
based a unit study around a short tele-
vision series about Australia that spiked
an interest in the Australian outback
and kept learning warm and exciting
until spring. I was amazed by how ef-
fectively geography and English skills
were gained from a study based on a TV
series! That little spark ignited a flame
that gave us excitement for some much
heavier logs of learning.
Sometimes it seemed
as though those warm
coals were buried
deeper in the ashes than
at other times . . . .
When I found my fire for homeschooling burning out, it usually meant it was
time to look for some warm coals, and
sometimes those warm coals were buried
deeper in the ashes than at other times.
February may be a month of gray skies
and cold weather, but it doesn’t mean our
school days can’t be warm and cheery
and burning brightly with enthusiasm
and interest—we may just need to stir
the ashes.
Sheila Campbell began homeschooling in
1991, and after the death of her husband in
2001, she homeschooled as a single parent.
She also was the parent of a special needs child
whom she cared for at home until his death
in 2004. These difficulties have strengthened
her walk with her Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, and it is her prayer that her words
will encourage and inspire others. Sheila resides in Hale Center, Texas, and recently left
her job with the Texas Home School Coalition to pursue her writing goals. Sheila invites you to visit her blog at pausingtopraise
. wordpress.com.
His;Joyful;Homeschooler;•;February;2013;29