Editorial
Deborah Wuehler,
Senior Editor
‘Twas the night before co-op, and all
through the house, not a creature was stirring . . . except me and the mouse!
For all of a sudden I remembered what
I’d said, so I grabbed my computer and
jumped out of the bed.
I promised last month that I’d teach
about something, and then I got busy and
now my heart’s thumping!
Up I arise and start my researching—I
am reading and browsing and crafting and
lurching.
I know in my heart I would not have
been scared, if I had previously planned
and was already prepared!
Lame holiday poem, I know, but hat homeschool twist rings true with many of us, doesn’t it? Do you
ever feel unprepared? You are not alone.
One of the common laments I hear is, “I
am not prepared!” I hear it about teaching high school or teaching co-op. I hear
it about raising teenagers and teaching
algebra. I hear it about that first year of
homeschooling and the terrible twos
and about Christmas. I even say it myself about each year ahead. Why are we
so unprepared, or feel like we are never
quite prepared enough? I have some
ideas. Let’s look at seven areas.
1. No Time to Prepare
There have been days (seasons of years,
even) that the demands on my time have
literally left me with no time to eat. Or
think. Or breathe. Or prepare for the
next thing. Remember, it’s a season that
will pass; one day leads to the next and
then we suddenly find we have breath-
ing room. What we do with the little time
we have in this very season will be highly
important for the next. If we don’t plant
well in one season, we won’t see any fruit
in the next.
Moms, if we waste time now, we will
see the fruit of that in the future character of our children later—who will grow
up to be little time-wasters, too. We need
to teach them that time is precious. We
cannot afford to waste time, but we often do lesser than important things and
then say we don’t have enough time. Our
flesh actually craves lesser things that
will waste time. Let’s devote our minutes, our hours, and our days to what is
most important.
I Am Not Prepared!
One of the common laments I hear is, “I am not prepared!” I hear it about
teaching high school or teaching co-op. I hear it about raising teenagers
and teaching algebra. I hear it about that first year of homeschooling . . .