Encouragement through
Specific Tips
The first mother asked, “Can I do this?”
To which, the mentoring mom answered,
“Yes, you can.” That is certainly a vote for
the positive, but the true encouragement
came through the specific tips and ex-
amples that followed. The cry was not for
a poll vote of yes or no. The questioning
mom asked specifically, “I need to know
how moms who have been in my shoes
have done it.”
The mentoring mother begins, “First
word of advice (which I hated when
I first heard it) is to relax and be flex-
ible.” She even described how she multi-
tasked while reading to her children,
feeding her baby, as well as feeding the
security of her other children as she
kept them close to her. She follows that
with numerous other tips of how she
personally made it work: “we did not
do major hands-on stuff every day . . .
my oldest helped my youngest with
projects. As they grew older, I always
worked with the youngest first on the 3
Rs . . . I did one big house chore a day
and my house never looked like a mu-
seum, but was usually 15 minutes from
being company-ready.” These tips were
the encouragement to the questioning
mother who had asked not only “can I?”,
but, “how can I?” do this. The mentoring
mom was painting a word picture for the
questioning mom: “This is how I did it,
and so can you.”
Challenges, Success, and
Giving Glory
The mentoring mom shares about her
own struggle to keep the house clean,
and the challenges she faces with her
husband in the military (moving every few years and even being separated
from her husband), which caused her to
feel like a single mother at times. When
she shared that struggle, it was not an
attempt to create an intimidating superwoman image for herself. She states
things so matter-of-factly, one feels a
humble certainty which immediately
imparts confidence.
She goes on to share family successes:
“Our oldest just took his pre-test for the
Coast Guard and scored exceptionally well
in most areas. I am a regular mom with no
formal training, am not super organized .
. . but my kids are living proof that God is
good and His ways are sure.” Confidence,
not intimidation, was what the questioning mom was looking for. She was looking
for a regular mom like herself—not superwoman. She found both.
In this exchange, we hear how the
mentoring mom connects to the ques-
tioning mom with understanding. By
relating her own similar story, she en-
courages with specific how-to tips, she
remains real and human by sharing her
challenges and successes, and finally, she
gives God—not a curriculum or her own
teaching—the Glory for how her kids
have turned out.
You have just witnessed true mentoring in progress. I pray you are moved to
emulate true mentoring.
Jessica Hulcy, co-author of KONOS Curriculum, the first curriculum written for
homeschool, is an educator, author, and
formerly popular national homeschool
speaker prior to her near-fatal wreck in
2009. A graduate of the University of Texas,
mom to four grown sons, and “Grandear” to
grandchildren, Jessica lives with her husband
Wade on acreage in Texas. Recently Jessica
and Wade started the ultimate online help
for homeschooling moms called Homeschool
Mentor. Visit www.homeschoolmentor.com
and www.konos.com.
Editor’s Note: For specific mentoring
help for KONOS Curriculum, visit http://
homeschoolmentor.com/
Endnotes:
1. From a recent online chat from the KONOS
Yahoo group.
2. They are talking about KONOS curriculum,
www.konos.com
3. KONOS, www.konos.com
The mentoring mom was painting a word picture for the questioning mom:
“This is how I did it, and so can you.”
