{To see all the posts in the Cool About School 31 Day series, go here.}

Do you personally struggle with indecision and insecurity over the educational choices for your family? Are you seeking real-life insight for the future? Could you use a daily dose of hope and perspective, whatever educational path you may be traveling this season?

This series of 31 encouraging “mini posts” hopes to provide the grace and encouragement you need, whether you homeschool, private school, or public school.

There are many voices, many camps, many either / or places to land on this issue of school but they tend toward mutual exclusivity. Though there’s specific support and enthusiastic rallying for each and every educational option, there seems to be a vacuum on the topic of freedom and grace for parents struggling to know which road to travel or lacking confidence in the decisions they’ve made about school.

• Whether newbie parent or veteran mom, how might we begin thinking differently about this issue of education before making decisions?
• How can we call out the fear that bosses us around?
• How do we know when our ideals have morphed into idols?
• How can we educate our children one way but still be open to other ways — either for our family later on or for those who have chosen to do things differently?
• How might we respond with grace when we feel judged for our personal choices?
• How can we stop silently judging others?
• How can we forge true community across the educational lines that so easily divide us?
• How can we stop stress-eating oatmeal creme pies behind the sofa when we’re supposed to be doing homeschool math lesson? Or helping our middle schooler with algebra homework that we don’t understand because algebra is math with letters in it and why would anyone invent that?

Anyhow.

Resources and movements abound. But most of them espouse one option over another option. That’s normal. We certainly need specific support for our specific paths.

But I’d like to be among the voices who say, There’s no wrong. But there is wisdom for your personal journey and freedom no matter which path you choose. This isn’t about our perfect decision-making and it’s not about the perfection of the parents, teachers, and institutions that teach our children. Put down the box of Little Debbies. It’s going to be okay. 

I want to let you in on a little secret that can lead you to big freedom:

I’m no expert. I’m just a mom who’s homeschooled and then public-schooled and experienced a lifetime’s worth of anxiety and indecision about the whole thing. We’ve had great success and messy failure and everything in between.

On my first child’s first day of school, I faked a smile as I walked her in and then cried the whole way to my full-time job. The next year I found myself as a stay-at-home mom, homeschooling my two big kids while nursing a baby.

I’ve peeled math pages from the kitchen floor christened with apple juice and stared in disbelief as I witnessed our puppy actually eating the homework. I cried during that first school season when I had to send them to school and cried in later seasons because I felt desperate for a big yellow bus to whisk them away for 7 hours.

Three years ago I thought we might homeschool for the long haul. Three months later my kids started public school. Last Friday I found myself in the canteen of the public middle school as one of the cheer-mom organizers for the dance.

It’s been quite a journey.

The next 31 days will hold out the hope and encouragement I wish someone had written for me fourteen years ago when I was an expectant new mom. And eight years ago when my oldest started school. And seven years ago when we decided to homeschool. And almost three years ago when we put our kids in public school. And two years ago when my daughter started middle school. And one year ago when my baby started kindergarten.

I don’t think we ever stop needing steady doses of hope and perspective when it comes to our families.

If you’re stuck in your own place of insecurity and indecision {or you know someone who is}, will you join me for 31 days of encouragement for the many ways we do school? I won’t overwhelm your brain with too much to consider for each day. Each post will be 500-ish words. But I pray that the 31 days’ cumulative effect helps set you on the path of freedom and grace in your own educational decisions.

{Click here for Day 2.}

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I welcome your questions and comments. What would you like to see in these 31 posts?

To read the other posts I’ve written on this topic, you can go here and find them all in one place. This series of 31 encouraging “mini posts” for the month of October will be different than the lengthier posts I’ve written in the past.

Oh and I’m linking up with The Nester and her tribe of 31 Dayers here.

{To see all the posts in the Cool About School 31 Day series, go here.}

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