What Works For Me

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I had been praying about what I wanted to share with you all and God showed me while I was hanging clothes out on the line the other morning. You see, my normal morning routine includes throwing a load of laundry in the washer and letting it run while I have my “coffee with the King” (AKA coffee & devotion). I then have an alarm set on my phone to remind me to hang the clothes out so I won’t leave them too long. (I hate that smell, don’t you?) I take my basket of clothes out there and enjoy the sounds of birds chirping while I hang the garments using the clothes pins that have been left on the line from the day before. Well, this particular morning, there were no clothes pins on my line. My 16 year old daughter had taken all of them off and put them in the clothes pin bag. At first, I was a bit annoyed because that meant I would have to pull the bag along as I hung each item and then I realized “What works for me, doesn’t mean it’s best.” My daughter had told me the day before that she doesn’t like having to take a pin off of the line to hang her clothes, she would rather just grab one from the bag. Is her way better? Yes…for HER!

This made me think about other situations. As a homeschool leader and phone support counselor for The Mystery of History, I often hear from homeschool moms who want to know my about my schedule, how I do certain things and what curriculum I use, etc. I have found myself saying numerous times, “This is what works for MY family. It may not work for yours.” I remember a few years ago, a friend of mine told me that she just couldn’t be “as organized” as me and have her kids get up and be ready to start school by 7 am. I reminded her that her schedule HAS to be different because of her work schedule. That was then. Now that my husband’s work schedule has changed and he doesn’t leave by 7 am, we don’t start school until 9 am so that we can spend time with him in the morning. You have to try things out and readjust to find out what works for you.

Just like how my schedule may not work for you, my curriculum choices may not either. I can recommend things but it may not be what is best for your children’s learning style or your teaching style. You may be thinking that if you “tried out” every curriculum to see what does work best, that could get very expensive. Guess what? There are options!

• Ask a friend who is using something you are interested in if you can borrow it for awhile to try it out.
• If there is a homeschool resource area at your library, check to see if they have what you are looking for.
• Some homeschool organizations have lending libraries.

God made each of us differently. We may have some similarities but we are not exactly alike so we can not expect to achieve the exact same results that someone else gets. Embrace your uniqueness and do what is best for your family.

God bless!

Christie Jarvis is happily married to her best friend and homeschools her three children, ages 11-16 while also running a virtual assistant business specializing in social media. She is a homeschool support group leader and is very active in her church and community. She has a passion of connecting people to great tips, advice, events and deals she finds by sharing them on Facebook and Twitter.