Debi Rice, Peoria

Educating my children at home was a dream long before my children were born, though I knew very little about it when God gave me that desire. I’ve discovered that challenges abound, but so do blessings! As a single mom who must also earn an income, flexibility is necessary for me, but is also a benefit for my six children.

Here is one example of how flexibility blessed my then 9-year-old son who was struggling greatly with certain math skills. He was so fully determined to succeed that even at 10:00 p.m. he was still working on math without any prompting from me. His frustration grew until I thought his head might spin off.

“Son! We are homeschoolers. You don’t have to finish tonight. Walk away!”

Two weeks later, not having touched his math since that frustrating night, I suggested he “tackle some math” minus any mention of his last experience.

Without complaint, my son agreed. I sat in the same room while he worked. Within 20 minutes he had mastered the skill that gave him so much trouble only two weeks earlier.

“MOM! I got 100%! I did it! Why was it so hard a few weeks ago? Today it seemed easy!”

“Well, son, you just weren’t ready. Congratulations!”

Included in a lengthy list of homeschooling benefits are a student learning about flexibility, readiness, and perseverance, as well as a mom seeing her child’s eyes fill with strength and celebration upon mastery of a formidable skill!