Are you among millions of parents trying to run a business and homeschooling your children? You’re not alone. Millions of parents are faced with the tension that comes with juggling deadlines, making sure the kids are doing school, planning meals, and spending hours in the kitchen.
Whether you’re working a few hours or full-time, the challenge to fit it all in is real. The guilt and frustration from day-to-day can leave you discouraged and worn out.
Running a Business and Homeschooling
Today, Ashley Wiggers is joining me on the podcast. She is a second-generation homeschool graduate whose parents were pioneers in the homeschool movement. Greg and Debbie Strayer were respected leaders, mentors, speakers, authors, and magazine owners/editors. Ashley grew-up watching them juggle the demands of running a business and homeschooling.
We discuss some of the lessons she learned as a homeschool graduate and how she plans to follow their example.
Tips for Your Journey in Business and Homeschooling
Being fully present
Plan memorable moments
Set realistic goals
Create a love of learning
Trust the Lord
Protect what matters most
About Ashley Wiggers
Ashley Wiggers speaks at homeschool seminars, serves as Public Relations Director for GeoMatters, and is the author of the Profiles from History series. She also joins Homeschooling Today magazine as a co-executive editor and writes the column, Lessons My Mother Taught Me.
Ashley grew up in the early days of the homeschooling movement. She was taught by her parents, Greg and Debbie Strayer, who are authors of numerous homeschooling materials and were part of the founding group of Homeschooling Today magazine back in 1992. As a homeschool graduate, Ashley has a deep appreciation for the opportunity to homeschool and the need for encouragement and support of homeschooling families.
Generational living is a way of life that is back in vogue. Have you thought about it? It’s when multiple generations live under one roof. It can be by choice or because circumstances require this lifestyle. Either way, making generational living work for your family requires prayer and careful consideration.
Doing life together has its pros and cons. This episode provides you with specific points for you to pray about and ways to make it work.
Tom and I talked about generational living when our children were younger. We wanted to help take care of our parents when they needed assistance and help our children get through college without incurring debt or getting loans. That was a big goal and one we took seriously. The more we thought about this way of life, the more generational living appealed to us. Other countries practice this lifestyle with success, but for many years Americans shunned the idea.
Launching Kids
When I was a guest on a financial podcast and was interviewed about how we put five kids through college debt-free, the host was shocked when I mentioned our children lived at home during their college years. The conversation quickly turned to adult children living at home and the wisdom of that decision. There was a concern that it was not a good idea because it kept the child from learning how to navigate adulthood.
Fast forward to 2020, multiple generations living together became not a strange concept but a way of getting through a pandemic. No longer are our adult children being put down for failure to launch. The opposite is true. Now American families realize the value of this lifestyle or the necessity of this way of life.
While generational living is beneficial, it does require planning and communication. Here are some points to consider as you think about your family.
Generational Living Points to Consider
Decide if it’s an option for your family.
Consider the possibilities.
Manage your expectations.
Determine household work. Running a household is a shared responsibility.
Resolve conflict – it’s a privilege, not a right. You don’t owe this to your child.
Discuss financial terms. They can’t live for free!
End on good terms. Don’t let the living situation get to a place where the relationship is hurt. Set a move-out date to protect the relationship if need be.
Looking back, I can see the value of having our children live at home while pursuing their college degrees. It took some adjusting to make it work, but in the end, it made us closer as a family and helped them stay grounded during those years.
I can’t tell you what is right for your family, but I would encourage you to consider generational living as a possibility.
Fostering a foundation of respect between you and your teen requires time and intentionality. The good news is that your investment now pays off in the long run as you show your child respect.
Respecting each other is not just a good idea to help your relationship grow stronger, but God requires that we show respect. In I Peter 2:17 (NIV), the Bible says, “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”
In this episode, I share ways you can foster respect between you and your child.
Ways to Foster Respect Between You and Your Teen
Understand your child’s point of view.
Remember, every person is made in God’s image.
Let your child feel seen and heard.
Look at your teen in the eyes
Serve one another
Monitor how you speak to each child
Over the years, I’ve seen well-intentioned parents who believed respect wasn’t a two-way street. They demanded to be respected by their child but failed to understand their responsibility to show respect to their child. When you take the time to show your child respect, your child will start to mirror your example.
Launching your child brings a host of emotions. For most parents, it’s a bittersweet experience. Feelings of loss, fear, excitement, and satisfaction are some of the more common emotions parents have to work through. But launching your child doesn’t mean the end of your relationship or influence.
Like most parents, I remember the day we launched our first child. He was eager to begin a new season of life. Starting a new chapter is both exhilarating and scary for a young adult. Tom and I were excited for him, but we were a little sad because it meant our lives were changing too.
I’ve learned the experience of launching a child isn’t the same for every child. We were a little more nervous with some than others. Temperament, readiness, and security were on our minds.
Launching the Last Child
Recently, we launched our fifth child. As he sorted through his belongings, trying to decide what stayed and what got packed, I noticed something I hadn’t paid attention to with the others. He purged many childhood memorabilia that had sat on his shelves for years. Things that were once so important to him were now discarded. I didn’t say much because he had to decide without my adding any commentary.
Then, we loaded up his belongings and drove to his new home. He was eager to start this new season of life. It was time, and we all knew it.
I was a little surprised I didn’t experience the same emotions I had with my firstborn. I didn’t cry and I didn’t worry about losing contact with him. Time and wisdom had a lot to do with that. Over the years, I’ve come to realize launching a child doesn’t mean losing our relationship or influence. On the contrary, I found both of those got stronger once they moved out.
Tips to Prepare for the Day You Launch Your Child:
Pray with them and for them.
Try to make sure they leave on good terms.
You can’t script their launch or your reactions.
Remember, they are moving out, not moving away from your relationship.
Manage your expectations.
Don’t put a lot of requirements on them to call you or come visit.
Shower them with confident boasting words. They need to know you believe in them.
Let them know you’ll always be there for them.
Accept that your life is changing, and that is normal.
Find little ways to communicate your love for them.
Children are supposed to grow up and make their way in the world. They don’t forget what you’ve taught them, so allow them to figure out their new life.
People often ask me how I taught my children. I love it when I get the opportunity to share how we homeschooled our kids. But what I love even more is helping parents teach their children! Let’s talk about how to teach children well!
Parents have been led to believe that one needs a degree or some special training to be a good teacher. I wrestled with feeling like I didn’t have what it takes to be a teacher for many years. I had neither an education degree nor special training. What I did have was a desire to provide an excellent education for my children. But that didn’t mean there weren’t times I felt inadequate for the job. Honestly, I’ve never met a parent who didn’t question themselves from time to time. The truth is education isn’t a mystery.
In today’s episode, I’ll unpack three key strategies that will help you teach your children.
How To Teach Children
Know your child.
Encourage them to try.
Manage your expectations.
We must keep in mind that children have a natural desire to learn. The key is for us to nurture their curiosity and not drive it out of them.
How to Nurture Curiosity
Create a positive attitude about school.
Look for signs of readiness.
Work toward mastery, not a completed worksheet.
How We Can Help Our Kids
Show them we believe in them.
Allow them to pursue their interests. (This doesn’t mean they don’t have to do subjects they don’t like.)
Let them observe success being modeled.
Be available when help is needed.
Match readiness with a subject
Let them experience what they are learning in real life.
Provide plenty of activities for them to explore.
We run into trouble when we forget learning new concepts takes a lot of brainpower. You need to know how to help a child who struggles with staying focused and isn’t ready to move forward.
You don’t have to have a degree in education or special training to teach children well!
Do you feel like your year started rough? Does it feel overwhelming? Are you unsure of how to move forward with new leadership? Or are you eager to see God work in your family?
People are passionate about what they believe, and when power shifts from one party to another, people become uncertain. Wherever you find yourself, I encourage you to look for ways to move forward with new leadership by exploring the possibilities before you.
Life is full of change. Who occupies leadership positions does not have to limit our pursuit of truth or the path set before us.
In this episode, I will discuss what you can do when new leadership comes into power.
The Benefits of Prayer
Prayer settles our hearts!
Prayer gives us protection.
Prayer gives us hope.
Prayer gives you stability.
Prayer provides joy in our hearts.
Trying times have a way of driving us to our knees in prayer. It’s during struggles that we see our limitations and weaknesses. But, prayer changes us.
When we pray without ceasing, we experience joy, hope, confidence, protection, stability, and guidance. Our prayers also serve as a model for our children. They are watching and listening. They witness a calmness come over you. They hear hopefulness in our voice. They observe perseverance and resilience, not worry and fear.
Remind your children that our hope is not in a political party, a president, or an administration. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our children learn this by example.
How do we lead our children through this season?
Understand their world
Understand how they process information
Listen to their thoughts and let them talk
Understand their fears
Throughout history, families have faced challenges. Administrations come and go. Each one brings a new set of ideals. Both sides vigorously debate them. Depending on which side your beliefs align with will impact the conversations you have with your children. As you lead your children through the changes that will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months, your instruction will help your child form an opinion. They will also learn how to debate and persuade their peers. No doubt we are a nation divided. Deeply divided. Leading your children equips them with the skills needed to navigate various encounters they will come across.
How do we prepare for all the changes?
Be resilient. God has equipped you to bounce back.
Be diligent. Remember, God tells us not to grow weary in well-doing. God is at work in the hearts of His people.
Be vigilant. You have an assignment from the Lord. Don’t get distracted by the turmoil around you.
We can’t change others by yelling, name-calling, or marginalizing. We have to teach civility to our children by our example. Our mission is to be a light in a dark world! Our example of praying, not worrying makes a difference.
To give our children the tools they need to navigate this world requires discernment. Know your limits so you can live life well.
Moving forward with the new leadership is accomplished when we stay in God’s Word and pray for our family and others.
