Note from Crystal: This post is very different than the types of posts I usually run here, but I thought it would be an encouragement to other Type B homeschooing moms. And if you are a Type B homeschooling mom, you’ll definitely want to check out the giveaway at the end of the post! 
I was done.
I thought, “Why am I homeschooling?! I am no good at it, I’m undisciplined, and I’m not one of those crafty, awesome, Type-A moms. Maybe I should just put my kids in school.”
Done, I tell you. I had had it, and I had decided that I was not fit to be my kids’ teacher. I wasn’t made for it. I should be doing something else with my time.
So why did I feel so crummy about letting go of homeschooling? I decided to call a dear friend who would understand, a friend who had homeschooled her children, then put her daughter in school, then took her out again.
I dialed. She answered.
“I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure I should still be homeschooling. Help?” I talked, and talked, and talked, and she patiently listened.
Then she asked me some questions, one of them being, “Why did you decide to homeschool in the first place?” I gave her my reasons…the main reason. And with that I was reminded of my why, and that yes, I wanted to homeschool.
I had just lost my way a bit; I had forgot why I started. And the main reason I forgot is because I started to look too much around me, comparing myself to other homeschool moms, particularly Type-A ones.
While I love my Type-A friends, and I admire them and am grateful that God wove together different personality types, I had to finally accept that I am a Type-B woman. And that’s good, and beautiful, because God made me who I am.
But let’s be honest, us Type-B personalities, we can be, oh…just a bit…slacker-ish. Yes? I know I can be. Also, details? No. Organization? Now you have me laughing out loud. And yet, here I am, a homeschool mom to three.
A Type-B homeschool mom who has learned a few things about keeping on and keeping sane in homeschooling.
Here are five specific things I’ve learned that might be helpful to you:
1. Be You!
Okay, so you’re not organized or particularly detail oriented, and hey, taking your sweet time in the morning to get homeschool started is the norm. That’s okay! There is no manual on how to do homeschooling the right way, and if there is, ignore it. Because there is no “right” way.
And furthermore, there is no right personality. You know what the “right” personality is? It’s anyone who is committed to homeschool, who has a why.
It’s just a bunch of wasted time and heartache to try and be someone you’re not. And here’s another furthermore: if you’re pushing who you are out to make room for someone who doesn’t fit, not only will you be miserable, but your kids probably will be as well.
God made you, beautiful you, with the personality you have. So friend, when it comes to homeschooling style, there is only one fit for you. You.
2. Keep the Big Picture in Mind
Why do you want to homeschool? What are your reasons? Hang on to that, because that’s your big picture.
That’s your anchor when you start feeling lost. For our family, it’s about discipleship. That’s our why, the big why of our homeschooling. Yes, we want our children to have a stellar education so they can communicate and live and work and serve in this world well, but that’s not our driving force.
Know your driving force, write it down, and hang on tight.
3. Work Hard
I once said to my mentor, “I now know what you mean by ‘hard work’. You mean it’s HARD and it’s WORK.” Light bulb moment for me, folks!
Oh, was it obvious to you? Well, not to me.
It is hard work to invest in my children day in and day out, and make sure they are getting what they need when it comes to education and filling their hearts and minds and souls with goodness and beauty and truth. Hard work, people. You can’t slack.
Not if you want to parent with excellence and intention, not if you want to look back on your life and say, “I did my best with who I was and what I had.”
So yeah, work. It’s hard. Not perfect. Not crazy standards. But what you’re compelled to do, what you believe your children need, do that with all you’ve got.
4. Have Support
You know that friend I called when I thought I was going to stop homeschooling? She is a lifeline to me. And she’s not the only one. I have surrounded myself with people who are like-minded and who will encourage me and support me through my homeschooling years. I do that for them as well. Because us moms, we need each other.
Everyone needs support, and the homeschooling mama is no different. You can find it in a co-op, in an online community, in mentors, and, hopefully most importantly, in local friendships.
5. By Faith and Grace
Homeschooling for me? All faith and grace, and lots of it.
My ideal is that I will homeschool all through high school, but I hold that ideal with open hands, because maybe that will change, or maybe it will have to change. We don’t know what is around the bend, but we can do this homeschooling thing by faith, doing what we can the best we can and letting grace cover the rest of it.
Grace to mess up in a million and one ways; grace to fall apart on the hard days; grace to knock down pride when I get self-righteous; grace to know that each family is different and has to figure out there own way. Faith and grace. All the way.
Now, there is one thing we haven’t talked about, and that is how difficult it can be for a Type-B person to plan homeschool lessons. For some of us, the very words, “lesson-planning” can send us to the closet, huddled in the dark, swaying back and forth.
Or perhaps you don’t huddle, you just freeze. You get excited about planning, you have vision, but the details? You don’t even know where to begin. Oh friend, if that is you, I get it. It’s me, too.
The planners out there are great, but there not great for me. I need guidance. I need examples. I need…TELL ME WHAT TO DO!
Here’s the catch: I like picking and choosing from different curriculum; I don’t use a one-stop shop. Therefore, I need to plan. And also? I don’t want to just plan for education, I want to plan for discipleship.
So you know what I did? I made my own planner. I spent over a month on planning, but I did it. I made it for myself, and I made it for you.
You can peek at the inside of the planner here, check out a some sample page here, and see what people are saying about it here.
It is not only a full-calendar with daily planning pages, it also has a 14-day guide to homeschool ready, which includes how to lesson-plan without breaking a sweat!
It’s 233 pages and includes wisdom from moms who have homeschooled their children all the way through, how to homeschool multiple children, and encouragement from homeschool graduates (including Crystal!).
GET THIS PLANNER FOR JUST $0.99 THIS WEEKEND!
The best part? The eVersion of this planner (PDF) is only $0.99 cents for YOU, for TWO DAYS ONLY! It’s normally $9.99, so this is a steal (the physical planner is also available, and if you get it instead, you get the PDF version for FREE right away).
To get the planner for only $0.99 cents, go here and use code: MONEYSAVINGMOM
Would you like to win a printed copy of the Type-B Homeschool Mom’s Planner for FREE? Just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address to enter to win. Five winners will be chosen and posted next week. This giveaway ends Sunday, September 7, at 11:59 pm, CST.
This week is our first official full week back in homeschooling, so I tried to stay home as much as possible to help us adjust to a new schedule. My husband is a teacher and has the summers off – which we LOVE, but it is really hard to stick to a consistent summer schedule with Daddy home.
This makes transitioning back to a regular routine in the fall a little more challenging! I chose to stick to a simple menu and focus on using what we already had in the freezer and pantry. I am also hoping to clean up some of the not-so-great eating habits (like too much sugar and processed foods) we fell into over the summer.
Farmer’s Market
1 large bag Brussel Sprouts, reduced – $2.00
1 huge box of assorted Fresh Vegetables, reduced (included Cabbage, Red and Green Peppers, Cucumbers, Yellow Squash) – $5.00
Total: $7.00
Walmart
I had my husband do some price-matching at Walmart this week, since it is 1/2 mile from our house and very convenient. The regular prices on the brown rice, potatoes and romaine are all cheaper at Aldi, but since they aren’t listed in their sales flyer, I couldn’t price-match those. Aldi is a good 15 minutes from my house, so I only make the drive there when I am buying more than a few items.
4 ears of corn ($0.25/each) – $1.00
5 avocados ($0.49/each – price-matched Aldi) – $2.45
1 16-oz bag Brown Rice – $1.28
1 15-lb bag Russet Potatoes – $5.68
5 dozen Eggs ($0.99/each – price-matched Harris Teeter) – $4.95
Red Seedless Grapes ($0.99/lb – price-matched Harris Teeter) – $2.54
1 gallon Milk (price-matched Harris Teeter) – $2.97
3-ct package Romaine Lettuce – $2.98
Total: $23.85
Weekly Total for all Groceries: $30.85
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Cereal x 2, Oatmeal x 2, Smoothies and Hard Boiled Eggs, Veggie Omelettes, French Toast and Scrambled Eggs
Lunches
Stir Fry Veggies/Salmon over Brown Rice, Baked Potato Bar, Leftovers x 2, “Snack” Lunch x 2 (plate of cut up fresh veggies and fruits, cheese slices), Build-Your-Own-Salad Bar
Dinners
Stuffed Baked Peppers (using ground venison), Corn on the Cob, Cucumber Slices, Grapes
Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, “Mock” Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Chicken on the Grill, Grilled Yellow Squash and Red Peppers, Grapes, Homemade Freezer Biscuits
Grilled Peppers with Chicken Sante Fe, Sliced Avocados, Balsamic Maple Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower
Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, Apple Slices, Homemade Freezer Biscuits
Dinner at a Friend’s House
Leftovers
Snacks
Homemade Protein Bars (for me – I am training for a half marathon next month plus nursing a 6-month old, so trying to focus on lots of healthy fats, carbs and protein!), Homemade Popcorn, Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (for the rest of the family)
