Tamara L. Chilver

It isn't my teaching credentials that qualify me to teach my child. It is my God who qualifies me.

The times I am most frustrated in homeschooling is when I become focused more on my plans than His plans. I must spend more time daily looking up for his divine direction than I do looking down at my lesson plans.

... parents naturally want their children to excel in every area of academics and extra-curricular activities, but the reality is- God made each child differently for His purpose. He never intended for our children to excel in everything.

I want home educators to look beyond the lesson plans, curriculum, and grades to see the abundant blessings. My desire is for parents to enjoy the journey rather than focus on the destination.When you begin to embrace the journey- TRULY embrace the journey- the joy of homeschooling will be absolutely A.MA.ZING. You will begin to see the much larger picture and God's work in your homeschool day more than you ever have before.

It's not my credentials that qualify me to teach my child. It's my God who made me qualified when I became a mom.

God has a plan for you (Jer. 29:11) and you will make it through this time of testing. Keep on believing and moving forward and you will see Him working out the details. God is never early or late but His timing is always perfect. You will see, I promise.

Organic education is natural, wholesome, and fundamental.

God will help you do it if you trust and lean on Him for guidance and strength.

Homeschooling is not head-to-head, it's heart-to-heart.

There is freedom in homeschooling.

For those of you who think that I have my life altogether, I definitely do not. Every season brings new challenges. For example, since I had my fifth child, I am notoriously 5-10 minutes late everywhere no matter how hard I try to be on time. I would like to say that I am "fashionably" late, but that isn't the truth either. Running in a mad dash in a parking lot (all holding hands of course) to make it somewhere 5 minutes late (instead of 6 minutes cause that makes a big difference) while one child is missing shoes and my hair is going in every direction. Yep, that is my family.

Relax. Cultivate your children's capabilities. Maximize their strengths. Do not handicap their unique skills by spending too much time on making them average in everything. Help them create their own style, and appreciate your children for who God created them to be.

I pray moms will use ... [my] book[s] as a reference to arm themselves with God's grace and His Word to break away from the enemy's bondage and begin to experience peace and freedom in their homeschool journeys right away.

... the enemy will do anything to rob my joy of homeschooling and parenting. He wanted me to live in bondage and feel guilty and like I was never doing enough to have me miss the real joy of just being home with my children.

My Top Ten Reasons for Homeschooling: (10) Birthdays become school holidays. I love celebrations!(9) I always get to be the chaperone on field trips. Lucky me.(8) I can sleep in on rainy mornings. (Okay, I wrote that before my last two babies were born- no more sleeping in for Mom now.)(7) My pajamas are sometimes my work uniform until noon. Shhh!(6) The teacher-student ratio can__ be beat!(5) I can kiss the school principal in the faculty lounge. _(4) Integrating God in our school lessons is always encouraged.(3) I do not have to stay up late at night helping my children study for tests and complete homework assignments.(2) I have the opportunity to instill the love of learning.(1) I am the recipient of hugs and kisses all day long.

[Home educator] sometimes teaching and parenting is tough stuff. That is the reality of the calling. I hope ... [do] not quit or give up hope but keep moving forward on the path where God guides you.

Every mom is busy, whether you have one child or more than one. You just learn how to manage your time differently as your family grows.

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans."A great reminder when planning out the school year.