A mom expressed her concern that she could not juggle being a mother, wife, and homeschooler, because she was already overwhelmed by the needs of her two young children.

This particular mother had a baby at home and a three year-old in preschool.

Being a mother today, with limited or no extended family support, is a challenge.

We all feel it.

When our children are very young, even on our best days, we can feel like we are on the edge. And then we throw in the idea of homeschooling, and we panic.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way. It requires a mindset shift to homeschool without feeling overwhelmed.

The biggest factor working against this mother was that she had put her child into preschool. When we send our children off to school, we interrupt the natural flow of development in our relationship. It also interrupts the natural flow of bonding between siblings.

Yes, we will have more time to run errands, enjoy coffee with friends, and do housework, but at what cost?

Homeschooling is a natural extension of what our children have been doing since birth; learning to navigate the world around them, developing their bodies and minds, and learning how to be a civilized human being.

And they have done this under our guidance and care. There has been a natural rhythm at play, and that rhythm continues, as long as we don’t put our young children into situations that will interrupt it, such as school.

What I know is this: after working with homeschoolers for over 22 years, when we move into homeschooling, the adjustment is not difficult, as long as our children have never gone to school.

Actually, it is 100 times easier than the transition into motherhood!

Remember when you had your first baby? Suddenly you could not take a shower when you wanted to, you could not eat when you wanted to, you could not even go out for a cup of coffee with a friend when you wanted to.

I remember clearly the first day I was alone, after my daughter was born. It was getting close to noon, I had been waiting to take a shower all morning, but I had been too busy attending to her needs. Suddenly, it dawned on me that a shower was probably not going to happen any time soon.

It was a bit of a shock! 

As new mothers, we find ourselves juggling our needs around the needs of our newborn, which can be challenging, at first, but we learn to adjust over time. Eventually, it becomes our normal daily life.

That life was ever any other way becomes a vague memory.

It is the "learning to adjust" part that is important. The adjustment comes naturally when our children are with us, because they are a part of our daily lives. We learn to modify our lifestyles from a person without a child to a person with a child.

It’s a mindset shift we make, that’s all. Yes, it can be difficult, but we do it because we have chosen to be a parent, we love our children unconditionally, and we want to provide the best care for them.

Homeschooling becomes one more thing we do amidst our busy lives of being mothers. Our house may not always be spotless, but that’s okay. It is a well-lived in home!

We may not always cook gourmet meals, but that’s fine too. Simple, nutritious meals never hurt anyone. We may not always be able to run out and grab a cup of coffee with a friend, and that’s also fine.

We are a homeschooling mother. The investment of the time and love we give our families now, will only bring us a lifetime of joy that never ends.

Ask any parent whose grown children seldom telephone and rarely visit, if they would do anything different given the chance.

I’ll tell you what they would say: they’d say that they would have focused more on building stronger relationships with their children, they would have focused more on doing things together, they would have focused more on building a wholesome family.

When you are old and your kids are no where to be found, you would go back in a heartbeat and trade the work, the coffee with friends, the bigger house, and the fancier car for more time spent nurturing your family

That’s what 90-year-olds in a rest home said, when asked.

Overwhelm is a state of mind, and we choose our states of mind. Instead of focusing on all of the things you have to do, and all of the things you will no longer be able to do, focus on all of the things you will gain instead by homeschooling.

You will have a tighter bond with your children, you will build a solid family, and your children will have the best education you can possibly give them, which will open more doors in their lives.

Overwhelm is a choice; don’t choose it; homeschool instead.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework, so you can raise children of higher intelligence, critical thinking, and of good character.

As a homeschooler, you will never have to worry about failing your children, because working with Liz, you will feel confident, calm, and motivated; as she guides you in how to train your children’s minds and nurture their characters.

Teach your child to read before sending him to school, so he grows up to read! Learn more about, How to Teach Your Child to Read and Raise a Child Who Loves to Read.

For parents of children under age seven who would like to prepare their child for social and academic success, please begin with Elizabeth’s original online course, Raise Your Child to Thrive in Life and Excel in Learning.

Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 22+ years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, and she devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Elizabeth is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling