Sunday, August 17, 2014

How God Prepared Me to be a Homeschool Mom

Do you believe that everything happens for a purpose? That there's a reason why God allows us to go through certain experiences? I do.

I believe that God has an amazing plan for our lives and that He guides our every step. I believe that He doesn't waste our experiences -- be they good or bad, happy or sad. Everything that happens to us contributes to the kind of person that God wants us to become. It's up to us to make the most of these experiences so that all these can bring us closer to our destiny.

In line with these beliefs, I'd like to share with you how I think God prepared me to be a homeschool mom to my kids.

Let me share a bit about our family for the benefit of those who came to this blog for the first time. I work from home to manage a consulting and publishing business while I homeschool my two boys, ages 5 and 2. I'm also currently pregnant with our third baby. My husband works outside the home but he helps me homeschool the boys whenever he is home.

I consider homeschooling as one of the biggest blessings we have received in our family life. Recently, I realized that it's no accident that my husband and I are now homeschooling our kids. I realized that God prepared me for this role of becoming a homeschool mom.

Why do I say so?

First, God led me to make a career shift early in my career. I graduated with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration and I was blessed to land a job right after graduation that allowed me to practice what I studied in college. I was doing well and was being promoted from one position to the next. But something inside me was moving me to look for something more. This led me to discover that helping people grow to reach their full potential and watching them improve their performance gave me much fulfillment. This insight came while I was a Certified Training Manager in the restaurant where I was working at that time. I was still part of the restaurant's operations but training the team members, supervisors and managers were also part of my main responsibility. Eventually, I decided to concentrate on training and to turn my back on restaurant operations. I resigned from my job in the restaurant industry because there was no vacancy in the company's Training Department then.

Second, God led me to work in a training firm where I learned a lot of skills related to training. The company had just closed a deal with a big client when I joined them. We needed to create a number of training programs for this client. Aside from conducting regular training for the company, I also learned to design training manuals and materials in this new job. It was in this job that I learned many basic skills like using Power Point for presentations, to write training manuals for the programs we've created and to make participant handouts. After this company, I moved to another company where I spent a lot of time going around Luzon to conduct training regularly.

My biggest break in training and human resources happened when God led me to work in a multinational company first as a Training Officer and then eventually as Training Manager. I spent around six years working in this company learning and developing my skills in training, organization development, and human resources. It was in this company that I designed countless individual training plans for its employees. I have also created a number of training programs for this company which was used in the Philippines and abroad. I also learned to use and create structured learning exercises (SLEs) for my trainees or audience to make our training and workshops engaging, interesting and more effective.

Looking back, I realized that these jobs helped prepare me in what I'm currently doing now as a homeschool mom to my kids, especially to my eldest son. My husband and I have not bought a curriculum ever since we started homeschooling them. I was the one designing their programs and curriculums. Our children benefit much from my experience because they get curriculums customized to their needs and interests, something similar to the individual training and development plans that I design for our employees in the past as I prepare them for advancement to different positions in the company where I used to work. I also use SLEs to vary my teaching methods and to address my kids' unique learning styles.

Aside from the fact that the schools that provide individualized curriculums to their students are very few (I discovered this as I tried to search for this kind of schools for our eldest son), our family was able to save on education costs because of this. The tuition fee per school year in progressive schools ranges from at least P50,000 to over a hundred thousand pesos. Yet, these schools do not offer individualized curriculums for their students. I discovered a school a couple of months ago that provides individualized curriculum design for their students who exhibit giftedness and advancement in certain areas but this school's location is very far from our home. So, my husband and I decided to continue homeschooling our eldest son together with his younger brother.

Me and my two boys. Coming soon is another baby boy!
I have grown to appreciate my previous work experiences because of my role now as a homeschool mom to two kids. Their special needs make me even more grateful to God that He has led me to this path. Homeschooling is still not a walk in the park given my background and experiences. But these skills I have developed through the years make my job a bit easier and more manageable. Because of these skills also, I have grown to trust God more in the face of uncertainties. We still have a long way to go in our homeschool journey. My eldest is still in elementary (Grades 1, 2 and 3 because of his asynchronous development) while my second child is still in pre-school. This knowledge though that God has prepared me for this role gives me confidence and hope that whatever future challenges I would face, God is guiding and equipping me every step of the way. 

Last but not least, I thank God that because of the skills I have developed and honed through the years, I can now afford to be a consultant for Management, Training, and HR solutions. This enables me to work from home most of the time so I can homeschool my kids. And even when I need to conduct workshops or training outside the home, God blesses me most of the time with clients and projects that allow me to bring my family with me to these events.  

Do you also feel that God prepared you for your role as a homeschool mom? Feel free to share your story by leaving a comment. I'd love to connect with other homeschool moms, especially those that homeschool kids with special needs.

26 comments:

  1. what a beautiful journey. truly as we put our faith in God, he would always be blessing us even in ways we are not aware of yet!

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  2. This is such a touching story. God does have plans for us and when we look back on our lives we see just how much he does direct us when we listen.

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    1. Yes, it is therefore key to stay attuned to God's voice in our hearts. Thanks for dropping by.

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  3. Now that I've read your post Mommy Teresa, I'm starting to realize that God DID prepare me to homeschooling. :) Like you, I spent my corporate years with exposure in labor/employee relations, OD, and instructional design. I never thought that those experiences were just training grounds for a more challenging role - raising a child.

    God answered my prayer last year when I finally became a SAHM. And He slowly showed me the way to homeschool, always providing me what I need. I'm glad to have come across a number of blogs that share their journeys. We are very new to this and I'm trying my best to learn from other homeschooling parents like you :)

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    1. Isn't it amazing? :) Although I still design programs for my clients, my most important clients now for the programs I design are my kids! hahaha I'm sometimes pressured when I go about designing their programs because I know that these will impact their future. But I trust that God is leading and guiding me.

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  4. We do not share the same situation, and my kids go to school. But I agree with you that every decision we made, defines who we are in the future. Who you are today, is what you decided to do in the past. In everything we do, God wants us to be the best and to have the best of everything, it is us who makes it easy or difficult, and for some, impossible. Regardless, every which way we go, God continues to bless us with His graces.

    http://www.amazinglifedaily.com #AmazingLifeDaily

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    1. Amen. His grace abounds daily wherever we go. We simply need to tap into His grace.

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  5. I've been eyeing and reading about homeschooling since around a year ago. I now have an incoming 2 yo daughter and a baby on the way this November. I work as a wedding photographer but I'm currently diversifying to a wedding blogger so I can spend more time with my family. I worked as a pre-school teacher for 3 yrs in Gawad Kalinga after I graduated ECE so I really want to practice everything I learned back then and apply it to my kids. So I'm really excited :)

    http://thetopknotters.com

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    1. That's wonderful! Excited for you and your family too.

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  6. Inspiring. I felt the same way about our secision to homeschool my 2 yr old daughtee. I have been an instructor in college for years and volintèered in Kids'Church in the past. I also did trainings for companies before. I also work from home now as a freelance writer and online teacher which makes it easier to do homeschool. Praise God for leading and guiding our hearts and equiping us.

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  7. This is so touching and splendidly elaborated; the journey throughout motherhood... It true how faith in God can help us make better choices and decisions in life! All for the betterment of the future :)

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  8. A nice read. Ive just attended the smart parentinf workshop last saturday and the topic was about school age kids. Two things were tackled- how to support the gifts of your youngsters and how to know if homeschooling is for you and your kid. And i just love how the guest speaker stressed that we need to pray, seek counsel, unite with the spouse and have an open heart. Things are a lot clearer now and i am in the stage of praying hard as i am also contemplating of homeschooling my kid.

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  9. This post is full of love for the boys in your life, continue loving them because it inspire many people. have a blast :)

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  10. I admire your patience in terms of home schooling your kids. It's something that me and my wife also checked in the past but decided to send our kids to an actual school instead. I also believe that things do happen for a reason.

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  11. As much as I want to homeschool my son, I can't since I am still attending class too (finishing my college). However, there are things that I do believe that God prepared me to. I certainly agree that whatever it is that come to us, God prepared us to face them all. And that, we should never be afraid of.

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  12. That's really inspiring. As long we trust in God's will we'll surely not lose our way. Homeschooling has been a popular option among mothers because you can save a lot, you can bond with your kids, and have control over the quality of education they're getting. :)

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  13. This is inspirational. I have a friend who is into homeschooling as well. I find homeschooling challenging because I got used to the traditional one of going to school, meeting friends and learn with them a thing or two.

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  14. What an awesome read. I admire you for your hands on approach with regards to the education of your children. Homeschooling is not popular here in the Philippines but it is certainly a way to get things done. Hehe. Congrats on your upcoming baby boy! :)

    PS: If I may ask. What ads do you put on your blog?

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