Spring 2018

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It’s probably happened to you too. You’re running
low on eggs, apples, and napkins; so you make
a mental shopping list and announce, “I’m head-
ing to the store. Does anybody need anything?”
“Could you get some avocados so we can make
guacamole? Oh, and some cotton balls?” your
daughter asks as you walk by.
Eggs, apples, napkins, avocados, cotton balls.
Got it.
“Can you get me some tea bags, please,” an-
other daughter adds.
Eggs, apples, napkins, avocados, cotton balls,
tea bags. No problem.
“We need more popcorn,” calls your hus-
band from the other room. “And I’m out of
decaffeinated coffee.”
You feel your list quickly approaching
the line that delineates Too Much.
Your son wanders into the room:
“How can I brush my teeth if there
isn’t any toothpaste?”
That’s it. You reach for the nearest
pencil.
What was a relatively simple and
manageable task has become over-
whelming.
Crossing the Line
Looking back, you can easily see how
it happened. The process of adding one
more thing, then one more thing, then an-
other one resulted in crossing the line into
Too Much.
It’s pretty easy to recognize that shift
with a shopping list. But somehow it’s not
as obvious with homeschooling.
You start out with a mental list of priori-
ties: read and discuss good books, practice
spelling and writing, accurately calculate
numbers, cultivate good habits of char-
acter, appreciate good art and music, love
God and His Word. That doesn’t seem so
overwhelming.
But then others start to offer one more
thing.
“Does your child participate on any
teams? I think he would really like this
one.”
“Take a look at this class. It meets once
a week.”
“Have you seen this new curriculum supplement? It
takes just 15 minutes a day.”
“This teacher is offering a discount on lessons this
year. It’s a great opportunity!”
“I think you would really enjoy that co-op, and there’s
a discussion group too.”
“You really need to make your child study _____.”
So you add one more thing, then one more thing,
then another one. And what used to be a relatively
simple and manageable task becomes increasingly
overwhelming. Soon you wonder why homeschooling
seems so stressful and why you’re not enjoying it any
more.
You have crossed the line into Too Much.
Keeping It Manageable
How do you stay away from Too Much? How can you
keep things simple and manageable? The same way
you do with a shopping list. Ask yourself the same three
questions that you do when you’re going to the store.
1. Do we really need it?
When your daughter tells you that you need to put
cotton balls on the shopping list, you first check to see
if you already have some on hand. It might be that she
just didn’t look in the right place.
Do the same with activities and curriculum. Ask your-
self, What is the purpose of this item? Is that purpose
already being accomplished in my home school? Look
past the trappings and the outer show and think about
what you hope to accomplish by adding the item. Do
you already have something in place that can accom-
plish the same thing? It might accomplish it in a little
different way, but if it is accomplishing the purpose
and it is already in place, you don’t need another one.
2. Is this the best one?
Once you have determined that you do, indeed, need
avocados, you take some time in the produce section to
find the good ones—the ones that best meet your crite-
ria. If you can’t find any good ones, you don’t buy them.
Do the same for homeschooling. Make sure the pro-
posed activity or curriculum resource meets your stan-
dards. You are under no obligation to download or use
every resource or opportunity that comes along. Look
for good quality that will fit well with your goals during
this season of life. Be a picky shopper. If you can’t find
what you’re looking for, don’t add it to your cart.
3. Can we afford it?
As you find the store items on your list and place
them in your shopping cart, you are probably careful
to keep track of how much money you are spending. If
you go over your budget, you’re not afraid to remove
One More Thing
BY SONYA SHAFER, 2018 HOMESCHOOL IOWA CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER