Homeschooling Struggles: Should You Throw In The Towel?
By James Leonard
November 17, 2022
“Homeschooling is such a struggle! I was expecting everything to work smoothly, but so far I’m feeling frustrated as a parent, and my daughter is distressed. What am I doing wrong? I’m about ready to give up!”
We frequently hear stories like this from parents when they contact us for the first time - especially around this time of year.
They jumped into homeschooling with lofty goals, bought loads of resources and curriculum, and fought back against the outside pressures to enroll their child(ren) into public school - only to wind up feeling lost, disheartened, and defeated.
Hey - Many have actually been there as well, and we have helped them through it!
If you’re struggling with homeschooling - don’t give up yet!
If you can relate to anything (or more) from above, don’t worry! You can correct-course and get back on track. But it’s important to understand what might be going on, and why many new homeschooling parents wind up frustrated at first.
Let’s dive in!
Homeschooling Struggle #1: Distressed Child
The first issue is very common - your child seems upset with trying to learn. Whether he appears totally bored, grumpy, or just cannot seem to grasp the material, it is all a clear sign that something needs to be addressed, and soon!
One of the most common causes for this struggle comes down to one simple reason: the curriculum isn’t the right level for your child.
We could get into several different reasons why that could happen, but most often it’s because the parent bought a “standard” grade-level curriculum, based on what “traditional” education systems say a child of that age should be able to understand.
But you know as well as anyone that every child is unique, learns differently, and will naturally excel at different things.
There is a very important and simple fix for homeschooling parents!
Your child could thrive with a Christian homeschool curriculum that’s built around their academic level subject by subject.
Even though it might “break the norm” of what grade your child is “supposed” to be in, based on her age, it will actually help your child exceed expectations because they’ve “filled the gaps” in their education.
When your child can actually grasp the concepts she’s learning, she will engage with the material like never before and actually look forward to learning again!
Homeschooling Struggle #2: Defeated, Stressed-Out Parent
If your child is struggling or “checked out”, a caring parent starts to feel unsettled.. Or maybe your child is progressing well in the material, but you as the parent have too much on your plate! Either way, you start feeling the pressure.
If things aren’t fixed quickly, the pressure just keeps building up until you’re at your whits end! I’ve been there!
Again, the main issue here isn’t you (or your child), it’s likely the curriculum you’re currently using!
We’ve already covered what happens when the material isn’t the right “level” for your child… but what about YOU?
I’m not suggesting the material is too hard for you - what I AM saying is that you might be working harder than you need to!
We’ve discussed this topic in another blog post, but the quick breakdown is as follows: many homeschool programs put all of the heavy lifting on the parents. Not only do you have to pull together a year’s worth of curriculum, you have to plan lessons and teach concepts. If you have multiple children, the time you lose for yourself really starts to compound! Eventually you want to quit homeschooling altogether because it’s too much effort on your part.
As you can guess, there is a solution that takes pressure off of struggling homeschooling parents!
The right Christian homeschool curriculum should take the pressure off of you AND your child. It should guide you naturally along a learning path that makes sense and gives you back your time.
You can enjoy the process as much as your child.
At this point you may be feeling relieved and encouraged - to some degree! Homeschooling could very well be back on the table for you.
But there’s always one final regret most people bring up…
Homeschooling Struggle #3: I’ve Already Invested In A Homeschool Curriculum
Most homeschool curriculum programs require you to buy an entire year’s worth of materials up-front, which “locks you in” to that curriculum.
It’s why many parents feel stuck in the first place: they have a sinking feeling that all the money they’ve spent has been a waste because it hasn’t yet worked out.
Oddly enough, this is the main issue that keeps parents from course-correcting at the right time. After all, who wants to admit they’ve wasted money? Who wants to admit to their friends that they’re struggling - especially when you’ve had to dispel their nagging voices of doubt about homeschooling in the first place?
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but…
Guess what - there’s hope in this area as well!
You’ve got an opportunity, right now, to try something new and get back on track, that requires only a very small commitment - with both money and time.
Right now, you can try a quarter of BCE Academy for just $275 - including a diagnostic test (to evaluate at which grade level your child is really performing), a quarter of ACE curriculum (compiled based on your child's results), support from our team, and other great benefits you can read about here.
It’s a simple way to get back on track - and guess what? After the trial quarter, you can decide to jump back into your old materials if it’s not working.
However, our goal is always to see you succeed, which is why we walk beside every family in our program! If you’re like most, you’ll start to enjoy homeschooling and see the benefits of learning right away, so you’ll probably want to keep going!
Great news! If you decide to continue with BCE Academy after your trial, we always take things a quarter at a time, so you’re never “locked in” to a long-term contract or investment.
We try to make things as friendly as possible for our families - financially, scholastically, and personally, and will extend the same amount of care to you.
You’re never locked into a long-term commitment, so it’s an easy “out” if something isn’t working.
One Final Word Of Caution (And Encouragement).
If you have a flat tire, you've got to get it fixed now - as soon as possible! You can't keep driving on a flat without some serious damage!
The same is true for your child - and you - with education. If something isn’t working, it’s imperative that you take action now and get back on track. If you wait until next year or until the end of the semester, you could actually be causing more problems for yourself and (more importantly) your child, and the issues will start to build on themselves!
Get your child back on track sooner rather than later, so you can get back to enjoying homeschooling like you had envisioned when you jumped into this adventure in the first place! Kids can be very successful with homeschooling, they just need to have the right setup to make it actually click and be fruitful.
We're here to help.
Try a quarter of BCE Academy, get back on track, and enjoy the joys of homeschooling!
