It takes at least 2 to 5 hours to put together a blog post. I must write and edit it, then I need an image, and if i take it I have to process it and prepare it for the blog. With the busy life that comes as a homeschooling mom, I wonder why I keep blogging sometimes. But blogging has helped me become a more creative teacher, and giving a little of myself through a blog helps me feel engaged in a community even while staying at home with my kids.

One of the ways that blogging helps me be a better homeschool teacher for my kids is it gives me motivation to approach learning in a more creative way. I look for ways to make our learning more hands on, like taking it outside for my son’s multiplication lesson or my daughter’s picture book preschool lesson. Blogging reminds me to take the time to think of learning activities for my preschooler, like our recent A to Z cut-and-paste activity and the simplicity of the ABC Monster. It would otherwise be easy to overlook her  learning and focus much more on the difficulties of my son’s more rigorous learning. As I work on lesson plan ideas for his co-op class, I think of ways to incorporate what we’re learning onto the blog, like our recent apple activities or the list of books about bridges to go along with our bridge-building challenge.

Blogging also helps me keep a record of progress. I don’t write weekly wrap-up posts anymore, but I can easily look back and find what our difficulties were with multiplication or what I did with my toddler while my older child was in classes at co-op two years ago. I know I’m going to love that record of learning as my youngest daughter starts needing hands-on activities to keep her busy!

Blogging also gives me a place to share. I am certainly not an expert at homeschooling, and I’m learning as I go. But blogging reminds me to take care of myself, to find community with which to share experiences, and an open forum to share my concerns.  I’m not the only one who was once new to homeschooling and wondering how I could possibly have enough patience for this, or if the people saying “I can’t” were right.

Blogging about homeschooling does not make life easier. It’s hard to find time to blog. It gives me far more to do. But blogging has helped me learn more about myself, my teaching, and my own interest in learning day by day. I’m grateful for the chance to share with the world, even in my own little corner of the internet in this big world.

See more stories on how blogging helps other bloggers learn about themselves by clicking on the image below.