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Hi. \u00a0My name is Hala\u2026and I\u2019m a homeschooler.<\/p>\nHi. \u00a0My name is Hala\u2026and I\u2019m a homeschooler.<\/p>\n
There.\u00a0 I said it.\u00a0 It\u2019s out.<\/p>\n
The truth of the matter is, I\u00a0never really wanted to homeschool.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always admired it.\u00a0 Supported it.\u00a0 Defended it.\u00a0 But, it wasn\u2019t a path I had any desire to go down myself.\u00a0 But alas, after many trials and heartache, here I am \u2013 homeschooling.\u00a0 I would love to say it was because I felt strongly about so many of\u00a0the reasons homeschoolers choose it \u2013 the flexibility, the control, wanting to spend more time with their children, wanting more opportunities to provide hands on learning, etc.\u00a0\u00a0But in reality, this was a last resort of sorts.<\/p>\n
My oldest was struggling in school.\u00a0 He was strong in some areas,\u00a0maybe even \u201csmart\u201d by\u00a0some standards, but he had\u00a0definite weaknesses in\u00a0others.\u00a0 Yet regardless of those strengths, the only thing anyone (including myself) could\u00a0focus on was his\u00a0difficulty transitioning, adjusting, and conforming to the norms expected in a typical classroom.\u00a0 He needed more attention than any school we tried could give him, and when he didn\u2019t get it, the end result was a lot of stress for him, for me, and for his teachers.<\/p>\n
I found myself emotionally exhausted. Our interactions were becoming more and more negative.\u00a0 I was constantly\u00a0cast in the role\u00a0of \u201cgetting him to work\u201d, disciplining, etc. and after a while, it become a job \u2013 a chore really, and we found ourselves\u00a0caught in a loop of negativity.\u00a0 I had forgotten what my child was like on a good day.<\/p>\n
We kept looking for other options and kept coming back to homeschooling. After a lot of soul searching and Istikhara (prayer for guidance), I decided to take it on.<\/p>\n
So\u00a0here I am homeschooling.\u00a0 Me.\u00a0I still can\u2019t believe\u00a0it sometimes.\u00a0It\u2019s been a roller coaster of sorts.\u00a0 I used to dream of the day when all my kids would be in school and I would get \u201cmyself\u201d back.\u00a0 And yet, here I was, willfully and consciously,\u00a0taking a \u201cstep back\u201d with regard to myself\u00a0in order to take a step\u00a0forward for my son.<\/p>\n
I know once I\u2019ve gotten my groove, and found a rhythm, I can fit my own projects back into my life \u2013\u00a0maybe.\u00a0 But right now, I need to be a mother.\u00a0 I need to put my children\u2019s needs before my own, and find the path that works best for our family. It\u2019s\u00a0humbling to have to stop and step back, and rearrange your priorities- to put yourself second.\u00a0 But, to my surprise,\u00a0in exchange, I\u2019ve gotten back the funny quirky kid that I\u2019ve missed for so long.\u00a0 The kid who used to love to learn before learning became \u201cwork\u201d.\u00a0 The kid who laughed the most beautiful laugh\u00a0for 10 minutes straight when I asked him, \u201cTrue or False, the Qur\u2019an was sent\u00a0in Chinese.\u201d\u00a0 (\u201cMama! the Qur\u2019an isn\u2019t in Chinese!\u201d)\u00a0 I found myself laughing with him, and in that moment, completely overwhelmed by just how beautiful he was, masha\u2019Allah.<\/p>\n
Allah truly doesn\u2019t take one thing without giving you another in its place \u2013 something more beautiful \u2013\u00a0and better for you.\u00a0 I needed to be reminded of that \u2013 to have faith and to trust in Allah\u2019s plan for me.<\/p>\n
This new experience has been therapeutic in some ways.\u00a0 I see the good and the bad, rather than having the negative constantly taking center stage, and that in and of itself is a gift \u2013 to see your child as a whole person.<\/p>\n
The good news is, that in some ways, life is more relaxed.\u00a0No deadlines.\u00a0 No expectations other than our own.\u00a0 Yes, it is a\u00a0lot of work and I\u2019m not even referring to\u00a0the academics.\u00a0 That\u2019s actually the easy part.\u00a0 But\u00a0spending that much time with your children, no matter how much you love them, is emotionally exhausting.\u00a0 But nothing is perfect \u2013 nor should it be.\u00a0\u00a0 A little struggling makes us all a bit stronger and a bit more thoughtful, and\u00a0much more humble\u00a0insha\u2019 Allah,\u00a0regardless of the path one chooses.\u00a0 On the bright side, there are more and more mothers finding strength and empowerment by having homeschooling as an option.\u00a0 For the mother\u2019s like me, it\u2019s an option when you feel like you have none \u2013 and a surprisingly great one at that.<\/p>\n
Hala Amer<\/p>\n
Hala is a full-time mom of 3 boys, homeschooler, occasional blogger<\/a>,\u00a0avid reader, closet superhero\u00a0junkie,\u00a0tea-enthusiast, chocolate-eater, aspiring foodie and founder of the Muslim Mom Network<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0She resides with her family in NJ.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi. \u00a0My name is Hala\u2026and I\u2019m a homeschooler. There.\u00a0 I said it.\u00a0 It\u2019s out. The truth of the matter is, I\u00a0never really wanted to homeschool.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always admired it.\u00a0 Supported it.\u00a0 Defended it.\u00a0 But, it wasn\u2019t a path I had any desire to go down myself.\u00a0 But alas, after many trials and heartache, here I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1573,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[330,419,515,570,681,845,41177,1226],"class_list":["post-4846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-discipline","tag-fear-of-homeschooling","tag-hala-amer","tag-homeschooling","tag-last-resort-for-school","tag-muslimmomnetwork","tag-parenting","tag-struggle-with-homeschooling"],"yoast_head":"\n