Homeschool Bravely Quotes

“Homeschool may have earned you the disapproval of others. But you don't have to show up to every argument you're invited to.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“God chose you for this task, so don’t question His ability to choose wisely.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Jesus was perfect and yet God’s plans for Him still included a cross. “Not my will, but yours, be done,” He said to the Father (Luke 22:42).”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Stop wearing someone else’s expectations and judgments. That outfit never looks good on anyone.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Homeschooling can be a greenhouse that allows your child to grow into the very best version of himself. His wardrobe choices never have to be influenced by the “popular” kids. He may ask questions and discuss topics in an anxiety-free environment without fear of violence, bullying, or teasing. He can develop selfconfidence and independence without ever having to learn under the weight of peer pressure. He’ll never have to experience the stress of premature parent/child separation that some children experience at age five and can be encouraged to hold onto childlike innocence and silliness without being forced to mature faster than necessary. Other kids will not help your child grow to be a self-assured adult comfortable in his own social skin. Only adults can do that.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Just like a piece of sand produces a pearl, the wild in your child can be the start of something great if it’s given time and attention.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Another time, I had doubts about whether or not my children would be able to cultivate friendships while homeschooling. I formulated quite a fiery monologue of fear in my head. Proverbs 13:20 quickly extinguished my fright: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The “companions” of a traditional classroom don’t always choose to walk wisely. Can I really expect a pack of immature seven-year-olds to be the social and moral compass of my seven-year-old for the majority of each day? The socializing offered through homeschooling, on the other hand, allows my kids to be around many wise people of all ages.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“As a homeschooling mom, it’s natural to want to cower in your shortcomings. When you feel ill-equipped or average, it’s easy to let fear make you want to cling to safety. But what if all your fears are what God will use to lead you toward the big things He has in store for you and your kids?”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“And also, cereal could be served for dinner when necessary. (You're welcome.)”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Mama of littles, what if your older children could see you handle the tears and frustration of a toddler with love and empathy? What if they could see you clean up another mess with grace and forgiveness? How would that change the landscape of your days? What if how you handle the inconvenience and interruption of a toddler is the lesson, perhaps the only lesson, that your children learn in their homeschool this year? Would that be a failure?”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“You were called to the job of motherhood long before you began homeschooling. Your older kids have the rest of their lives to learn division facts and participial phrases, but your toddler will only be little for a short time. In the busyness of the school day, don’t just “occupy” your smallest gifts, enjoy them, invest in them, delight in them.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“If you could somehow muster up enough skill, or put in enough time, or push forward with more effort to overcome the hard parts of homeschooling (or anything for that matter), if you could somehow do this thing in your own strength, what would be the need of a Savior? What would be the point of Christ’s coming? No, my friend, God didn’t call you to homeschooling because you could handle it. He called you because He could handle it.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“A school is not an accurate cross-section of society. Forced association is not socialization. When else in life will someone only associate with other people born the same year he was? Never, once he reaches adulthood. Real-life relationships are diverse. They include lots of different kinds of people from all different ages and stages of life. Homeschooling, because it’s not based on an institutional model, better mimics the real world.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“But homeschooling is not my god. It’s just the work He’s given me to do. And the work, when done faithfully, will always lead to worship. When I set aside my wants, my plans, my goals and joyfully embrace the calling God has placed in my life to train my children in this short season, I am offering up worshipful praise to my King. John puts it this way: “When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified” (John 15:8 AMPC).”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“If you’re having trouble voicing your gratefulness, remember that while practice doesn’t always make perfect, it does make progress. Sometimes in life, you just have to play scales over and over until you get better, until the noose starts to sound like music. In this case, you have to keep saying “Thank you” until you actually mean it.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Homeschooling is not their savior, Christ is.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“The daily grind of homeschooling and mothering is really holy ground.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“buildings don’t ever get built on good intentions; they take construction, they take work. The same is true of character.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“In fact, without support, more than a third of homeschool moms quit within the first year.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“you opted to swim upstream, joining a group of people who have decided to go in a different educational direction from the rest of the world.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“With proven faith, she said, “If God has removed outside friendships from Maddie’s homeschool experience and has left only you in their place, maybe He wants to give your relationship enough room to grow.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Your child is a sentence that is not yet complete. Don’t anxiously put a period where God has only dropped a comma.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Seeking perfection usually just leads to paralysis.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“Homeschooling can be scary, it’s true. But use that fear; leverage it for success. Allow your fear to be a firm reminder of your only source of victory—God. Allow His resolve to strengthen yours.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“No, my friend, God didn’t call you to homeschooling because you could handle it. He called you because He could handle it.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“It’s so easy to get pre-occupied with spinning all the wheels and completing all the assignments. But I never want to sacrifice relationships on the altar of homeschooling. The world doesn’t need another smart person. It has more than its share of those. What it desperately craves are people who can show kindness, compassion, honesty, and integrity. I don’t just want God’s plans for my homeschool to inform my kids, I want His plans to transform them. My children need Jesus more than they need a perfect education.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“many days my home looks like it should require a hazmat suit for entrance. I’m half expecting a producer from “Dirty Jobs” to show up on my doorstep requesting permission to film a scene or two for an upcoming episode. Clearly, something apocalyptic must have occurred within these walls to create such mess, right? I’ve come to realize that a less-than-tidy home is the occupational hazard of homeschooling. And I’m okay with that.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“We place homeschooling on the throne of God and forget that change comes only through Him. He changes hearts. And truth be told, He can do that with or without homeschooling.”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence

“He said, “I love you,” through the blood of His Son. And our faithful obedience is our open-armed “Ditto” (John 14:15).”
― Jamie Erickson, Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence