Mommy's Balancing Act

Every Friday, Heart of the Matter Online features a different meme topic for homeschool moms. The week we have been asked to share our thoughts about:

Balancing ‘Mom’ and ‘Teacher’
While many homeschooling moms know that being a mother includes teaching their children daily there are those who find the 'line' between teaching their homeschooling child and being a mom fuzzy. What are some of the best tips you can offer a new homeschooling mother who is sorting out those gray areas? How do you manage the balance between the two?

I think that “Mom” is synonymous with “Teacher” no matter how you slice it. Whether or not you homeschool or you send your child to school, you are still your child’s primary teacher. From the moment, you hold your little blessing for the very first time you are teaching them about life. From nursing, to using a cup, to using the big potty, you are ultimately your child’s teacher. When you take on the role of “school teacher” as well, you add a completely new dimension to the mommy adventure.
When I first started schooling my oldest, defining that line was easy, for about 45 minutes every day, I was “teacher” for the rest of the day I was “mommy.” After I started teaching my girls, I started to realize that bookwork is not the only school time and that school really happens most of the day. When as a homeschool mom, you come to the point when you realize that every moment is a teaching moment and that you can be teaching them all day is when you discover that you are always mommy and always teacher. The problem that comes with that realization is that many can forget how to enjoy just being with their kids.
I started to forget last year. I was constantly pushing to teach them something, I was falling into the trap of thinking they were behind and needed to catch-up. This summer, as I was preparing for this school year is when I realized that I fell into the trap of being overly task oriented and not relationship oriented.
The greatest benefit from homeschooling is not the amazing education your kids will receive or the love of learning and information you can instill in them. No, the greatest benefit of homeschooling is the amazing relationship you can build with your children, a relationship that will stand the test of the teen years. The greatest risk of homeschooling is forgetting about the relationship building and only being task oriented. When you have forgotten to build the relationship, you need to step back and reevaluate. Even during the time in our day when we are in “school mode,” I am realizing that my primary goal is to build the relationship and keep their hearts. The by-product is the education they receive.
That is how I balance being mommy and teacher. When you know that every moment is a teaching moment but also realizing that more importantly every moment is a mommy moment, that is when you find the balance between mommy and teacher. I know that sounds backwards because I am saying they are one and not separate but isn’t that how God works, against all human logic?