Help
With Your Rule
When Mass & Homeschooling Seem to Conflict...
Dear Holly,
We are a homeschooling family. I want to get the children and myself to Mass more often during the week, but when we go not as much school gets done. How do you work the days that you attend Mass so that school gets it's proper attention?
Labels: Homeschooling
posted by Holly at 6:56 PM
1 Comments:
Well, this is a question I have dealt with personally, for sure! I too , as a homeschooling mother, felt the desire to attend Mass regularly. I too noticed that Mass at 9 am (at our parish church) definitely took a chunk out of the school day. And when we did our morning walk, it took out even more time! And other things also seemed to cause a conflict - like a child who is reluctant to go.
I have had a number of solutions, based flexibly upon the circumstances at hand:
At times throughout the year, if there appears too much of a conflict, I do not take the kids to Mass until things settle down and my responsibilities as a whole permit me to get back to more Mass. The very first weeks of a new school year are such a time , as I am intent on easing us into the school schedule, or the blustery weather of January and February.
At other times, I have chosen a single day a week where school is cut down but we get to Mass.
At other times, when a child is reluctant to go to Mass, I often stop for a couple of months until such time as the child is OK with going again, so that I don't overwhelm him. I want Mass to be experienced as a warm fuzzy not an imposed obligation.
Eventually, to ensure more possibility for Mass, a few years ago I put forward my lunch time from 12 noon to 1 pm. That has helped a great deal. If we have gone to Mass at 9:00, we can start schooling at 9:45 or 10 and stop at 1, still giving a 15 minute break if possible.
I also can do Mass at 9, then at 9:30 take a 30 minute walk, and begin school at 10:00 or so, and go through until 1pm or 1:15. Here, I need to provide a mid-morning snack. This is usually what we do.
Another idea is to add 30 minutes of study - perhaps religion - prior to Mass. Depending on the distance, it would be a good time for second-language tapes or patriotic history songs or multiplication tables in the CD player of the van.
Since I only do 4 'classes' a day of 45 minutes each - Religion, English & Language Arts, Math and "Other" (a science OR geography OR history) - I save all the other things for other times of day - like reading a story, art, etc. On slow days, or Mass days, if we run late, I also have cut the classes down by 5,10 or 15 minutes each - so all subjects run , say, 30 minutes each. This is then a 2 hour academic day,
If I can do this, keep flexible, and remain calm about daily accomplishments, then I don't get stressed and I tend to school longer in the school year instead of stopping early in April - simply because I have learned to take things in stride and realize the cumulative effects of daily study.
In addition, I have also purchased materials that are compact and non-redundant. That causes less busywork and more essential study instead of just 'too many pages' to cover and then have that 'behind' feeling. If Mass is a conflict with school, we can thus look to our program to see how we can be more efficient.
Also, I do not fail to stop a book mid way and pick it up the following year. Both my eldest kids have gone to high school, are pulling in good grades in the 90s, and did not need any more than the balanced amount of work I provided, (although I am sure text publishers and over-eager homeschooling lists make everything seem very essential...)
My thinking behind the meaning of education has deepened over the years, so that I don't stress the same amount as I used to over 'getting it all done'.
Education is about a lot more than just academics and intellectual formation. It involves the whole person - body, heart, will, intellect. As such, there is a real validity to other activities, all falling under the 'umbrella' of school.
The daily walk forms the body. The academics for 2.5 to 3 hours form the mind and imagination. The Mass and Sacraments and prayer form the will and heart. Cuddles and affection forms the heart. Time with pets forms the heart. Stories form the imagination. Domestic skills, art, music, etc etc etc...
Everything we do, every day, forms some part of the human person. Thus everything we do is educational.
In this model, it IS educational to get to Mass - direct contact with Christ, the witness of the male priest as a father figure, the witness of the community, listening to the Word of God - the list goes on.
Thus, if Mass appears to 'conflict' with the homeschool - we need to ask ourselves what our goal is - isn't the purpose of Christian education union with Christ? to form the 'perfect Christian'?And isn't this fostered at Holy Communion?
I applaud your efforts to get to Mass more, and want to encourage you.
A necessary approach to a Rule of Life is flexibility. Be realistic regarding your children's experience of the Mass, your own stress-levels, and do your best to get there as much as you can. Be prudent and discern all the signs as a sign of God's intent. Circumstances are part of this.
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