By Madeline Koch

I’m 13 years old and I have been homeschooled my whole life. So there are a few things I wanted to hit on in this blog post. The majority of people reading this are homeschooling moms, so this is to all you moms out there, including my own.

First of all, through all my years of homeschooling, I’ve noticed my mom is always talking about things she did wrong with us kids. . .things she could have done better. I’m sure every homeschooling mom has had this thought at some point. I’m not a homeschool mom (yet), so I don’t totally understand these sorts of thought processes. But I think I can help from a kid’s point of view.

Mom, You’re Doing Great
Moms, you rock. You moms are the coolest thing since. . .well, since God created mankind! Without you wonderful ladies, our world would fall apart. I’m completely sure of it. Also, you aren’t doing anything wrong. You’re doing way better than you give yourselves credit for. We all make mistakes one way or another, so don’t be too hard on yourselves. There is no formula to “perfect” children. You raise them the way you think is best.

For instance, my mom loves literature, so we do a lot of English, language, and book reports. But, physical activity isn’t as important to our family. So it doesn’t get into our schedule much. But I have learned many other things that I wouldn’t have if I was public schooled. I’ve learned to knit, do origami, read a lot more than normal kids would, and because of my free time (and my overactive imagination), I’m writing a book.

Every family is different. Just because one mom does it one way, doesn’t mean you have to do it the same way. All of your children have different interests, so don’t base the way you raise them off of some other mom’s kids. For example, I love writing and literature. But my big brother Mason doesn’t. He prefers sports and golf to writing, so our family has attended what seems like a billion of his golf tournaments, and now he’s going to play golf in college! Even though I was annoyed by this as a kid when I got dragged to Every. Single. Golf. Tournament. He. Ever. Had, I’m really proud of him (though he still annoys me sometimes). Every child is different, so let them excel at what they do best.

We Love You
Your children love you, no matter what you think you’re doing wrong. I mean, did you teach your kids how to be bad? No, you didn’t. There is no way to create the perfect child. I know I’m not a mom, so I’m not trying to preach to you. But I am a girl, who was born with motherly instincts, as I’m sure you all were.

Ladies, you are doing great. You are amazing! I can’t imagine the hard work that goes into being a mom, especially a homeschool mom. I strive to be a homeschool mom someday, because my own mom amazes me. You can inspire your children. You don’t want them to make the same mistakes as you did, but you can try your best to make them the best kids they can possibly be.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I haven’t been the perfect child either. No one has. But I want to try harder to get better and give my mom less trouble. But I love being homeschooled because I have learned so much about God, life, and I have read more books than any kid has, I’m sure. You ladies are doing amazing, and all us kids wouldn’t be the same without you. (Well, we wouldn’t be here without you.)

Don’t Give Up
Even if you think you’re messing up horribly with your kids, you’re really not. God made you ladies moms for a reason. I remember, as a little kid, my mom was around all the time. Anytime I was upset, I went to mom. Mad? Don’t worry, Mom’s got this. Annoyed? Say no more, Mom’s got this. Hurt? Totally cool, Mom’s got this. My mom seemed like she could fix anything and she is the best mom I could ever ask for.

One of my best childhood memories was and is my mom reading to us every night. It expanded my imagination and increased my love for her and for books. She’ll never know how much this memory means to me. It is my favorite childhood experience (Well, other than me racing my brother to see who could get their homework done first.). There isn’t a perfect way to be a mom. Just keep your head up and know that God is helping you, and your family supports you in every way they can.

To my awesome mom, who puts up with all my writing impulses, art antics, insane ideas, book obsessions, my sometimes-lousy self control, my penchant to be easily distracted, and my uncontrollable hair.

Thanks mom, for putting up with a sometimes awful, annoying, silly, weird, strange kid. . .like my siblings.

Madeline Koch is 13 and in 7th grade, an aspiring writer, working on her first novel. She takes piano lessons, loves origami, quilting, and Pinterest. She has three annoying brothers and has been homeschooled K-7 so far.