I'm beginning my 30th year of homeschooling - my last one - entering 11th grade. I also started out with "homeschooling OCD" but in time, I learned to relax. One pivotal moment was realizing that adults are not good at everything so why was I expecting my kids to master every subject? Thank-you for your honesty! Mothers need relief from carrying the unnecessary, heavy burden that is stressing us out (and ultimately our kids).

Well, how do I even begin to comment? This made my whole day! I am SO glad that my blog post was an encouragement to you, and you feel it will help you be a better homeschool mom. You are a blessing to me! So glad I discovered you and your channel!

You made me cry! Being a mother is my greatest persona! I am going to post my story about my daughter one day. We have a beautiful story that needs shared with all mothers. So blessed to have found you!

Six years later and your video is a blessing to me. This has been my first year homeschooling and your video has been helpful and such an inspiration to me. Thank you! Your awesome 😊

This is an amazing video. Thank you for being so honest and open about your struggles.

Thank you so much for sharing this video and the article. I'm a year and a half in homeschooling my 12 year old son. His attention span is about 20 minutes at a time......soooooo we've cut each subject to 20 minute lessons. I was trying to spend at least an hour per subject and was so stressed out, which made him nervous and stressed out. What ever works is how we roll! You are a hoot!

Im in tears! We just started homeschooling in sept and I already see myself becoming a "slave to the curriculum". I have read SO many blogs, posts, books etc saying how we as homeschool moms should take it easy and instill a love for learning and that we cant teach them "everything" and I have to remind myself daily of it. The list hits home and your honesty is wonderful, both to us and yourself more importantly! We can not grow and/or improve unless we are willing to reevaluate our situations and ourselves and HONESTLY take a look. God Bless you on your new journey! Thank you for your honesty. I LOVE your channel and I am so glad I found it. I thank God I found you!

Wow! You don't know how much I needed to hear this! THanks so much!

Thank you so much for being so real. I'm in tears and I've been there so many times. I also put my older children in school, homeschool, in school, etc. Thankfully now that the older 2 are grown, it looks like these three will graduate homeschool. I'm so thankful for your channel.

I am so glad I found your channel! I love your honesty and realness!

darlin, these are so me!!!!! Thank you for your honesty in this series. I was raising my hand on most of the things that I do too.

We are a new homeschooling family and I couldn't have come across this at a better time. Thank you so much. What an encouragement. This all hits home.

Wow this hit home here! Thank you for sharing and I am going to read the entire article. I really needed to hear this today!

I absolutely LOVE your video! Amanda's post and your video are so helpful to me! I'm new to homeschooling... this helps me to focus on what I need to and what I don't need to! Thanks for the encouragement!

Deep. How lovely of you to share this.

It's a blessing i found your channel!!! Crying, regretting .... Totally agree... I'm homeschooling struggling with every area and forgetting to simplify with love, and that it's a calling( from the Lord) ... Thank you!!! Excellent video I will continue watching !!!

You are a true lifeline, Trish! I am SO glad I found your channel! Thanks so much for all the encouragement.

Thank you!!! You covered many reasons why I haven't started homeschooling and it sure did make me think. I'm so glad you were able to look at yourself open and honestly. That is a gift. Love you and miss you sooooo much!!!!

I'm so glad I found you! Great channel, girl!

love your video!!!! I felt you the way. this is me!! I place my 9 years old back in public school. I see how the love for learning is fading away. I cry every night, feel like I am not good enough for her.

I love how real you are! I needed this video today. Thank you! Im in tears. God has given us these children to be their mother, not their care givers... wow... so profound and so true. You got be as a subscriber! May God bless your journey. 🙏🏾

Thanks for sharing! I am definitely a slave to the curriculum and a checklist completer most of the time. Definitely something I want to work on, taking a more relaxed approach in general as well and not burdening my kids and killing their innate love of learning. There is no way we can teach our children everything they will need to know for the rest of their life. We need to give them the skills to learn the applicable things as the go through life.

This is a great video, Trish. Thank you for sharing your heart!

i think i found your channel around the same time as amandas! :) i really enjoy learning about the homeschool options and frugal lives

Great reflection and wonderful reality to the learning of your children through homeschooling in this video. We as a family are not home schoolers but the explanation and process you shared of the best ways to approach this learning i deeply respect. Thanks for sharing and being open and honest about your reflection to alternative ways to be the leading teacher of your children's lives. I salute you!!!

OMG! I really needed to hear all of this! I was ready to put my kids back in public school. Thanx for the encouragement!

I feel you on this! Please try to give yourself space and grace. And not compare to anyone else. Your methods are going to be uniquely yours...and I would have loved to have been a student in your homeschool when I was a kid! You're not afraid to try new stuff and to follow directions to the letter. Like when you get a recipe for the first time, you follow the directions carefully. But then when you feel comfy and confident, you can totally freestyle. Love your videos SO MUCH!!! You are AWESOME!!!!❤️

Oh my goodness. 4 years later and I am just now seeing this. Thank you. I will let go of the reins and back away slowly.

Wow!! I went from laughing to deep reflection and then to getting teary eyes! Thanks for this!! ❤️

my first time seeing you and I love your video and going to watch them all. thanks for being so great

Thank you very much for sharing this! .. I came across your channel because I'm interested in Monarch and wanted reviews on it... then I seen this video.. Thank you for sharing this .. I am a total newbie who is beyond lost(in Sept. I pulled my 2 kids from French public school) .. Even though I'm not everything on that list .. I see myself starting to fall into some random made up mental pressure I've developed for myself! This was exactly what I needed to hear .. Thank you for sharing it and Thank you Amanda for writing it!

Oh, this spoke to me today. You just don't even know. Well, maybe you do. ;) But, oh, my homeschooling mama heart just needed to hear every one of these things. The article bullet points, and your commentary... What a gift of encouragement. Thank you, Trish.

I can’t believe I missed this video trish. It speaks volumes.

Wow!! I've been binge watching your channel today and decided that you're amazing!! This video is my favorite so far. Thank you for being raw and real. My child isn't even two yet and I struggle with a few of these things! You made me realize that I need to chill!! Let's just make it to kindergarten first before I try to put her through high school early... Perhaps we just want to squeeze every ounce of their potential out and that's why we push so unrealistically hard. Idk! But I'm definitely taking a chill pill now!! :D Thanks Trish!!!

Really!!! I am laughing out loud right now because I have so been there. (and still struggle). It is good to know that we are all in this homeschool thing together.

This was hilarious! TRUTH.... and HILARIOUS! I was cracking up! Thanks soooooo much... needed this.

huge hugs you have helped so many me included thankyou xx

Thank you so much I needed this to start my year off

You are my absolute favorite! Thanks

Hi! We are starting school in about 5 months. Thank you for this video. While I am not going through these things RIGHT NOW with homeschool, I will need this later. (I could probably tweak it and apply it to my life and parenting, which I should seriously do... right now) But thanks for opening yourself up and sharing!

I appreciate your bold honesty. We all struggle to find balance, thank God for his grace and allowing us a new beginning every morning! Lol thank you for this video.

I think we ALL feel like we’re not doing enough. It’s hard to remember that life is also school. Thanks for sharing!

Oh my gosh, I literally lol and cried all in one KZfaq video - that has never happened to me! You are awesome, I am binge watching you now, haha.

awesome video! The hair is a blast lol. After a long 7 hour day of Algebra at grade 7 I needed to see this. Thank You!

Amen sister Trish! You are my blonde sister from another mother!!! Can so relate after my first year of homeschooling 3 kids (son 12, daughter 10, and youngest 5) for the first time!!! Yes, you made me laugh, you made me cry, most importantly, you made me think and reflect on what truly is important. I am a product of public schools and a public school teacher for over 10 years. Slave to the curriculum and slave to the public school district standards...🤦‍♀️. Thank you for your honesty. Speak the truth sister 👏👏👏

Ok. Now I’m at the end of this. I ❤️ you and your honesty. I’m so glad I found your channel.

Thank you Trish , I will be a new homeschool mom after summer and am stressing so much already 🙈

I love your video's! So inspiring!

I do some structure, but a lot of our learning in funschool / unschooling. It was hard to not schedule worksheets, test, grade, etc. haha.

Guilty as charged! I am so happy you shared this.

I have found my homeschooling "twin" lol. Thank you for sharing. I do everything listed. I have a special needs student and it keeps me on my knees before the Lord. Thank you!

NEeded to see this as I am planning away for another year. And yes, I find you funny, witty, and intelligent. :) ;)

Beautiful video! Just wanna hug ya!

Yes! We are so indoctrinated by our own educational experience and we don't even realize it. You don't know what you don't know, right?!? Great video, Trish!!!

Love your honesty here! How have all these epiphanies been playing out in your homeschool? I'm dying to hear if things are getting better, easier, what challenges you are facing with practical application, etc. Update please! :)

OMG are we long lost twins separated at birth? This is so me. Everything. I needed this so bad right now. Thank you so much.

Good points, thanks for sharing.

I feel like that about curriculum too, it's so hard to go away from it. I'm trying to get better and slowly I'm getting a little better but at the same time I feel like I HAVE to follow it and I fell like I have to complete it all. I was in public school growing up too so it's hard to get out of that mindset.

I'm a noob. I started out saying I'm doing 170 days. I'm rethinking, maybe just 160 days. Now I'm compiling the curriculum, getting excited, so tempting to add days right? I'm going to try 160 days. Especially this year we need to unwind a little. Plus, ADHD has to be considered for me as well.

I hate you have felt this way but I think so many of us, including myself, can relate! I do great at being a care free homeschool mom UNTIL panic hits and then I try to play "catch up". But honestly, we do more than enough so why am I stressing and what am I hoping to catch up too?

Thanks so much for this video!! I definitely needed this today to remind me why I decided to homeschool. I am in the process of trying to find a curriculum online, any suggestions? Thanks!!

YOU CRACK ME UP !!! KEEP IT UP :)

I love it when your hair is like that. Lol. You're awesome.

How are y'all doing now?

To be honest...I may be guilty as well. I go back and forth. I do feel like I'm doing enough. Gosh... we are ALL dayers!.... I'm working on this. Was this another collab or what!? At least a video response...let me gather up the courage to say it out loud!!,lol!

I'm guilty of a lot of this!

If I could reach through into YT- cyber space, and hug U!! I so would!! & Yep!! TY!! yet again..for being so amazingly transparent!! & TY - Amanda.. Yeah!!! It totally hit home!!! I'm pretty sure as a very new homeschool mom..that I was headed down this same path as well.. Both of y'all together.. are helping to save a whole bunch of H.Schooling kiddos.. Mastery & truly gaining knowledge!!! That!! is pretty much one of the main reasons why we get into HS in the first place.. is it not?! So TY, TY, TY!!! Pray you & your sweet families continue to be blessed greatly!! Both of y'all seriously ROCK!!! (=

69th comment HA!