In the Schoolroom: An Early School Year Staff Meeting

In any profession, staff meetings are deemed essential. It is an opportunity for everyone to get on the same page, review the organization’s goals, and do a little team building.

The best companies provide lunch or dinner to provide social context and solidify employee relationships.

The companies have found that the chemistry between those working toward the business’s success is integral to that success.

The same holds for homeschooling parents. It may seem a little out there to liken the marriage of homeschooling parents to a business, but the premise can easily be applied and modified to your needs.

Make it a Date

Each year, as things get going, but before we are too busy, my husband and I schedule some time out of the house to discuss our goals for our current students and any household issues that are pending and to flesh out the schedules and who is going to be where and when.

This kind of communication is essential for us since it is easy to let things slide in the busyness of our day-to-day lives. We need to be on the same page about so many things, and if those decisions are made in a pleasant and unhurried setting, it frees us to be mindful about connecting on a couple of levels rather than always being in parent mode.

The primary relationship in your home is your marriage. God is the author of marriage, and “the well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life” (CCC 2210).

Walking a Different Path

What if you are single, and all this falls squarely on you? That can be a lonely and overwhelming path to walk, and you probably need the time to contemplate and review more than couples do.

Is there a close friend, grandparent, cousin, or other adult you can ask to let you bounce some ideas off them? Ask them for their perspective and help. There is no failure in asking for help and no virtue in taking on a huge burden alone.

We all need help, and God will provide what we need, but he sometimes needs us to be proactive, so take your best friend, sibling, or dad out for coffee and discuss your school day.

Ask if there are any responsibilities they can help you shoulder and then accept whatever help is offered. You will be a better parent for having a little breathing space occasionally. Being a single parent is a particular kind of heroic virtue, and you must seek support wherever you can find it.

“Wherever a family exists and love still moves through its members, grace is present. Nothing – not even divorce or death – can place limits upon God’s gracious love.” Follow the Way of Love, A Pastoral Message from the USCCB

The Wisdom of Your Staff Meeting

After your staff meeting, because you made the time to get the “business” out of the way and those decisions made, you will be much freer to be present to your family lovingly, which is the building block of your whole family. Ensuring your relationships have time and space to flourish will benefit your entire family.