Parents always want what’s best for their kids. Well maybe not always but most parents want what is best for their kids. As you hold your newborn baby in your arms you see their future as bright, rosy, trouble free and perfect. The future you would want for them is pain-free and inspiring. Many parents dream of their kids being successful, of having the world at their fingertips.
Homeschooling families are no different. Or wait…maybe we are, a little.
Homeschooling pinterest boards boast of homeschool success stories. We hear about incredible kids that were homeschooled and gained fame, fortune and grandeur.
And then there are the rest of us. Just like most kids that attend public school, most kids that are homeschooled will, probably, not have million dollar companies by the time they are 18 or enter college by 12. I doubt mine will. Maybe they will surprise me and do all these things, maybe they will be the outlier in the crowd but if they don’t that is okay.
But what do successful homeschooled kids look like, really? Happy. Joyful. Loved. Curious. Engaged. Kids.
We would love to have our children have successful lives but our version of success doesn’t necessarily mean money, fame or fortune. I mean we all know miserable “rich” or famous people and ecstatically happy “poor” people. Success, to me, means a life of purpose, happiness and joy. If our children get a “lesser” job (a term recently used by my father-in-law, not one I agree with) as a skilled worker, a blacksmith, a carpenter, a manual laborer and they are happy, that is great. If they run a million dollar empire and are filled with joy, wonderful. Our purpose is not to create a successful individual but our purpose is to embrace the individual that we have been blessed with already. The perfect individual in our lives. Our purpose is to guide them in their life discoveries and to show them how unique, special and important they are, no matter what they do for a living. 
There are no guarantees in life. If you homeschool your kids, there is no guarantee they will make more money, be exquisite violin players or win the next spelling bee. But if you homeschool them with love, understanding, trust and fun, I hope they will be happier.
Show your children joy and let them be joyful, happy (and in my definition successful) children.
learninglifejoy 