Yvonne Ferlita: Teaching From Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace

I know I am a bit spoiled. For years and years, my friend and encourager, was my yearly homeschool portfolio evaluator. Each year, in the month of May, I received a pep talk and a reminder that when God calls, He equips. My friend, a veteran homeschooler herself, pointed me back to Jesus, time and again. She was my cheerleader and always had nothing but the best of wisdom to share. I'm grateful. Sadly, my friend passed away unexpectedly...and I've missed her greatly. Yet, her encouragement is fresh in my mind and bubbles up within my heart. I know it will never pass away.

As I've encourage other homeschooling moms, I've prayed for a resource that I might share with others that might also point them back to Jesus. Sometimes we need to marinate in the truth, and a book helps us do that. So much of the angst that moms face in homeschooling comes about when we try to homeschool in our own power. There is a better way! Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace by Sarah Mackenzie is exactly the tool I've been hoping to find. While the author writes from a Classical and Catholic educational background (I am neither), the principles within this book apply to any homeschooling method, are based upon the grace of Jesus Christ, and are theologically sound. Throughout the text there are occasional quotes from Catholic saints and Classical Christian educators. That aside, this book is of excellent encouragement regardless of your theological background or current educational method. For me, it was like sitting down for a cup of tea with my dear friend.

Teaching From Rest is broken down into four sections, each containing four chapters.

I. You Were Made For This

Sarah encourages us to walk in our sacred calling as mothers with acceptance and surrender, whilst seeing our children as God sees them. Are we struggling through a daily grind? Or is our daily grind, holy ground? Are moments of tears and tantrums wearisome experiences that we must survive? Or are they divine appointments in which God has called us to share His love, grace and instruction?

II. He's Got This

Such an awesome unit! Sarah teaches us to walk in the way that God has made us. We don't need to teach the way our friends do. We are not all lapbooking, volcano building, sentence diagramming, super moms and that is okay! Sarah points us to Jesus in four excellent chapters which will inspire and empower you to walk in faith.

III. Slow the Heck Down

These chapters focus on simplifying, while focusing on the important stuff. There are four chapters overflowing with all the practical information you need to teach from a place of rest. So excited to see such wisdom all in one place!

IV. We're All In This Together

This last section is a set of excellent chapters covering the logistical issues of homeschooling. What can I do with my toddler, while I teach my older children? What is morning time and how might I use this time in a restful manner? Do I have reasonable expectations of myself and my children? What does it means to build margin into my day? Is multi-tasking healthy or is it a myth?

Favorite quotes:

"Why, come a damp and gloomy day in March, do we yell over a math lesson or lose our temper over a writing assignment? Why do we see the lessons left to ﬁnish and get lost in an anxiety-ridden haze? We forget that we are dealing with a soul, a precious child bearing the image of God, and all we can see is that there are only a few months left to the school year and we are still only halfway through the math book. When you are performing mommy triage - that is, when you have a crisis moment and have to ﬁgure out which ﬁre to put out ﬁrst- always choose your child. It's just a math lesson. It's only a writing assignment. It's a Latin declension. Nothing more." ~Page 33, Teaching From Rest

"You are made in the image and likeness of God, and you have exactly what you need to be the mother that He wants you to be." ~ Page 46, Teaching From Rest

"We are weary because we forget about grace. We act as though God showing up is the miracle. But guess what? God showing up is the given. Grace is a fact." ~Page 49, Teaching From Rest

"Real learning happens when a child encounters an idea for himself." Page 53, Teaching From Rest

"It doesn't really matter how far in the book we get. What matters is what happens in the mind and heart of our student, and for that matter- in ourselves.": ~Page 64, Teaching From Rest

"By deﬁnition, to be efﬁcient is to achieve maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense. But relationships don't ﬂourish or grow that way. Relationships need time, spent lavishly. Homeschooling is all about relationships, and relationships just aren't efﬁcient. " ~Page 85, Teaching From Rest

Highly Recommended

Not since, Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson , have I come across such a quality resource. The message is needed. Homeschooling moms are burning out and giving up because they have not learned to homeschool in the grace of Jesus. I loved every page. I read it twice, and then discussed it with a friend. I recommend the full kit, which comes with the book, a companion workbook, and several audio recordings. You will not be disappointed. If you read anything before you begin teaching in the new school year, let it be this book.