Parenting is hard, but homeschooling is BRUTAL!  This is true.  But it’s also true that what makes homeschooling difficult is exactly the same as what makes parenting hard.  People who don’t homeschool may not understand this.  They think curriculum selection, teaching, or finding opportunities for social interaction are the hard parts of homeschooling.  No.  For us, the REALLY difficult part is keeping the peace with a house full of family members that see each other all day long every day!  You know, the normal parenting issues — TIMES TEN!  We’re less respectful of family than we are of strangers, and the homeschooling environment brings out the worst in our kids.  It brings out the worst in their parents too.  Truly, there is no temptation taken us (homeschoolers) except those that are common to all mankind! ( 1 Cor 10:13). Homeschooling is just parenting on steroids. 

There’s a bright side to that observation.  It is true that our kids may show disrespect to us that wouldn't be seen by a third party teacher.  (Something about “common decency” makes it only common when we're around strangers.)  But this fact presents a parenting opportunity when more character flaws are revealed through the pressures of homeschool than when kids are sent off to a classroom.  Parents in the homeschool environment have the heightened opportunity to see their children’s idiosyncrasies, character flaws, and address the underlying sin problems these point to.  So the hardship is not for nothing.  It is an opportunity for instruction and growth in the homeschooled child!

So too, the parents' character is stretched.  There is more sinful anger, frustration, and amazing opportunities to provoke your children to wrath.  We must be diligent to do as Galatians 6:1 advises - for someone caught in sin, restore them in a spirit of meekness.  That includes our children.  God did not make us parents simply to mete out punishment for wrong behaviors (although we are responsible for discipline).  But let us be careful to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4).  The secret to finishing the course with excellence is our own relationship with God.  Philippians 4:6-7 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."