This is where obedience comes in. Those who will homeschool their children from their earliest years may be more fortunate in this than those who begin homeschooling later. Explain to the children that there is always someone to obey, no matter how old we become. For example, we parents must obey God through the laws of the Church. One of those laws is, "Honor thy father and thy mother."

Give the children practice sessions on instant obedience , like learning to answer immediately when called, while also stopping what they are doing and walking straight to the parent who summoned them. Explain, even to the younger ones, that no complaining, back talk or questioning will be tolerated as long as you, the parent, are requesting something that is not morally wrong. (Even parents must obey this law of God's.)

Then begin working on the studies and the chores again.

It has been my experience that children will continue to badger a parent, particularly the mother, until they can get the parent to break down out of sheer exhaustion.

This is the beginning of the path to what I call Burnout Boulevard. Both parents must present a united front to the children, letting them know that the father and mother reinforce each other's stance. Instead of letting the children rule, make it a policy to reinforce positive attitudes, sunny dispositions, and quick, properly done work.

Nip in the bud any beginning tendencies to disobedience. This can be done with young children by giving extra chores in addition to those that either should have been done or were done poorly; or by taking away a toy, a favorite past time, or privilege.

The more strong willed ones will test this over and over again, often for years. Stand firm. Allow them to reap the consequences of disobedience without rubbing their noses in it. It is an old saying but a true one that children want a semblance of order and discipline. They will look to their parents for this when young, and especially as teens will they test their parent's authority and beliefs while also needing the safety net of the home.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's life exemplifies this truth when we see in her life story the great rebellions from her oldest sons. These sons of hers, especially the eldest, were terrible trials but she never stopped in her practice of two things: praying for them and doing all in her human power to help them see the errors of their ways. After they became grown men, they both became great defenders of the Faith but not before their poor, sainted mother suffered much anguish over them.

Imagine the terrible trials these two living sons were to St. Elizabeth Seton, who saw two precious daughters die the same way her husband did. Surely she must have wondered why all these tragedies were happening. Surely she doubted herself many times.

Her greatest example to us - an ordinary mother who did not have visions, interior locutions, or any other outward mystical manifestations that naturally attract us in when we read the lives of the saints - was her perseverance and fortitude in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, bringing all her sufferings to Jesus and asking constantly for His graces while she herself was constant in her own daily duties.

This is also true of the Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of the Little Flower, who had one headstrong daughter that caused great anguish especially for the mother. Zelie Martin's letters, left for posterity, show us her deep worries over her daughter, Leonie. Both parents were deeply believing Catholics and both participated at Mass every morning, with the father making walking pilgrimages to ask for divine graces!

In particular, we see in Zelie's letters that her constant prayers, her readiness to acknowledge that there was a problem (while at the same time looking for the good in her daughter), her humility in asking others in the family to pray for this daughter's trouble, and her gentle, loving approaches and reproaches finally unveiled the cause of the daughter's stubbornness. After very many difficulties, Leonie the headstrong later became the gentlest and humblest of Carmelite nuns.

On the other hand, don't let the naturally helpful child be taken advantage of by less-motivated children who are more than willing to let others do their work. A safe, general rule of thumb here could be that everyone does their own chores first and then asks mother if they can assist someone else. That helps mother know who is quickly doing their jobs and who is lagging behind and why.

Try to schedule everything absolutely vital to the home life. Do this by making a priority list - things that must be done each day or week. For some families, this means scheduling rising times, meals, chores, and class times helps to keep things running smoothly.

Different tricks, liking cooking two dinners every other day so that the extra dinner is put in the freezer, help give a little breathing room. Let older children prepare dinners and young ones help in "pick up and put away" as the parent puts away clothes, gives the baby a bath, writes the bills, or attends to other duties. Break times between classes are great times to give the children "mini chores." It lets the kids stretch and helps keep the house orderly.

Another time saver for dinner is the use of paper plates for, in my opinion, it saves valuable evening time for more important things, like praying the family rosary and letting both mother and children spend time with father. (An even better time saver is a brand new dishwasher that can be loaded throughout the day, run at night, and unloaded in the morning.)

Do whatever is necessary to make the chores less of a chore, the home life less complicated, and the children happy that they are homeschooled. Just don't get caught up so much in the schedule that it becomes impossible to bend. Some days the schedule must be thrown away for the day and things allowed to run their course. If aggravations becomes habitual instead of an occasional thing, something is wrong somewhere, whether it's an unrealistic schedule, consistent disobedience or a lack of follow-through from the parents. Be honest when looking for where the problem is coming from (it could be more than one place) and "tweak" at it until it's adjusted to your satisfacion!

The most important thing about homeschooling is to remember why it has been chosen as the method of education. We are handing down knowledge of God first and academics second. We have to work toward balance. We want our children to know and love and practice the true Catholic faith.

If parents practice the faith in and out of the home and church, and try to season all things with love, patience, and firmness, the children will inevitably learn to follow the examples set before them.