As we begin planning and preparing for the education of our children, my husband and I have been prayerfully considering and discussing why we would like to homeschool them. I was personally homeschooled through high school, while Aaron was homeschooled through junior high, and we both loved the experience. But I know that in order to persevere and be successful in it, we must have a mission and vision to keep us on track. My personal homeschooling experience was far from perfect, in fact there were many areas that were lacking, but overall, it was so influential in my life because Christ was the center of my education and we loved learning together. Please note my desire in sharing our motivation is in no way to condemn any of you who have chosen a different path for education. I know that God may have a different route for your family. I simply find it helpful to establish our foundation from the beginning in this manner. May it help encourage and inspire you in your pursuit of educating your children.
These are the five primary reasons we have decided to pursue this form of education:
1. In order to keep Christ the center in our home
We want the cornerstone of our children’s education to be centered around a Biblical worldview. We see great value in learning how to discuss the many worldviews of our culture all through the lens of the Word of God. We desire for the foundation of everything we learn – from geography to history – to be centered around God’s beautiful redemptive plan. Homeschooling gives us the freedom to design our curriculum around the core message of the gospel.
2. We want to be the primary influence in the lives of our children
Our primary responsibility is to train and disciple our children to love and serve the Lord all the days of their lives. I believe being their primary teacher is the best means for me to impart a love for Christ to our children and a love to serve and bless others with their lives. We are passionate about teaching our children as we sit down, as we rise up, and as we walk along the way (Deut. 6:7), and we believe homeschooling is an excellent fit in fulfilling this calling.
3. For the cultivation of strong family relationships
The beauty of homeschooling is learning together, of always being together and learning to love and work together in peaceful manners. It birthed over time beautiful friendships among my own siblings. I love spending time with my little ones just learning about the world together. It’s delightful and I cannot imagine exchanging it for anything. I want to walk hand in hand as we explore God’s creation, as we marvel at the plan of history throughout the ages, and as we glimpse the complexity of His design. I want to talk about it every step of the way.
4. To encourage a love for learning in our home
Another benefit we appreciate about homeschooling is the ability to design and organize our own curriculum focused on what each child desires to learn, and meet their own particular needs and learning styles, rather than forcing them to read a certain textbook or agenda. We call it delight-directed learning. Does your child love World War II? Why not package geography, history, and writing into one as you borrow books from the library on that topic? Our children will retain that which they enjoy. We want our children to love to learn, read, and study God’s world, and homeschooling is a great means of accomplishing that in numerous creative options. We can learn and explore the world around us together through everyday activities.
5. For the freedom it provides to focus on the Kingdom work
Lastly, we love the freedom that homeschooling provides to allow us to get up and go as needed. If we need to set aside the day to serve another family, take a day outing or field trip, or simply take a break, it does not jeopardize anything. We want our children to know first and foremost that walking in light of the Great Commission is our first priority as a family.
That being said, my goals are not that we would have the most smart or well-educated children on the earth, but rather that our children would first love the Lord, desire to serve Him, love to learn, respect and steward God’s creation, and learn to articulate their faith from a Biblical worldview. We will utilize homeschool co-ops in the future to glean further learning from other knowledgeable people, in addition to speech and debate groups so that we can think logically in understanding and relating to our culture. We will learn music skills so that we can lead others in worshiping our Creator.
Our goal is not to be overly protective of our children in anyway. We want to equip them effectively to be sent out to share the love of Christ with others. That is what this life is about. Education matters little if my children do not love the Lord.
Further Reading
The Benefits (and Disadvantages) of Homeschooling
What method of education have you chosen and why?
As a public school graduate, I am thankful for the opportunity to have had a free education. I am also thankful that we live in a country where parents have multiple options. It is inspiring to see someone put this much thought into why they have made their choice.
I am in agreement your vantage point. My reading has shown your points to be true, but I have also read the opposite from other sites like this one. Do you have any recommendations for locating more legitimate ideas on natural health or related topics? I would definitely appreciate it!
Lindsay,
Aha, another post written for me in a timely fashion!
Thank you! (I am the gal who comes from a family of nine kids too, and most of us were homeschooled.) Oddly enough, one of the biggest ‘holes’ in our own education was keeping an orderly beautiful home, so as I had my baby recently, (and found your lovely post on preparing to have a child, and have delighted and used Proverbs 40:1-4 ever since) –and my youngest sister came to help me. She said when she got home she was almost depressed because she missed our orderly, cozy, sweet feeling home and went home to a cluttered mess! So I just now gave her your blog site for the many tips here, but also directed her to your sister’s as she is 14 and will love the fashions!
I had just as much fun reading the comments as I did your post this time. As another mentioned, my favorite term was the ‘delight-directed learning’. Perfect.
I have been praying, all summer, as to whether I will homeschool or not (new arrival number four just came, we did do homeschool last year.)– and so I am thankful for your thoughts, which are thoughts that have come to me as well during this agonizing, time-consuming decision. The Lord has spoken to me and I have tried to pen all the scriptures and answers that have come. If Milly goes to school this year, I must make sure that her teachers will be ‘fellow laborers’ with me, as I taught diligently in God suffering all affliction to do so (Mosiah 26:38). http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/26/38#38
Also, the decision must be best for her, as in the end I realized no matter how hard it is I will homeschool if it will be best for her. I realized in my heart, for various reasons penned by you and other writers, that I wanted to homeschool her in the end. But if it is best for her this year to learn some discipline (we’d have to all wake up earlier, have daily devotionals in the morning early, and she’d have to learn to be quick in getting dressed, praying, making bed, brushing hair and teeth, and doing a chore, and then being obedient to activities not of her choosing at school…and after, for homework, then we will go that route.) But if in the end Heavenly Father tells me she will do best at home, and you (me, Emily) can do it with an infant, and another child ripe to learn to read, then, I will and…you know, I will love it, because I will simplify and focus, and let things go in a direction that is…her’s, delight-directed, as you so guided me to this term, thank you, but still get done what we need.
Thank you for opening this discussion in such a manner. I like others can relate so perfectly, especially to centering our learning in Christ, and to creating a Christian perspective to equip our children in the forum of world view perspectives, activating our children to share those views to a thirsty and largely mis-lead world! God bless you Miss Lindsay!
I had bad experiences with the homeschooling crowd growing up. The kids I knew were haughty, arrogant, and looked down on those of use who were in “ungodly, heathen families” that didn’t home school. So, for the longest time, I hated the idea of homeschooling. I thought it was against everything the Gospel teaches. But I’m starting to realize that there are those who don’t homeschool that way. There are people who care about others and who don’t isolate their children. Right now we want to do parochial schools, but I wouldn’t say no to homeschooling any longer.
Thanks Lindsay! We’re getting ready to start our first year of homeschooling and I found your blog entry so encouraging. My oldest would be going to kindergarten this year so we’re starting to feel the weight of our choice as other families are preparing their little ones to go to school while she will be staying home. Thanks for spelling out some of the reasons why so beautifully! We too will be using Sonlight and attending a co-op one day a week. Praying God’s blessing on all our children as they are educated this year…at home or at school!
Hi Lindsay,
I have been reading your post for a few months now and have loved it- thank you. I am finally responding because education is an area where I have found people to have very strong convictions.
My husband and I both attended public school, but we prayerfully considered all options for our own children. There was a time when we both thought we would and wanted to homeschool. However, God was leading us another route. Through our journey of calling out to God on the path He had for our children, I learned I didn’t need to have all the answers right now. I just needed to trust that God has my children, and He always will. His hand is always on them. Yes, it is our job to train up our children and it is a job I delight in. I absolutely love teaching my children! I just wanted to respond because I unfortunately have come across some outspoken people in the body that say if you are following God’s will you will homeschool- end of story. I feel God is calling us to encourage one another and I just wanted to write to do just that. Let’s not assume that the path God has led our family is the path He is leading everyone on. Praise God that He is in control and has His hand on our children. I heard Him speak to my heart one day, “it is not about education, Karissa, it is all about Me.” Doesn’t that just put things into perspective?! I love our Heavenly Father! Keep seeking after Him and trusting in Him ladies- He will show you the path for your children, and it may look a bit different than those around you. Keep Him and eternity the focus. Thanks again for a great post!
These are many of the same reasons we have chosen to home-school, and you have defined them so well. I am so excited to see this modern home-school movement finding a voice. I’ve also written about our choice to home-school and would love your feedback. God bless!
http://memoirsofawannabegypsy.com/category/homeschooling/
I love this post! Not only did it inspire me to articulate my intentions regarding schooling for my children, but so much of what you said resonated to my heart’s desire for my kids. I especially loved the last two paragraphs and the last sentence:
“Education matters little if my children do not love the Lord.”
Oh, how I wish for this to be true! Thank you for sharing!
Hey I just gave you an award on my blog:
http://teanink.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-dear-friend-gave-me-this-award-on.html
/homeschooling sounds great and so ideal. I too struggle with the isolation factor that i see so often in homeschool families. We live in an underresourced area (inner city Detroit) and are prayerfully considering sending our kids to public school here so that we can invest fully into the school (and make it better for many Lord willing, not just our own).
What a wonderful ministry opportunity! I’m a public school teacher and Mommy of 1 and I know God has placed me in my school to be a minister to my students and families. If this is the decision your family believes the Lord is leading you to, I know you can be used. And if God leads you to homeschool or another school option, he will continue to provide opportunities for you to minister to the mission field you live in. May God bless you as you seek His perfect plan.
HI Sara, fellow inner-city Detroit citizen here, wondering what your final decision was regarding school options?
The most balanced explanations of all the options that I have found is here: http://www.gracechurch.org/media/details/?mediaID=4351 While my husband and I both seem to lean toward homeschooling, I myself have been overwhelmed, and dissappointed at the division this issue has caused in the body of Christ. I have been the recipient of harsh exhortations as to why I should homeschool, which nearly turned me off to it all together. However, the Lord has softened my heart, and I am open to whatever the Lord shows us year by year is best for our children individually. Thank you for your gracious treatment of this topic Lindsey – I love this blog – I recently stumbled upon it. While I confess I am turned off by what we call “Hard core homeschoolers,” or maybe the more judgemental ones, I am taking the reading suggestions from the Simple link posted here, and continue to pray through our schooling decisions
God Bless
This will be the second comment I’ve left today regarding educating children.
My husband is deployed, and I have moved to be close to his family for the year. We’ve decided that for this year, sending our oldest to kindergarten at our local elementary school makes the most sense. We’re in a very small community; the school here is equally small, and has an excellent program and reputation. He’ll be in a class of less than 12 students, and the school encourages a lot of parent participation. We had the opportunity to check things out before school started here, and I felt such peace about the choice when we walked through the doors. He’s a very social little guy, and has made it clear several times that he’d rather be with “other kids my size!” than with mama, his little sister (2), and littler brother (1). He really thrives when he’s with other kids, and I get the benefit of a little extra peace and quiet at home (he’s also my loud one). I’ve had concerns that I’m just taking the easy way out by sending him to school, but the more I pray about it, the more peace I feel. God has given us a beautiful opportunity to fill my little guy’s needs and mine, however temporarily we are here. The next move may have us considering homeschooling, and if that’s where God leads, so be it. For now, my little guy is thrilled to finally ride the bus. 
Hi Lindsey,
Thank you for all that you shared. I would hope I could do all the ways you mentioned to teach and learn the world with my daughter. For me personally it will be a challenge. I like how you put this all in perspective. I could not quite find the words as you did so graciously regarding those difficult choices. I will share with my husband. I hope I have the courage to do what your family has decided to do. Best of luck!!
Thanks again for all you do and help me with. I also enjoyed your previous post on cleaning. You keep things your posts so interesting and helpful.
25 Questions to Consider When Thinking About Schooling Options:
Discussing/praying through these questions was very helping in our decision making with regards to education options (we hav 5 kiddos ages 1 to almost 10).
http://thechuppies.blogspot.com/search/label/School?updated-max=2010-05-03T08%3A50%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20
Just last night I asked my husband “Should we choose to homeschool our children (our daughter will be starting kindergarten fall 2011) what are your main motivations??” All of the items in your list were our main focus. We are very strongly drawn to homeschooling our children, and are most certainly in a position to do so. One of our other motivations is to have the freedom to travel, as that is a large focus in our family. We aim to see the world together…but we don’t want to be limited to the vacation time that public schooling allows. But there’s no doubt that when it comes down to it, I want to be the main influence in my children’s lives. I want to them to learn about Christ and their Father in Heaven here in our home, everyday, and to learn about everything else here in the same place. In our home, where we can be sure to invite his spirit and influence to reside with us from day to day. Thank you for sharing this with us.
I love this list and your wonderfully thought out plan. I wish I was in a position to homeschool – but we are a blended family with two ex-spouses who do not agree to our ideals, so we do what we can. I would love to have the opportunity to drop school for the day to serve someone else – what better learning is there?
My husband and I do not yet have kids. We do however talk about schooling options a lot. I think there are a ton of benefits from homeschooling but one reason we really want to put our kids in public schools is because of the impact our kids could have on others. My husband went to public schools and it was amazing the impact that was made on families and kids because of his relationships with them. Several of his friends came to know Christ and whole families started coming to church and knowing Jesus because of his family. I can’t help but think when I homeschool I am keeping my kids from having an impact on other children and their families. How much time would they have around other non-christians and would I still meet other families and other moms who don’t know Christ? God calls us to go out into the world and not stay in our safe environments. But with all that being said I worry about what my kids will be taught, what influences they will have and if their education will be good enough. We don’t have kids so Im sure my thoughts will change as time goes on but I am just curious what those of you who already homeschool think about this? Do you still feel like you are a large part of people’s lives who don’t know that Lord?
Jen,
I just love your passion for the lost, and your desire to impact other families and children for God’s kingdom. In our family, that’s definitely been the bottom-line conviction and driving force of our parenting decisions, along with instilling in our children a deep and personal love for God; for us, homeschooling has actually been a core part of raising our kids to have this kingdom- and missions-mindset. During jr. & sr. high, our homeschooled kids were active in public school sports, and all of our kids were involved in church leadership (around lots of youth who really needed Jesus). They also were able to have the freedom to take mission trips, and to be primarily influenced by our core-convictions at such an influencial stage of life.
I can relate to your feelings, and I have seen a few godly families who have chosen public school who have made it work well . . . however, I’ve seen far more who’ve had horrible tragedies. At the same time, with two decades of life in the homeschooling community, we’ve definitely seen a weakness in many homeschooling families who are overly-legalistic or who isolate their children from the world. We’ve seen that for many homeschoolers, the perfect “dream” is to have kids grow up to be pure and good (and hopefully to have their kids grow up to live next door in nice big families) . . . but who never want to be a light in dark places. However, despite this tendency, we found homeschooling to be the perfect discipleship training ground for front-line ministry and world missions.
Thanks for your response. It gives me lots of insight. I know one thing for sure is that it is up to nobody but the parents to raise their kids in the way of the Lord. I know no matter where I send my kids or what choices I make I hold the ultimate responsibility of discipling them-public school, home school what have you–I MUST pour into my child each and everyday. Thanks again for you response.
AMEN!!!! Jen, your words are so true!!! No matter what focus we choose for our schooling (public/private/homeschool — or in regards to church — kids-ministry/youth-group/family-together-church) the ultimate responsibility for training children in the the Lord is a responsibility God has given to us, as the PARENTS. God will show you.
I love this conversation
I was homeschooled from birth to college. Our homeschool group was very broad in it’s attendance and we certainly found enough differing worldviews there to keep things interesting with Christians, Mormons, New Age, Catholics, atheists, etc. Looking back, I’d say homeschooling gave me many opportunities to impact others. Just like you’re both saying, it is the parent’s responsibility to train our children in the Lord. Through my parents example, they displayed the love of Jesus and instilled in me the same passion to spread that love to others. Being homeschooled, I believe I got to see my parents hearts much more than I would have if I had not been homeschooled. Their mentor-ship was an enormous part of my education and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I have a 2 year old and a 3 month old and can’t wait to start their “formal” home education, since it has certainly started already
Blessings on your decision, Jen.
Jen,
I appreciate this question because, though my husband and I felt that we’d long ago settled on homeschooling I hear many people with your viewpoint. And it challenged me in many ways, not the least of these ways being our recent interest in getting seriously obedient to the Great Commission. We’ve had to think very carefully: are we truly wanting to prepare our “arrows” or are we going to inadvertently produce sheltered little eggheads. And I say that with love because I WAS a sheltered little egghead! Still am in many ways.
The Lord has been showing us so much in this area, but one analogy works particularly well for us since my husband is in the Army. The Army is in the business of producing warriors. But before it ships warriors to Afghanistan, much time, energy, focus, and expense is put into training them; some of that training isn’t even stuff they would immediately (or, maybe ever!) put to use when fighting. Also, some soldiers would probably do just fine–great, even–shipped right to the field. However the army understands that in order to maximize its potential EVERYONE must have training, become disciplined, and learn their place in the bigger scheme of things. This is why our family believes that we cannot compromise our children’s education OR their discipleship during the short years they would be in public school.
Very well written!!!! I especially agree with your comment that for our homeschool to persevere we have to have a vision for our family. We have just started our second year with a 1st and Pre-K and there are hard times but we have a vision and know this is best for our kids.
One thing that suprised me was how much I have LOVED learning with them. We get on a topic and just dive into it and it’s amazing how much i learn while teaching them!
Yes, homeschooling is a blessing. We have just completed homeschooling one of our children, (he’s done with high school) and we have 4 more left. It is a wonderful choice!!
Your summary could have been our own. My son is almost 2.5 and we have another on the way, but we are already researching homeschooling options. One of our biggest obstacles right now is the cost for many Bible-based programs. I am in Michigan and am currently researching our free on-line public school system to see if we may benefit from this with supplements/filter by my husband and I. We shall see – but we are encouraged by the number of like-minded families we’ve encountered on the web and in person. Please keep us posted of your detailed plans – it would be helpful.
Love that last sentence!
I was taught in the public school system, my husband in private school.
When our oldest daughter was born and we started looking at schools we were dismayed and discouraged. So we did what all parents should do: We asked God how He wanted us to educate our children.
In our case it was clear He wanted us to home school. We had zero experience in this area, and never known a family who did it, and no one in our extended family was supportive at first. But we hung in there and we were obedient. It has not been long, we did preschool, and have just started kindergarten, and it is wonderful.
Perfect timing! I’m just drawing up my daughter’s first homeschool curriculum (she’ll be in Pre-K this year), and I agree with everything you wrote! I attended public, parochial, and private schools growing up–over a dozen schools prior to college since we moved a lot–and had good experiences with many of the schools I attended; others, not so much. But, what decided it for me was the strength of family and faith and the flexibility that homeschool provided. Plus, what could be more fun than learning with my kids and training them daily for the Lord?
My husband attended public and secular schools and I attended all public schools growing up. Even after becoming a mother and loving my little one’s as much as I do, I still figured they’d attend public school. In fact, I even looked forward to it. Then I started to read a blog about a family with seven kids (eight now) who homeschool. Initially, I just loved reading about her large family as we would like five kids someday. She gives amazing advice and suggestions and I just loved it. Then I actually started to consider homeschooling last year. It was a solid 9mos of thinking about this before I dared mention it to my husband (who was deployed at the time) as I wanted to be certain on how I felt about this. To my surprise, he was/is all for it. Even now as we are getting closer to homeschooling ‘time’ (our eldest wouldn’t start K until next fall but we are doing some basic things with her this year two or three days a week) and I’m starting to freak out a bit and all the responsibility (not to mention, I’m pregnant with #3 and feeling overwhelmed as it is)…he is solid in this decision. He is supportive and involved and knows that this is the right decision for our family. I have similar reasons for wanting to do this…mainly because I want to keep my babes innocent for as long as I can. They don’t need to know the harsh realities of life at such a young age. And, most importantly, having the ability to include Heavenly Father and the Scriptures in our learning and that He is not separate from any of it is what I want for them the most.
Thanks for sharing this. It was inspiring and a very helpful look at the goal of raising children (to love and serve God). I will be saving this post to read over again with my husband as we get closer to my son being school-aged.
These are all great reasons to homeschool. I have one daughter that graduated public school this year. She was successful. Now I have 2 younger kids with ADHD. They are both very intelligent but I feel the youngest would benefit more from a homeschool environment. This is impossible for me as I work outside the home full time. When I get home in the evening and we do our farm chores, I am way to exhausted to start schooling. I pray that God will make a way if it is His will for my family.
Monica,
Thank you for sharing. I just took some time to pray for you. Sometimes life is far from ideal, and we can’t do the things that are a priority in our hearts, but as you love and pray for your kids, God will help to fill in the things that are lacking. Please be encouraged by the verse in Proverbs that says “Love covers over a multitude of wrong.”
Excellent summer of your family purpose for homeschooling. We’ve been homeschooling for 20 years now. In June, we graduated our “middlest-kid” (#4 of 7) from high school (he heads off to college tomorrow, over 2000 miles from home) and our oldest 3 are now graduated from university (currently in ministry, military, and missions). There were certain times along the way when I felt discouraged about school and had to seek God for the “WHY” of doing what we do. My husband and I really feel that homeschooling in high school was probably the time when these reasons really paid off. We totally have loved the teenage years, and have grown so close to our kids, even as we’ve released them to all that God has for their lives. We have 3 left at home (this year in 5th, 7th, and 9th grade), and sometimes it’s sweet to see the zeal of new homeschoolers sharing such enthusiasm and fun ideas . I don’t always have the energy (or brain-space) these days to do a lot of extra stuff, but we know what needs to be done, and I keep the big longterm vision in front of our kids (and me).
We’re definitely in this for the longhaul. It’s not always easy, and we have very few local friends who are still homeschooling, but we can rest in the assurance that this is God’s choice for us.
Blessings to you as you’re beginning your journey!!!
oops. I meant to say “excellent SUMMARY.”
I was homeschooled from third grade on, and my husband was public school all the way. For me, I always assumed that we would send our kids to public school, but, as they got closer to the age where they should start, I couldn’t fathom sending them away to have someone do my job. It’s funny how something can become so clear to you over time, and for us, our decision to homeschool has become very concrete due to: 1. Sending my lambs out into the world at this tiny age! Argh! No way. We are given specific instructions in the Bible to protect the lambs of the flock. For me, sending my kids to public school would not be protecting them, it would be exposing them when they might be ok, and might be ready to stand for the Lord, but meanwhile they’re learning things they shouldn’t have to struggle with at this young age. 2. Who says anyone needs peer pressure anyway? Other kids are mean. I want my kids to learn to be loving to all, including people who don’t view the world the way we do. School is dog-eat-dog, any way you face it. 3. I love the idea of being able to delight-driven educate. I love that term! So many things about this post I totally agree with–you’re just much more elequent than I.
I agree that the last sentence was the best.
What a beautiful post full of wisdom. I was home schooled growing up and it was the BEST thing my parents could have done for me. I am entirely grateful to them for making that decision. It helped my confidence, gave me a well-rounded outlook on the world, and provided amazing educational experiences.
I admire those that homeschool a lot. It takes a lot of work and I can’t imagine trying to do that. I mean that sincerely. My son was severely disabled and it would have been a lot to take on with physical, occupational and speech therapy.
That being said, my son is now 18 and I was pleased with his education. Even if I could have home schooled, I know it would not have been the right choice for him. My son is very extroverted; even though he is non-verbal and has disabilities. For the first ten years of his life, he had a hard time relating to a world due to his issues. For example, if I wanted him to look at ducks right outside the french door in our family room, he couldn’t really see (process) that there were ducks there. I found a daycare near our home when he was nine/ten years old and he went there for 1.5 hours after school until I got off work. He flourished there. For the first time in his life, it was better being in the real world versus being in his little world. A hard concept to understand I am sure. But he just loved it. He loved the other kids. He loved the other kids getting in trouble (he’d laugh and soon the whole place would laugh). While he was severely mentally and physically disabled, the kids (age 2-5 on average) loved him and it was a real turning point. To this day, he loves school. He gets excited and energized when he’s around people.
Back when my son was born, inclusion was just starting (putting mentally disabled kids in regular classrooms). That was never a fit for him and I advocated for a special needs classroom with kids of all disabilities so he wasn’t the worst or the best in the class. It was always the right choice for him.
I know that is not what you are looking for, since your children are normal, but the point behind it was looking at my child as well and finding the right environment that he would learn and be his best.
Loved this! You basically summed up the reasons my husband and I decided to homeschool. I was homeschooled through Sophomore year of high school, and loved it! My siblings and I are very close because of it. Our children will be homeschooled, though I will probably go the route of no traditional schooling until age seven or so.
I found this post to be interesting and inspiring. I went through the public school system and had friends who were homeschooled but never quite understood why they chose that path. Listing the reasons your family will do this gives me a little more insight into how families come to this decision.
Homeschooling is something I look forward to. I taught K-2 in a multi-grade classroom, which helped me to see the importance of homeschooling even more. I realize that not all parents can, and that is why I am thankful that there are other options out there. However, as a teacher of such little ones it was clear that I as one was unable to give my twelve students the one-on-one attention, love, character building and in some cases even individual academic attention they really needed. There are also so many important life lessons that are hard to teach in a classroom environment – it is more theory than practical. Like I said, I’m so thankful that there are good schools for those who decide not to homeschool for whatever reason, but I am looking forward to having the opportunity to teach our little ones at home. (Our first is due next month!!
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Me too! I teach 3rd grade at a small Christian school, and though it is a big difference from a secular public school I am just always reminded of why I will be homeschooling my little ones (we are expecting our first!). I was homeschooled through jr high and high school so I am geared towards homeschooling anyway I guess, but it has never been more confirmed than when I am teaching that it is the only path I can imagine for my kids, I feel somewhat guilty at times in the classroom because I in primary grades you do so much nurturing and setttling arguments and making boo boos feel better, it just seems like I am doing a parent’s job!
We have chosen to homeschool. I wrote a blog post on our reasons for homeschooling: http://6hollandhappenings.blogspot.com/2009/10/reason-we-homeschool-our-children.html
I also love the last line of your blog post – so true!
Thanks for sharing, my favorite sentence of the whole post was the last…so true!
Sarah M
Thanks for the post. Good things to think about. I was also homeschooled from 6th grade up, and always took it for granted that I would homeschool my kids, too, but I guess it is good to put down on paper what our motivation and reasons are. I am actually really excited, and can’t wait. I enjoyed your post about your preschool plans for Karis. I love what I’ve seen of Sonlight. We’ll probably be starting next year – I enjoyed seeing what else you would be using to complement it.
Great post thanks
Homeschooling is a route which we would love to undertake, however the local authorities make it very difficult to do. We have both of our older children in private Christian schools. The whole school system is under review at the moment and should the fees go beyond our means then we will be fighting to homeschool probably with a wholw host of parents which may even sway them in favour of not changing the system lol!
Cath
I didn’t grow up being homeschooled. I knew nothing about it but we decided to homeschool our boys. The reason I decided to homeschool was that I felt that I could cultivate my sons gifts and talents from God better than a one size fits all approach. I also felt, especially with boys, that I could allow them more time to be boys: to run around and use all the energy that God has given them in a constructive way. What I have learned, however, is what you seem to already know. It is easier to make Christ the center. It does make your family stronger. It is wonderful all around.
I like your focus on God’s kingdom and purposes. I have been thinking about the fact that our families and what we do in them (including education) should not be thought of as ends in themselves. Rather, our purpose as families is to further God’s kingdom. Our reasons for hoping to homeschool are very similar to your own.
this was really inspiring – thanks for sharing!