I've needed to do a post on homeschooling for quite a while. I keep putting it off. Why? Not sure. Maybe it's because I'm not quite sure what I'm going to say. Maybe it's because it's an area of my life that I'm not completely secure in so it's hard to open it up to scrutiny. {Did I just write that I have insecurities? Yup. Sure did....} Maybe because this blog could be misread by some as homeschooling is the best thing you can do for your children (written with sarcasm) like breastfeeding, vaccinations, co-sleeping etc...and if you don't you're not really a great parent :) NOT AT ALL! Please read this as just what we have chosen to do. This is not better or worse than anything else. It's just what we have felt God has led us to do.
Homeschooling was a difficult choice. Mark and I had been talking about what to do for school pretty much since Kale was born. Obviously we weren't seriously discussing anything but we definitely tossed around some ideas.
As school age got closer and closer our talks got more and more serious. :) Mark was leaning towards public school and I was leaning towards homeschooling - although neither one of us was completely sure of what to do.
Finally when it came time to decide - for real - we were stuck. We wanted to seek God and find out what He wanted us to do. Probably shoulda done that from the beginning.... Anyways, I wanted to know that what I was doing with my most precious treasures was what God wanted. If it was public school, fine. Homeschool, fine. Just so long as I was sure in my heart that it was what God wanted.
As I prayed I felt very strongly that homeschool was what we were supposed to do. It wasn't easy. I knew that doing that meant it was going to be up to me! I was the one who was going to be in charge of their education. Gulp! Scary! I tell people that I knew it had to have come from God because there was no way I was just gonna do this cause I thought it'd be fun!
Mark was reluctant but supportive. I told him we can just try it for kindergarten...I couldn't screw him up in kindergarten could I?
And I didn't.
I tend to go big or don't go, so I ordered a massive curriculum for my first time out because I didn't want to miss a thing. It was a wonderful choice if, at times, overwhelming. Kale and I had a great first year and we both learned a lot!
This year, 1st grade, has had it's ups and downs but I still really like it. I changed curriculum and now am teaching one called My Father's World {we did Sonlight last year}. They learn to read and write Bible stories. I'm loving that. It's a Biblical worldview and I'm excited about that too. As I look through the catalog I'm uber excited about all the stuff they'll learn {and me too}. This curriculum seems to be a great fit for us (and that's a big key to schooling - finding what works for the teacher and the student).
This year I was getting nervous that he wasn't learning enough or the right stuff or that he might be behind. I was comparing myself to what I thought he should know based on my limited knowledge of what the public school was teaching. Talk about stressful! So I prayed. I prayed for God's direction and a word from Him about what my priorities need to be in schooling. Here's the verse I got:
It was perfect and just what I needed to hear! God was showing me that the most important thing I can teach my kids is to love Him and know Him [FAITH]. Next comes character (kindness, patience, self-control etc...) [GOODNESS]. And then education [KNOWLEDGE]. If my children grow up knowing everything there is to know in books but they don't know Christ or are not good human beings then I will have failed. Knowledge is important but it pales in comparison to knowing Christ. Even if they were in public school this is still what God thinks is important. Obviously how you do it differs from family to family.
What a relief! (at least in terms of education...quite a tall order in terms of faith and goodness!) My kids will learn how to read and write and they will know about our world and history and a foreign language and stuff. But, and more importantly, I have the privilege of teaching them about their Creator and how He loves them and loves the world. I'm thrilled! And blessed and thankful. Kale and I have butted heads, laughed, challenged each other and learned so much together. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It helped me to get perspective on my days and help give me a bit more confidence in my teaching abilities and priorities. Knowing that the Creator has this adventure planned for me and my kids is exciting!
I'll post more about how we do it and some of the joys and challenges we face but for now I thought I'd just share how we got started.
Homeschooling was a difficult choice. Mark and I had been talking about what to do for school pretty much since Kale was born. Obviously we weren't seriously discussing anything but we definitely tossed around some ideas.
As school age got closer and closer our talks got more and more serious. :) Mark was leaning towards public school and I was leaning towards homeschooling - although neither one of us was completely sure of what to do.
Finally when it came time to decide - for real - we were stuck. We wanted to seek God and find out what He wanted us to do. Probably shoulda done that from the beginning.... Anyways, I wanted to know that what I was doing with my most precious treasures was what God wanted. If it was public school, fine. Homeschool, fine. Just so long as I was sure in my heart that it was what God wanted.
As I prayed I felt very strongly that homeschool was what we were supposed to do. It wasn't easy. I knew that doing that meant it was going to be up to me! I was the one who was going to be in charge of their education. Gulp! Scary! I tell people that I knew it had to have come from God because there was no way I was just gonna do this cause I thought it'd be fun!
Mark was reluctant but supportive. I told him we can just try it for kindergarten...I couldn't screw him up in kindergarten could I?
And I didn't.
I tend to go big or don't go, so I ordered a massive curriculum for my first time out because I didn't want to miss a thing. It was a wonderful choice if, at times, overwhelming. Kale and I had a great first year and we both learned a lot!
This year, 1st grade, has had it's ups and downs but I still really like it. I changed curriculum and now am teaching one called My Father's World {we did Sonlight last year}. They learn to read and write Bible stories. I'm loving that. It's a Biblical worldview and I'm excited about that too. As I look through the catalog I'm uber excited about all the stuff they'll learn {and me too}. This curriculum seems to be a great fit for us (and that's a big key to schooling - finding what works for the teacher and the student).
This year I was getting nervous that he wasn't learning enough or the right stuff or that he might be behind. I was comparing myself to what I thought he should know based on my limited knowledge of what the public school was teaching. Talk about stressful! So I prayed. I prayed for God's direction and a word from Him about what my priorities need to be in schooling. Here's the verse I got:
2 Peter 1:5 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge."
It was perfect and just what I needed to hear! God was showing me that the most important thing I can teach my kids is to love Him and know Him [FAITH]. Next comes character (kindness, patience, self-control etc...) [GOODNESS]. And then education [KNOWLEDGE]. If my children grow up knowing everything there is to know in books but they don't know Christ or are not good human beings then I will have failed. Knowledge is important but it pales in comparison to knowing Christ. Even if they were in public school this is still what God thinks is important. Obviously how you do it differs from family to family.
What a relief! (at least in terms of education...quite a tall order in terms of faith and goodness!) My kids will learn how to read and write and they will know about our world and history and a foreign language and stuff. But, and more importantly, I have the privilege of teaching them about their Creator and how He loves them and loves the world. I'm thrilled! And blessed and thankful. Kale and I have butted heads, laughed, challenged each other and learned so much together. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It helped me to get perspective on my days and help give me a bit more confidence in my teaching abilities and priorities. Knowing that the Creator has this adventure planned for me and my kids is exciting!
I'll post more about how we do it and some of the joys and challenges we face but for now I thought I'd just share how we got started.
