I wanted to share with you all something that has been on my heart recently. They are completely my own opinions and are not to make people feel bad or to judge anyone but to express my own heart.
I have recently had a handful of people inquire about homeschooling and I always get the same questions from everyone who asks about it. I wanted to share a little more about what we have grown to love about homeschooling and the things that God has done within our family on this journey.
We started out scared, nervous about all the normal things that people are unsure about.. Do I have enough patience? Are my kids going to drive me crazy? What about "me" time? I will never be able to work again! Now after two successful years I am more sure about this journey than ever and happier than I thought possible.
Here are a few of my favorite things:
1. CHRIST FOCUSED:
We only have 18 years with our kids. 18 years to teach them about God and to really train them up so that they are ready for the world. We realized that evenings, weekends and Sunday school is not sufficient to really train our kids. We live in Texas which is much better when it comes to God being tolerated in school but still it is not enough for me. I want my kids reading the bible or bible stories as part of their school. Not just for bedtime. I want them praying throughout the day. Not just dinner time and bedtime. I want their whole focus to be on Christ.
Now does this happen every single day at our house? Definitely not, we fall short daily BUT it is much more than what they would get if they were gone all day. When disciplinary actions are required we get to handle them with a biblical focus. We are the sole enforcers of our children. We don't share that role with anyone else. Our children know what is expected and are held accountable daily and consistently. This doesn't mean you can't do this if your kid goes to public school but the endless time is a perk for us.
2. FAMILY FOCUSED:
We want our kids to grow up in relationship together. We want our house dynamic to be one that the kids are truly best friends. God has blessed us with this amazing family and to think about splitting us up all day long to go about our own independent daily lives is not something we want. Especially at such tender ages when they are so impressionable. People have said to me countless times that you can't shield them from the world and that's not true. I most certainly can......... and I will.... until we feel that they are ready. We will teach sex and drugs on our time table and how we want it presented. Once our kids hear or see something it can not be undone. There is no going back to innocence once it is taken from them.
3. SOCIALIZATION:
This is my favorite one. Sure my kids can be awkward in a crowd. But what 6-9 year old isn't awkward. My kids literally go everywhere with me. That means if one has a Dr. appointment the others are right there too. They learn how to behave in public, they learn what behavior is appropriate outside of the home. We rarely have disciplinary issues in public for this reason. Not because they are robots void of personality but because it is just normal life for them. They play with kids smaller and older. They don't know and they don't care about age. Even better we get to spend a great deal of time with our elderly neighbors. They get to experience people from all age groups and they do so daily.
4. WORK:
I use to be slightly sad about not returning to work. You get all these mixed feeling about not contributing and not using the degree that you worked so hard for. God has slowly been working on my heart and now those feeling are few and far between. I still get to use my skills and knowledge with my friends and family. What I am giving my kids though, is far better and far more important. Training up my children to love the Lord has become my ultimate goal. I want them to be smart and use their talents but without a relationship with Christ everything is meaningless. If my kids never do anything important other than love the Lord with all their hearts and serve him, then my job as a parent is complete. I would gladly give it all up.... the extra income, the career of my own, the time to myself to be able to spend all my time with these freaking awesome little creatures.
5. TRAVEL:
We do not have to be on anyone elses time table. We can go and do whenever and where ever we want! This might be my favorite thing! Once the kids are older we plan on traveling constantly. We want to see the USA and take the kids to all the places we learn about.
6: SCHOOL
My kids can go completely at their own pace. They can read whatever book they want. I don't care about their skill level, I just want them to have a love for reading. Clay picks more comics than he does books but ask the kid about the Titanic or Romeo and Juliet (which I have never taught him) and he can tell you about it based off the graphic novels he gets. I am not a huge fan of UN-schooling BUT if I left my kids to teach themselves I have no doubt that they would be so freaking intelligent. That is not unique to my kid either. I think all of our kids have a curious and want to learn nature. I think more often than not we as adults get in the way of kids learning.
Dylan and I were both products of public school and even though I feel like we turned out OK I feel that life, school and kids are very different from 20 years ago. What is excepted by the world today is honestly not OK by Christian standards. Just because public education is the traditional method and just because you went to public school does not automatically mean that it is the right thing for all kids and all families. Homeschool looks different in each family and you can tailor it to what works for you. You can be strict and scheduled like public school or you can be relaxed and just let life happen. I am somewhere in between. We do all our work but also play super hard, like super hard! :)
If you are on the fence or considering homeschooling I am sure your fears are not anything I haven't already experienced. It is scary to take your child's education in your hands, scary to give up on a life you had planned to stay home and teach. The beauty is that we have the freedom in Texas to try it. Nothing has to be permanent, you are free to try it out and see if it is a good fit. Don't let the world tell you that you are not patient, intelligent or good enough to take on this task. If God puts it on your heart than I promise if you show up every day that he will work some crazy magic.
I feel like it is a secret...... that everyone knows about..... but no one really knows about. I don't want it to be a secret. I want everyone to have the opportunity that we have. So come to the dark side, no really come on!
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