Are You Afraid To Homeschool?

Are you afraid to homeschool? It is time to allay those fears. This from Deborah Weuhler, Senior Editor at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine:

I meet many moms who are nervous about homeschooling based on one thing: higher math. Or others believe that because they are not good at math, they can only homeschool through elementary or junior high, but never through high school. I have living proof that children can learn math even without our help. I have two boys who learned algebra on their own at home, without me teaching them. They both had computer CDs that walked them through every math step because I couldn't. They then went on to take college algebra and both received an A. If you are one of those moms who thinks you can't teach your children, believe me, you will do just fine. There are tons of resources available to help you with math and every other subject out there. We have had math products reviewed by moms just like you and have found hundreds of wonderful helps. I believe that as you obey God and teach your children at home, He provides the wisdom, direction, and help you need. And I believe He rewards obedience with results. He truly is a rewarder of those who obey him, and He rewards those who diligently seek Him. May we be both, as we trust God with algebra and everything else that makes us anxious. Is algebra too hard? Make it simple, by trusting God to lead you to the right tools, and then dig in. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6, 7 ~ Deborah TOS Senior Editor

I speak with many parents who are beginning the thought process toward the decision to home educate. (I prefer the term "home educate" because we do not bring a "school" environment home. Home education is an entirely different approach. More on that in another blog.) The comment I most often hear is that the parent doesn't feel qualified to do the job. They fear not only higher math but the very idea of spending all day, everyday, with their children. Fears about some very personal and complex issues surface.


Do I really have enough control over my children to not only spend all day with them but to be able to hold their attention and teach them? Many people exit the thought process right here. They don't want to face the fact that they really doubt whether they are able to keep their own children under control all day. That's usually when I hear something like, "Well, that's great what you do, but I'd never have the patience to do that. I'm just too impatient." Or, we hear this fear: "I just don't have the self-discipline to make school happen everyday." I often wonder at how a parent who finds the self-discipline to get up early and take their child to school can't find enough self-discipline to get up early and do it themselves, or better yet -- sleep in a little like we do and then get it done on a less strenuous schedule.


The weeks in which we have outside obligations and are up and out of the house early on a daily, or almost daily, basis make us exhausted! That's when I realize that the home-educating family really does lead a blessed, slower-paced lifestyle free from the many stresses of the way our culture lives life.


The actual question really lies within the framework of how we view God and life. Is the Lord pleased for us to yield the education of our children to others, particularly others who hold a God-less worldview? Who really does the best job of training the next generation? I agree with Dr. Ruth Beechick, who believes that home is the best place to learn and that parents don't give themselves enough credit for being the best teachers!


Education from parents to children enables learning to take place within context of need and experience, and that is real learning which isn't forgotten. Home education also enables the real purpose of education to be realized, and that is to know God and make Him known, and for parents to mentor their children and reproduce in their children who they, the parents are, themselves. God passes intact the Lordship and worship of Him from one generation to the next. This is perhaps the overarching reason for overcoming all fears and following the Biblical directive to train (teach) our children found in Deuteronomy, chapters four and eleven.


"Homeschooling naturally is natural. Don't work too hard on making it artificially schoolish." -Dr. Ruth Beechick, Author, Educator, Curriculum Developer & Advocate of Natural Learning


Would you like to know a little more about Dr. Beechick, one of the grandmothers of home centered education? Read about her here.

We Live Learning

I am going to admit something to you that I am loathe to confess as I would like to keep the reputation of all Godly home schooling families intact. Sometimes we watch Tom and Jerry in the morning. We love those old episodes where Tom and Jerry chase each other around ad infinitum, usually ending up in a crumpled heap somewhere only to rejoin life suddenly transposed to their former unharmed state. We* love it. The children were hungry. I was preparing, as my son reverently calls it, "buttuh toast and cheese toast." They paused the recording in order to help mom bring everything into the living room. (Oh, did I forget to mention that? We regularly --not daily-- have a light breakfast in the living room while enjoying T & J.) Then, the countdown began, "18!  17!  16!  15!  14!....." and so on down to zero, at which time the pause was rescinded.

Our home, no, our lives beat with a heart of learning.  We want to know more about God and everything He created. We want to be able to label it, count it, and understand it all.  Our spirits yearn to know more and more.  I'm often asked how many hours a day we spend home educating, and that is a difficult question to answer as we live our learning. We wake up with it, walk with it daily and go to bed talking ideas, methods, and particulars.  We measure, count, consider. My husband and I use up untold moments of time, stopping to explain and define what we are doing; defining words in books we are reading to the children; answering questions that arise from just daily living. We pull out math books to practice and learn arithmetic. We sing the multiplication tables in the car. We play "Guess The Answer," a raucous game of everyone shouting out the answer to a math problem or a fill in the blank from a history sentence, a science snippet, or a part of the list of prepositions, linking, and helping verbs we are studying.

We do not have a set schedule for "classes."  We do sit down to study, but when and where that happens is dependent on our life at large. We just make sure that we get what needs to be done, done.  Some days we dawdle and don't learn or practice a lot. Some days we dig in and make astounding progress. Sometimes our children grasp an idea at the strangest moments, but we see them learning, and it is a joyous process. Education is life.  It is a life-style.  It is an attitude.  It is a purpose. If approached properly as the Word of God details, it is effective and enjoyable. (Deuteronomy chapter 6 gives God's design for the educational process.) Even the hard work is good, as we see our children struggle with their own challenges in learning to sit, focus and concentrate on a task when they would rather be outside shooting baskets. We have fun, and we make demands. It's just like that.  But overall, we cherish the journey together.

God set us free to mold our children as we see fit under His authority. We can accomplish this any way we would like. Some families love the structure of consistent mornings of class work and a guaranteed free afternoon. We prefer to take each day as it comes. We are free to pursue education within the parameters of what works best in our family. We truly learn when we do it the way that fits us. My children have memorized a one hundred sixty event history time line.**  We did it by reviewing it (sometimes) at dinner, (sometimes) in the car, (sometimes) laying on the swing....well, you get the idea.

WE LOVE LEARNING! And my husband and I continue to study and learn, too. God is so big. We cannot stop now!  Won't you join us?


*Author's Note:  The term "we" is used quite loosely, as the author herself very rarely sits down to watch anything at all, save those few moments when mom sits down with children to simply take a moment to relish in their presence. "We" really do love that.
**Our nine and seven year old know it all. Our five year old is still working on it.