October 13, 2010
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What I loved about homeschooling..
Our homeschooling days ended over 10 years ago. My children are now in their early thirties with children of their own. I guess it’s this particular season of life that has me looking at young parents and realizing that those days are forever gone. Thank you Lord for grandchildren!
What I loved about homeschooling my children…
- The first hour of every school day was spent reading the bible, missionary stories, character building stories and memorizing Scripture. This was the most important subject of our day and the most loved!
- I loved that my husband and I were the final authority in how our children spent their days.
- We loved being able to choose godly curriculum to fill their school hours. We chose to train our children FIRST in the Lord and second in academics. I knew there was a good chance that they might have teachers that knew more than we did academically. But, I KNEW that no one would care about their souls the way their father and I did.
- History was a favorite subject next to the bible. During our family reading time we delved into the lives of godly men and women who had impacted their world for Christ. They were taught to see history as “HIS STORY” and not a series of dates and names with no connection to God. I learned as much if not more than they did.
- No one knew these children as well as their father and I did. If we saw them struggling in one area then we could change the lesson plans/curriculum to accommodate a weakness. If we saw them struggling with a particular sin then we could pull in Scriptures to address the problem and character building missionary stories to encourage them towards Christ. We had the entire day to saturate them in God’s Word. What a high privilege we were given to train our children in the things of the Lord daily.
- They were taught what God’s Word said in each of their school subjects.
- Our children learned how to work hard.
- Our parenting flaws were in front of us daily which means we couldn’t escape them 6 hours a day. Ultimately, we had to face those flaws and seek to overcome them if we wanted peace in our home as a result of well-behaved children. We did not do this perfectly but we tried our best.
- They were not pressured to own brand name clothes and were content with what they had.
- Fridays were ‘ministry day’. We visited widows, retirement homes and helped those in need once our school work was finished.
- Unit studies were a favorite. I still remember a unit study we did on engines… so do my boys.
- We had awesome field trips!
- They enjoyed archery classes, PE classes, bowling, shooting range, art classes, piano lessons, ministry opportunities, skating and on the list goes.
- We loved knowing who their friends were.
- Curriculum fairs were so much fun!
- I loved being with my children.
We didn’t ‘produce’ perfect children and they sure didn’t have perfect parents but I count homeschooling as one of the greatest treasures during the years my children were home.
Homeschooling was a huge commitment (10 plus years) but one of the times in our lives that we ‘knew that we knew that we knew’ that we were smack dab in the center of God’s will for our family. I still believe that and so does my husband!
One of my favorite quotes …. “Homeschooling is the fastest road to sanctification… for the PARENTS!”
(Re:Picture used with permission from Allposters.com)
Comments (12)
If I could do it over again I would homeschool. I did do a bit of it with the 2 younger children, and a bit in Africa. Most of the time though, no one even heard of homeschooling. (My oldest is 51, and youngest is 26, so they grew up in different eras.)
@ata_grandma - We began homeschooling in 1983. You didn’t jump into the commitment because people were being thrown into jail for homeschooling.
I love homeschooling my son. I love being with him!!
I loved that post. I wish I had home schooled my daughters. I think they would have turned out better emotionally and spiritually. I honestly believe that if parents made the choice to home school, they would see a change in the world in the next generation.
@born2late - I listened to a very good sermon by John Piper this last week. It was on the text Matt 10:34-36, ”Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
Homeschooling cannot save a child but God can certainly choose to use it as a means.
I loved this post. I homeschooled my son who is now 33. His wife is now homeschools 3 of their 4 girls. I did not homeschool my older 2 children and I can see now that Joshua is much more grounded in the Lord than the other 2 are.
Thanks so much for sharing!
@georgene - I agree there Georgene. My girls know the Lord and were once involved in church consistently. It was the youth pastor who turned my girls from church. They were snubbed by him after an incident in which we were wrongly accused. Since then my youngest has started coming back to church but the oldest one still feels the sting of betrayal.
Thank you Georgene, it’s been a particularly frustrating morning! So this was the perfect medicine for me. It’s true about the parents and our sin. It’s right out there, so, at least my kids will learn to apologize well. :/ Love to you,
Sheri
~~Amen to this post!~~
I love home school. I couldn’t imagine anything else for us. I love being with my children, in my home, ministering to them and their Daddy. What a blessing it is to me!
@ILoveObento - I still keep hoping to come by for a visit. Life is very full.. and it seems it is for you, too!
My thoughts think of you often!
AMEN!!!!!
i so loved the 13 years or so that i homeschooled my son. They were the highlight of my life for many of the same reasons you listed above. i have been “out of a job” now for about 7 years and i still miss it.