So we realize that our decision to home educate our children is not the popular decision. While it's growing and becoming more mainstream, it's still a ways off from comparing to public school by number of students. We knew we would face opposition, disapproval, and those not willing to support us. But we are choosing it anyway. I've thought on many occasions about posting our reasons for making this decision but didn't feel the time was right, until now. I've decided to share our reasons for homeschooling our children.
Before I can begin I need to back up to what happened to initiate the idea of homeschooling. Well, it began when two of my kids started public school last fall. Finally, I had more than one child in school and only a few at home. What a relief, right? Wrong. Our typical day began at 630 in the morning, with me waking up the kids, rushing to get dressed, fed, and out the door on time. They arrived back home at 330, hungry and with a ton of homework. I allowed them a 30 minute break and snack time before they had to work on homework. Five o'clock was dinner and shortly thereafter, we were rushing back out the door to someone's ballet lessons, soccer practice, basketball practice, or football practice. We usually didn't make it back home until 830 or 9 and by then the kids were hungry again, exhausted, and we were fighting them to rush to take showers and go to bed. By the end of each day, we felt worn out, empty, disconnected, and disappointed. Disappointed because we had not spent enough time with our kids; especially in God's word together. When I started to realize this trend, I immediately thought of a scripture. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk to about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." I felt disappointed in myself and my husband when I realized we had not been living that way. So in the semester following, I began to try to incorporate more of God's word into our daily lives. I thought I was doing well until my eldest participated in Bible Drill competition at church. He knew not even a third of the verses. I failed him. So that's when my husband and I began the search in our hearts and with God to determine what changes we needed to make. Our first thought was to eliminate all sports or extracurricular activities. That makes sense, right? Wrong. Our sons, especially, were born with a love and talent for sports. It's who they are; it's ingrained into their being. After all, their father is a minister who runs the gym at our church. It's what we are constantly surrounded by. We own stock in Academy. Just kidding, we don't, but we should! So God really laid it on our hearts that eliminating sports was not the right decision to make. Ok, so now what, we ask. Homeschool. "But God, I'm not qualified. I'm not an organized person. I don't have a teaching degree. I am NOT equipped!" We know how this story goes, right? God calls you to do something, go somewhere, reach a certain nation, enter a certain ministry, and we say I can't but he says, I will make you able. And he certainly has. I am surprised and amazed everyday by the grace and guidance God gives to me to teach my kids. He gives me the wisdom. He shows me the correct way. And my kids are thriving.
I am not the one to say homeschooling is for everyone. That's ridiculous. That would be like saying all men should be ministers or all moms should stay home. God has a very specific calling for each of us; and this is ours. It fits our family. We are able to keep sports in our lives. We are able to spend lots of wonderful time with their Daddy. And the most important thing, above all other positive experiences coming out of this, my kids are getting God's word; lots and lots of it. They are memorizing scripture like never before. We are talking about it and applying it to everything we do. It has become the center of our family and our homeschool.
So this is why we homeschool. Not to shield them from the world or to control what they are learning; only to give them as much of God's word in a way that works for our family. We weren't doing it before and it is a command he gave us so we took the measures we felt necessary to obey his command. The rest we leave up to him. They are, after all, his children.
