writing this post is slightly scary.
not because i have any doubts about our decision.
because this is a very touchy subject and people have very strong opinions.
because this is a very touchy subject and people have very strong opinions.
who knew?
my heart is simply to share how the Lord brought hubby and i to this decision. this is not a post trying to convince everyone to homeschool. it's not a post to bash public schools. it is only about our family's journey in a new direction.
i will try not to offend anyone. but let's face it, what are the chances of that.
education is a personal choice and whether your children go to public school, private school or you homeschool, i believe we all do what we think is best for our kids.
i will try not to offend anyone. but let's face it, what are the chances of that.
education is a personal choice and whether your children go to public school, private school or you homeschool, i believe we all do what we think is best for our kids.
for the past 5 years {since my oldest started kindergarten} my kids have attended a private classical Christian school.
now before you start thinking to yourself, "oh how nice for those wealthy people. they get to send their kids to a private school" let me clarify a few things.
we are NOT wealthy. we made a decision that this particular school would be best for our kids so we sacrificed to have them there. we don't have a big fancy house or new cars. and we don't go on lavish vacations.
and we wouldn't change a thing. it was worth every dime. it's an amazing school with outstanding academics and a faculty and staff that love the Lord and strive for excellence for their students and themselves. we loved it. which makes our decision hard for some to understand.
every year as we filled out our paperwork to re-register for school i would pray. pray over the finances. but mostly i would ask that everything would work out for my kids to stay where they were. i never gave any other options much thought.
until this year.
as i was praying over our paperwork i knew the Lord was telling me something different.
i ignored it for awhile. am i the only one who does that?
i told hubby, "i think we are supposed to homeschool."
he was like "wha?!"
the truth is we had some very real concerns. this would mean a huge change in our lives.
after weeks of prayer, the nudging got stronger until i sat up in bed one night and there it was.
i would be homeschooling.
i feel like i could write 20 posts about this {at least}, but for now i'll stick to the "why".
the first reason is simple. i miss my kids. my 2 oldest are gone from 7:30-3 every day. by the time they get home and finish homework it's time for dinner and bed. and this is with very limited extra curricular activities {everyone is allowed 1 activity at a time}.
there was no room for family time.
and there certainly wasn't room for them to help around the house.
i knew we were all frustrated. but i didn't know how to change it.
when i say this people look at me like "so what if you miss them. kids go to school. that's what they do."
i don't want to bore everyone with history but things haven't always been that way. children haven't always spent the majority of their day away from their family.
second, i feel very strongly it is our responsibility as parents to disciple our children.
train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
proverbs 22:6
fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
ephesians 6:4
i'm not going to tell you these verses mean everyone should be homeschooling. but i believe they mean we can. i believe they say God has equipped us as parents to teach our children.
and a harsh thing for me to admit? i was handing the discipleship of my kids over to the school.
not completely, but more than i am comfortable with.
it's not hard to do when they are learning bible history, memorizing verses and being taught all other subjects from a biblical worldview.
so day after day when i laid in bed and realized we hadn't been in the Word, as a family? we hadn't worshipped, as a family? i told myself it was ok because they did all those things at school. and on sunday, when we were all together at church we would do those things.
but it's not ok. at least not for us.
this is not to say we are going to be reading the bible, meditating on the bible, and singing hymns 24 hours a day.
but we will be doing those things. and we will be doing them together.
those things will not be squeezed out by other, less important, commitments.
we won't be perfect at it. but we will be better. and i'm good with that.
we are taking this year by year. i've always said that but looking back i'm not sure i meant it.
i'm filled with excitement over what we will learn over the next year. i know there will be difficult days but i can't help but feel we are right where we need to be.
now before you start thinking to yourself, "oh how nice for those wealthy people. they get to send their kids to a private school" let me clarify a few things.
we are NOT wealthy. we made a decision that this particular school would be best for our kids so we sacrificed to have them there. we don't have a big fancy house or new cars. and we don't go on lavish vacations.
and we wouldn't change a thing. it was worth every dime. it's an amazing school with outstanding academics and a faculty and staff that love the Lord and strive for excellence for their students and themselves. we loved it. which makes our decision hard for some to understand.
every year as we filled out our paperwork to re-register for school i would pray. pray over the finances. but mostly i would ask that everything would work out for my kids to stay where they were. i never gave any other options much thought.
until this year.
as i was praying over our paperwork i knew the Lord was telling me something different.
i ignored it for awhile. am i the only one who does that?
i told hubby, "i think we are supposed to homeschool."
he was like "wha?!"
the truth is we had some very real concerns. this would mean a huge change in our lives.
after weeks of prayer, the nudging got stronger until i sat up in bed one night and there it was.
i would be homeschooling.
i feel like i could write 20 posts about this {at least}, but for now i'll stick to the "why".
the first reason is simple. i miss my kids. my 2 oldest are gone from 7:30-3 every day. by the time they get home and finish homework it's time for dinner and bed. and this is with very limited extra curricular activities {everyone is allowed 1 activity at a time}.
there was no room for family time.
and there certainly wasn't room for them to help around the house.
i knew we were all frustrated. but i didn't know how to change it.
when i say this people look at me like "so what if you miss them. kids go to school. that's what they do."
i don't want to bore everyone with history but things haven't always been that way. children haven't always spent the majority of their day away from their family.
second, i feel very strongly it is our responsibility as parents to disciple our children.
train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
proverbs 22:6
fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
ephesians 6:4
i'm not going to tell you these verses mean everyone should be homeschooling. but i believe they mean we can. i believe they say God has equipped us as parents to teach our children.
and a harsh thing for me to admit? i was handing the discipleship of my kids over to the school.
not completely, but more than i am comfortable with.
it's not hard to do when they are learning bible history, memorizing verses and being taught all other subjects from a biblical worldview.
so day after day when i laid in bed and realized we hadn't been in the Word, as a family? we hadn't worshipped, as a family? i told myself it was ok because they did all those things at school. and on sunday, when we were all together at church we would do those things.
but it's not ok. at least not for us.
this is not to say we are going to be reading the bible, meditating on the bible, and singing hymns 24 hours a day.
but we will be doing those things. and we will be doing them together.
those things will not be squeezed out by other, less important, commitments.
we won't be perfect at it. but we will be better. and i'm good with that.
we are taking this year by year. i've always said that but looking back i'm not sure i meant it.
i'm filled with excitement over what we will learn over the next year. i know there will be difficult days but i can't help but feel we are right where we need to be.
