“Educating a child is a natural process. Home schooling is nothing more than an extension of parenting.”
~Sue Maakestad
Our humble beginnings
Our homeschooling journey began in the summer of 2004. After suffering through infertility and facing fertility treatments, we had our double portion blessing, twin boys, and I wasn’t ready to just send them off to preschool so quickly. These active boys were so inquisitive that I found myself studying early childhood education and parenting books just to keep up with their desire to learn and to keep their little bodies and minds active.
I needed something to keep us all going and break up the day. It was then that I stumbled upon the concept of homeschooling. The more I read, the more I liked it. However I wasn’t the only parent raising these kids. Originally my husband was completely against homeschooling. While he admired my desire to be with our boys full time, he felt we could afford to provide the best educational opportunities for them, so we should.
At the time we were also living in 3 states throughout the year and my husband traveled frequently for his business. I suggested that we might want to take advantage of this time not to have our travel confined to a rigid school schedule and explore homeschooling in the early years. Since preschool wasn’t mandatory in our area, he reluctantly agreed to give me preschool and maybe Kindergarten to “get this out of my system”.
Excited and nervous about this opportunity to teach my own children I read and researched as much as I could. The more I read, the more convinced I became that this was the best choice for our family and for our children. I just had to pull it off.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Why we homeschool
When we originally began homeschooling it was most certainly not for religious reasons. It was also not because we weren’t in a desirable public school district (we were) or because we couldn’t afford a private school education (we could and still can). It was simply born out of a desire for me to keep our boys actively engaged and have them home with me instead of in a preschool program. As we began homeschooling our reasons expanded. We simply see the fruits of homeschooling, and yes, we believe God has called us to homeschool our children in this season.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Our plan for homeschooling
We take our homeschooling year by year and child by child. We feel called to provide a home education for our children in this season of our life. Like most parents our desire is to always provide the best opportunities we can for our children. The best opportunities we seek may not always be the ones that the world values, but as Christians we know we are not of this world and we trust that God will be faithful in guiding us and providing us with wisdom, discernment (and tutors) when needed.
“My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself.” ~George Bernard Shaw
Our School Year
Over the years we have moved from following a traditional school year to moving towards year round homeschooling. The year round model allows us to:
– navigate life as a family unit at all times
– move at our children’s learning pace (whether it be faster or slower than we planned)
– take advantage of learning opportunities, including the opportunity to travel
– handle life disruptions when needed (we can take breaks whenever we need to)
A lifestyle of learning
Our family views homeschooling as a lifestyle. As we try to cultivate a lifestyle of learning in our children we also model it as parents. In our homeschooling journey I spend a considerable amount of time each year reading and studying methods or skills that will help me in the education of our children. Most homeschooling mothers I know do this, and enjoy it.
I am so grateful that my children have a love of learning that I am able to nurture and watch grow. Teaching them has reignited my own love of learning, and so sometimes we truly do learn alongside each other. There have been so many times that we’ve turned to one another exclaiming, “I didn’t know that!” with big smiles on our faces.
If you were ever unhappy with any aspect of your education this is an opportunity to give yourself (and your children) the education you wish you would have had.
Our way is not the only way
I feel thankful and blessed that my husband is now 100% behind homeschooling. He has seen the difference it has made in our family and our children and I couldn’t do it without his emotional or financial support. Although I am proud to homeschool, I believe homeschooling is an individual choice that each family must make on their own. There is no “one size fits all” scenario when it comes to parenting or educating our children. We must all follow our own convictions and make the decisions that are best for our family and lifestyle. We believe strongly in parental choice and think that all parents should fight to retain their parental rights.
If you are a homeschooling family please know that these “rights” can be taken away from you at any time. Support HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) which fights to protect homeschooling laws.
We hope you will feel encouraged by our homeschooling journey and the resources we share here.