It was breakfast. The kids and I were having a discussion about the founders of our constitution and chose Benjamin Rush as our man of history to study this morning. Mr. Rush was a devout Christian and God prophesied through him in a dream about his friends, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Rush wrote a letter to his friend, John, telling him what God had revealed to him about the future, about his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. He went so far as to tell Mr. Adams that God revealed to him, in this dream, that they would both die on the same day - 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This prophesy was fulfilled.
American history boring? I don't think so. The kids and I reflected upon other empires we'd studied in the last three years, from ancient times through the Dark Ages then through the Middle Ages. God's hand was moving continually, as he raised and deposed of leaders and nations. Now, here we are in America, where God had arranged a group of men to form a government, men who were deeply Christian and moved by the Spirit in their relationships and actions. Over the last 50 years these truths about our government have been removed from common knowledge in America through the process of "education".
Next, the boys and I connected this prophesy to it's foundation, where the gifts were first given, in Acts 2 of the Bible. If you doubt you can teach your children effectively, trust God. He is the giver of wisdom and He provides it when you need it. It was just today that I truly grasped and felt what Acts 2 looked like, not little "tongues of fire hovering over the heads of the crowd, but a sweeping wind like arms reaching out and laying hands right on the people - grabbing them with power, infilling them until they overflowed! Tongues stick out, don't they! (Ask your kids to show you for comic relief.) Remember the Passover account, when the wind came through the streets? This story is similar but instead of bringing death, it brings life, joy and understanding. I encourage you to watch the video link below on Acts 2. It's powerful.
Take a moment to reflect on truth. How important IS truth? How can we effectively teach history and religion apart from one another, let alone values? (Did you learn that our government's formation was only about taxation without representation? I did. I know I would have paid attention in history if I'd learned it this way. I also would have seen God's power in a mighty way through it's study. I was cheated, were you?
Teach your children real history, true history... God's hand is all through it... there is NO history apart from God...
Worship together! Just get up and dance to this... you won't be able to help it.
Enjoy teaching your children today. You are blessed. You are free. This is America and we can live our faith every day and study it as it really happened. Today you can inspire them in a direction. What seeds will you plant? What fruit will it bear? Let this truth take root in you in a powerful way so that generations will be blessed through your efforts.
All honor and praise to God for what He teaches me daily.
Now that we've talked about some spiritual reasons why you may consider homeschooling, it is important to get over the big hurdle, your fears. When God calls you to do something, he also promises to equip you to do it! "But you don't know MY kids," you say. What if I told you that your kids would change. When we send our kids to school they are absorbing information for eight to nine hours a day from sources other than their family and their God. In that time, they are not just learning academics, they are learning behavioral patterns. No, I do not know YOUR kids, but I do know these things about kids:
Kids are tired after a long day of traditional school, and they have had very little free time while they are there.
Tired minds don't retain the information that would be better presented and completed while they have plenty of mental energy.
They value of homework is minimal in real learning.
That they now do or will soon love to learn.
Freedom and love change the personality of a child.
Socialization in a same grade school environment is not as beneficial as socialization between students of mixed ages and adults.
Your kids will like you, respect you, obey you, and admire you as they see you sacrifice and live together.
You will win back your authority as you teach Biblical wisdom throughout your day. If they can't learn to submit to you, how will they learn to submit to God as their master?
They won't miss being evaluated by their peers, peer pressure, being bullied or criticized by other kids, and a lack of recess.
Their vocabulary, integrity and logical reasoning will improve as they spend more time with adults than kids their own age.
God made all kids uniquely perfect and intentionally, they don't all learn alike, and they definitely aren't motivated by the same things. They just endure and do their best to fit into a pattern that is created to the mass, not the individual. Labels are applied too young and are dangerous to a child's self-image.
The labels schools apply are almost always artificial. Bring them home and see what happens. Many kids who are learning disabled in school suddenly "become" gifted when they are home schooled.
Kids learn differently and mature at different ages. Reading readiness is not always there when the schools want to teach it.
Boys don't sit still well. This is not a defect.
Pressuring kids to learn does not increase their real intelligence. More is not better.
They will be free to answer every question or pose questions at home that may intimidate them in school.
Mastery is better than moving on. Classrooms cannot cater to individual readiness easily.
Their siblings become their best friends and accountability partners when you homeschool.
Homeschooled kids avoid many of the behavioral problems found in traditionally schooled children. They make great friends because they are accepting of others' differences and find it easier to see people as God would see them, as special and unique. There is little or no peer pressure to ridicule others.
Kids are confused by an environment that teaches different truths and values than you teach them at home. For example, at home God created them; in school they evolved from a monkey. At home our behavior is motivated by Godly wisdom. In our PS system, humanist values are taught with no truth behind it. This makes good behavior a matter of personal opinion.
The teenage years are seldom a problem in a homeschooling family. Young adults can take on young adult responsibilities at an earlier age and they no longer rebel out of a lack of purpose or to assert their individuality.
I know that's a lot to digest, but I hope it gives you encouragement and hope. Homeschooling is not torture, it's improved family living in an environment of freedom. There is a lot of support available from other families, groups and the internet. Socialization becomes positive socialization when the kids are with you and in the real world, so you really lose a lot of the struggles you now face simply by removing your kids from an environment with out of balance, age segregated, peer interaction.
Now, about you. You will have to give up some freedoms, but you will GAIN many more! Yes, it is a commitment. There may be hard days as you figure out what is best for your child, but your perseverance when they are young means that when you have teenagers they will be a joy, not a nightmare. As your children grow in responsibility and training, you will regain more freedom and have more freedom than you would helping in the school and re-learning their homework in order to help them after school. You will be there to guide and God will guide you all. A Godly mom grows Godly children. Your husband, who may begin with the same fear, will enjoy having respectful, bright, joyful kids and after watching them grow and thrive, will soon be an advocate of homeschooling if he isn't now.
Where would you start? You may begin with what is called de-schooling; we give kids back their lives, their minds and their love of learning. Don't jump into re-creating a school environment at home. Work on the basics, math, handwriting, and maybe grammar with a lot of Bible mixed in. Your main job outside of that is to inspire and watch how their own interests lead their learning. Much of what schools do is busywork to keep kids occupied and manageable in a group setting. Reading aloud is a great way to build discussion, shape values, and build vocabulary skills. Best of all, you do it together; you pick the books. They don't have to be grade "appropriate" material, and they can be read in the park, on the patio, on a blanket, or in front of a fire in the afternoon on a rainy day. God will shape you through this process and you'll learn about yourself, your kids, and your Creator.
School is the advertising agency which makes you believe that you need the society as it is.
~ Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
Here is a sampling of helpful resources available to get you started:
There have been many days as a homeschooling mom where I've felt physically drained and emotionally spent. I can’t even count how many times I’ve mentioned that I homeschool and heard, "I just know I could never home school!” I confess that my children have learned a lot but that I have probably learned the most in my five year journey discipling my children. It is the most effective method of parental refinement I know - in a good way. There are rewards that can be found no where else but in learning together as a family.
If you have begun the homeschooling journey, fear of failure is NOT a sign that you should start looking for schools. I've felt the same anxiety! As you read more in this series, you'll see that homeschooling does not have to be a torturous assignment for you or your children every day. Did you know that God goes before you? He prepares the way and shares his vision and insights with us. So, what is YOUR homework? Your largest and most time consuming task is not choosing the right curriculum, or making sure you meet the state standards or prepare for yearly testing. No, the key to abundant life homeschooling is spending more time getting to know God intimately and learning to listen to the Spirit who guides you. When God promised to work all things for the good for those who love him and are called according to HIS purpose, he is FAITHful in providing that. Don't take my word for it, just start doing it and see what happens. This is the key to finding joy, restoring joy and living joyfully. This may not be the world's way of raising children, but note what the Bible says about the world's way:
Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Did you know that all forms of education have an agenda? I have an agenda for my kids, but I prefer to call it a vision. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." Chew on that a bit.... As Christians, the single most important thing we are commanded by God to instill in our children is intimate knowledge of their creator and follow the vision he provides as we live our lives. If we don't have a vision for our children, how can we expect to know where to aim?
Public education as it exists today (and as it was designed) is motivated by corporate necessity, a need for societal order, a place to provide the poor with basic skills, and to create like mindedness in society. This is their vision. (Click here for my source and a great online read documenting this.) Do you trust your children's hearts to a system that truly has a goal of instilling values apart from God's values, not to mention the distortion and selective coverage of history and God's hand in it? We believe we're sending them to school to learn reading, math and basic skills. Are you aware that political and social activism have taken the place of Christianity in the schools? Your values have been replaced, questioned, and filtered through the eyes of many others. Check out this recent example.
What about morality? Consider the best a public school can do to teach morality. They can explain what "good behavior" is, but teaching morals apart from God's word is like brushing your teach every day but not being able to teach WHY you do it. Habits and behaviors with no reason behind them are insulting to children. There ARE reasons for morality. Character does matter. If we want to instill integrity and deep seated faith in our children, then we must show, by our decisions, that we ourselves are going to take a stand in when it comes to 2 Cor. 10:5...
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Demolishing arguments contrary to God's word doesn't mean tolerating it as a necessary evil of education! Fear not, when we are obedient to a call, God showers great blessings upon us!
