Thinking of beginning?
If not, do not feel the need to read further.
If so, it's of the utmost importance to
get your "house in order" ~
First things first.
We belong to the LORD and our children are given to us for a very short time to teach and train
"in the way that they should go".
How can that best be accomplished?
Oh, the ways and means are many and there are so many options
that shout out for our attention!
What would be my first piece of advice to the propective homeschool family?
First, be sure you have prayed about this and committed it to the LORD.
Next, be sure that you and your spouse are
ON THE SAME PAGE!
DO NOT venture out on your own!!
OH. DEAR. ME.
THAT is a recipe for disaster!
You will need one another to strengthen and encourage when the
"going gets tough"! :)
We wrote out a "pros and cons" list.
VERY helpful in the decision making process.
Once the decision has been made,
it is beneficial to keep that little (or big) piece of paper
for review every so often.
It will be a source of encouragement.
You will be glad you did it.
What is your end goal?
Is the reason for home education primarily so that your child can have a fabulous education? Enter college early? Have less (or no) homework at night? To develop sibling friendships? To open up opportunities for travel? To have control over what is (and is not) taught to your child? To instill a Biblical world view into them from a young age? To protect them from bullying or other difficulties found in schools? To see that they are given a safe environment in which to grow and mature BEFORE venturing out into the "real" world?
This list could go on and on.
Whatever the reason(s)...be sure you know WHY you homeschool.
Do not feel as though you have to
E.X.P.L.A.I.N.
to everyone you meet
(from the grocery clerk to the random people you pass on the street)
W.H.Y. you homeschool.
Only answer this question IN DEPTH
to those who CARE and really WANT to know! ;-)
Figure out a kind and concise way to briefly explain why you homeschool,
and use that reason every time you are asked by a stranger.
And do it with a SMILE!
Usually that will suffice.
If they REALLY want to know more and you have the time,
by all means, answer their questions.
They may look back on YOU as being one of the reasons
they chose to school their own children at home!
Now back to the "HOW DO I BEGIN?" Question...
Once you have established the WHY.
You can work on the HOW.
Be sure you and your children are in a regular routine/rhythm of life ~
spiritual disciplines, sleeping, proper eating, exercise and chores/service.
Bible reading and prayer is paramount and helps us all to focus on
what REALLY matters.
Giving first place to our Creator
in all of life is right and proper.
My dear friend ~ who happens to be a wonderful homeschool mother of
ten children ~ generously gave me precious doses of her time
and shared with me much of her wisdom in the early days of our journey.
She stressed the importance of having discipline and routine in place
FIRST...BEFORE academic pursuits.
SHE. WAS. RIGHT.
A homeschool cannot run smoothly if there is an absence of order and routine.
The children MUST know what is expected of them and they must be obedient.
Even in the "small" things.
It will be chaotic if they are not.
They also need to be contributors
to the overall running of the home.
They need to know that they are NEEDED.
And, believe me, they ARE needed if you are going to do this! :)
She also suggested that we open the school day with Bible reading.
After
morning devotions and breakfast and chores were done.
When we would gather for "school".
Remember that this is "over and above" the regular devotional times.
It is a methodical "reading through" of God's Word.
This was very good advice.
But it is very easy to let slip.
After all, we would have already had our
devotions ~
Now there is WORK to be done!
Oh the FOOLISHNESS of this type of thinking!
Again, what is it we want to instill in our children?
One of our goals is that they would love the LORD and His Word.
We want them each to live a life of DEVOTION.
This practice gives the Bible preeminance in the school.
Remember in the early days of education that the Bible was primary?
It was held in high esteem.
Even those who were not particularly "religious" had respect for it.
In my early childhood there was Bible reading in the classroom!
Where, if not in the Christian homeschool, should it be most prevalent?
Bring back the Bible reading!
How do we do it?
When this was part of our routine, we would
read through the Bible at the rate of about a chapter or two a day.
My goal is to read through the entire Bible with the children in this format.
We began by reading Genesis and then we read Matthew.
I like to complete one book in the Old Testament and then read one in the New.
Each child takes a turn reading a verse (or a few) and this continues
until the allocated amount of Scripture for that day has been read.
If you have non-readers in your home, then let them sit in and listen...
it won't be long before they can join in.
An "almost reader" could be coached along with his or her
verse by dictating the words to him/her which they then say aloud
for the rest of the children to hear.
If there is NOTHING else you get from this post...
please know that THIS is one of the all time
BEST things we have done in our homeschool.
Oh, I do not take joy in saying that we have let this part of our routine slip.
I am ashamed of that, but how precious that the LORD gives us
new opportunities and "fresh starts".
My plan is to begin this next school year with Bible reading as the
"opening session" priority.
Before Math and English get tackled,
the Bible will be read aloud by us all ~
with the LORD's gracious enabling.
How precious to instill within our children the
importance of God's Word.
**Please do not get me wrong here ~ we are continuing on with Devotional times throughout
the summer, and year-round...
this is the "extra" Bible reading I am speaking of! :)
God is so gracious as He leads us along in this life, isn't He?
We are to be leading our children in His ways as well...I love how my blogging friend Susan has articulated her thoughts in a series of posts entitled
Discipling Our Children. I would encourage you to prayerfully read through her articles on this all important subject. I agree with her that we are to be seeking God first and foremost, and then, when we have things in proper perspective, we can effectively guide our children in His paths, with HIS help and grace.
Two books that I can highly recommend for godly parenting advice were written by brothers.
"
Shepherding a Child's Heart" was written by Tedd Tripp and it deals with parenting and
nurturing the heart of your child.
"
Age of Opportunity" by Paul David Tripp addresses the many issues parents face as they seek to have an influence in the life of their teen. These books offer sound, biblical wisdom that we can implement in our homes and families as the LORD enables us to ~ for HIS glory.
If you are interested in the first posts on this topic,
you will find them by
clicking on this link.
.
.
