Faith over Fear in our Fantastical Journey of Homeschooling Part One

God has a sense of humor. So often in life, I have made proclamations of what I can/cannot, or would/would not do. He has then taken those things and not only required me to walk in them, but has shown me why His path for me was so much better than the one I had planned for myself.

When the seed of homeschooling was planted in my life in 2008, I was without children and was a fifth grade teacher at a little Christian school. I absolutely loved my job. My eyes were opened to the world of education in a whole new way, from a biblical worldview! I remember reviewing a history lesson on Columbus and being completely blown away. For the first time, I heard the complete, true account of his journey to the Americas. Although he is known as an explorer, Columbus described himself as a “messenger of the new heavens and new earth.” He believed he was set apart for the evangelization of a new land! How had I missed that? Why was I only told a portion of the story?

After learning this information, I excitedly shared it with my husband. He was shocked and delighted as well! It only took a few days of being in the school for me to realize that I wanted a christian education for any future children we would have. My husband, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.

Jonathan (the hubby) and I both went to public school. I wouldn’t say that our experiences were terrible, but they definitely weren’t something we would want to repeat. Muchlike others, we had some good teachers and some who were just waiting out until retirement with little interaction or instruction for their students. We both were involved in extra curricular activities, clubs, sports, and had lots of interaction with peers. Some of the interactions we had were positive, but overall, we were over exposed, under-motivated, and had stunted spiritual knowledge and growth. However, we both managed to graduate with honors and were somewhat prepared for the next step in our education.

However, after seeing the high priority of a biblical worldview in the little christian school where I worked, It gave me a longing to turn back time and experience an education in an environment where I would be encouraged to grow spiritually. We all know turning back time isn’t an option, but creating a new and better experience for our children is one way we can positively change the future. I began praying that the Lord would align the hearts of my husband and me.

A few months later, Jonathan came home from medical school and said he had an interesting conversation with a professor who had homeschooled (and graduated) his children with his wife. After hearing a little about their conversation, I began to ask questions.

How do they know what they need to cover at each level?

Do the children have friends?

Does she have an upper level education teaching degree?

How are their children able to evangelize if they aren’t in school?

How do they afford for her to stay at home?

I’m sure I had many more, but I remember the answers to these questions. I tucked them into my proverbial pocket and stuffed whatever little curiousity I had away. Fast Forward three years and a baby later, and the Lord brought it back up.

After finishing cleaning up some dishes at a mentoring dinner where I was serving with Sabrina, we plopped down on a couch and waited until we were to serve the next course. As we were chatting, another friend of ours came over to tell us that she had removed her daughter from her elementary school and was going to homeschool her. I remember sitting there processing what she had said and thinking, I could never do that! When she walked away, Sabrina said to me, “Wow! I could never do that!” To which I replied, “Yeah, you and me both!”

This is where the humor of God comes in. Wouldn’t you know that both of us ended up homeschooling our children! A little over a year after this conversation, my daughter ( The Writer) started asking me to teach her how to read. Mind you, she was three years old at the time, had a one year old brother, and I was pregant. I ,of course, told her that we needed to wait a little longer until I would teach her how to read.

It didn’t take long for her to convince me. That sweet little voice and strong determination of hers wore me down! I did a little bit of research, and found a book entitled, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Since it was recommended by Sally Clarkson, a giant in the homeschool realm, I took the plunge and ordered it. Midway through the book, The Writer began to read! Not only was she reading, but I was able to be a part of the process. I was the observer of the “light bulb moments” I enjoyed so much in the classroom. However, this was even better! This student was my daughter!

Over the next few months, the Lord continued working on my heart, and brought my husband and I to a common place regarding the schooling of our daughter. We both knew she would be bored to death in school, as she was 4 yrs old and reading on a 2nd grade reading level already. We had both enjoyed the scripture memory and character development we were working on at home and seeing the benefits of it. But most importantly, I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her for six hours a day. I knew I would be involved in her schooling regardless of our schooling choice. However, the thought of picking her up from school, doing homework, eating dinner, and only having a small amount of time with her before bed just wasn’t enough for me.

So with some trepidation, I stepped out in faith to a mostly unknown world. At this point in time, the one person I knew that was homeschooling had moved away. I knew no one who was doing it. I experienced many questions and even hostility from those who disagreed with and were concerned about our choice. I wasn’t sure how we were going to be able to afford materials and supplies on Jonathan’s very meager medical resident salary. But the Lord strengthened me, and I stepped out of the boat. In my overly optmistic mindset, from here on out, it would be smoothe sailing…..

Stay tuned for Part 2 in the journey, coming soon!