Homeschooling

Blessed is the man [or child]

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:1-3

Homeschooling, more than any other educational option, facilitates the meditating on and delighting in God’s Word day and night that the above verses encourage. Home is where parents have the most freedom and opportunity to expose their children to the godly counsel of God’s Word, while protecting them from overexposure to the ungodly counsel of this world. Homeschooling creates a healthy, God-centered environment for learning and lays a solid foundation for the future upon Christ and His word (Matt. 7:24-27).

Home is where children, I believe, naturally thrive.

The Main Goal of Homeschooling

I grew up homeschooled (1st through 12th grades) and look back on my upbringing with great appreciation. Despite the ups and downs of my young adult life, the values my parents attempted to pass on to me stuck, and I believe that being educated at home provided the most conducive environment for that “sticking” to happen.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6

One of the programs they used in my education was from Cornerstone Curriculum. The name of this program was Worldviews of The Western World, an integrated highschool course from a biblical perspective. It is authored by David Quine, who says this about their homeschooling philosophy (which I agree with):

“Our aim throughout our curriculum is that our children will live a life fruitful in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8) in the twenty-first century. Cornerstone introduces a biblically-based set of life assumptions and equips your children to know “why” they believe “what” they believe. We incorporate a biblical outlook in all our courses, because it is imperative that our children be able to discern truth from error in subjects like literature, history, economics, politics, science, and the arts. Our prayer is that our children will be discerning and able to stand firm in Christ in our world and in our culture.”

The “biblically-based set of life assumptions” that Mr. Quine mentions, can most easily be acquired from a child’s own parents at home as they teach all subjects from a biblical perspective. This, eventually, will give them a solid preparation for tackling adult life, “able to stand firm in Christ in our world and in our culture.” With a culture that is progressively more decadent with each passing year, this sort of preparation is vital.

That goes way beyond academics and is something that involves the acts of converting our children to Christ and of discipling them — teaching them to love Jesus and obey His commands, and helping them grow to maturity. That takes a lot of work! Is this something we really want to relegate to others? Why not keep them with us, their own parents, to teach them ourselves? Then we can be sure they are being taught according to our beliefs, without having to ask questions about what they’re learning in class.

The Best Teacher

The public school system in the U.S. is not separate from religion — actually, it teaches religion every day: the religion of godless secular humanism, along with all its idols. Why put our children at the feet of that teacher? The student will be like his or her teacher (Luke 6:39-40). If our children, after sitting at the feet of humanism every day for six or more hours per day, end up rejecting Christ, is it any wonder? Why would we abdicate our resonsibility as parents to a secular government which doesn’t love our Lord?

Private Christian schools are better, but still involve abdicating responsibility for teaching our children to others. We still can’t know everything that goes on in the classroom. Not every Christian believes the same way we do, and not every Christian holds the same level of commitment to Christ and His Word as we do. There is also the matter of the influence the other children will have on our children, which is a problem in both private and public school environments.

Our children are not fully grown, much less fully trained, to be able to successfully withstand the negative influences surrounding them on their own. That’s why they need us. We protect them and prepare them. It’s irresponsible to let them loose to battle the world when they’re still immature and unprepared.

Homeschooling puts parents back in charge of their own children. Is homeschooling perfect? Will Mom and Dad always be patient teachers? Will they always know the material as well as they would like? Maybe not. But, here’s what’s great about family: It grows together. A good homeshcool curriculum can help us teach subjects we don’t feel comfortable teaching on our own. But most importantly, homeschooling aids us in helping our children encounter Jesus and learn to follow Him.

We don’t have to worry about doing things perfectly, we just have to “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Our main priority should be to seek God and His kingdom first. Everything else takes a back seat. If we haven’t prepared our children to do this, then we haven’t really prepared them for life. In that case, how can we expect our efforts to be blessed?

Of course we want our children to be successful in life! Who doesn’t? And I’m not saying that homeschooling can’t give that (more on this in a second). But, taking priority before that goal is the goal of living for God. Even if they don’t end up being great at math, or at writing an essay, or knowing the dates of the World Wars — if they know Jesus and love Him and live for Him, then we’ve done our job, and God will add unto them everything else they need.

The Second Goal of Homeschooling

However, I do think that academics are important. It is of primary importance to pass on a love for Christ and a biblical worldview to our children; after that, it is also important to equip them with solid academic ability. Homeschooling facilitates this, also. Sonlight, the main curriculum we use with our own children, says in their article “Honoring God with Academics: The Goal of Christian Homeschooling” that

“. . . the ultimate goal of homeschooling is to equip children to do whatever God calls them to do. We want to raise up children to do whatever comes their way. And more often than not, that goal requires a solid academic education. . . .

“Does character matter? Does loving God matter? Yes, yes, and yes!! These are my highest desires for your children, and you’ll find Sonlight helps you more than you could have imagined in those areas. At the end of the day, we want to help you raise up children who love the Lord.

“In doing so, Sonlight doesn’t waver in its commitment to solid academics as well. We believe that well educated children who love the Lord can grow up to truly change the world. May it be so.“

I agree. Complementary to loving God and having good character, good academic preparation can function as a springboard, launching our children into the world to be able “to do whatever comes their way.”

If you’re interested in learning more about our own homeschool journey, feel free to take a look at my blog posts here. I also discuss homeschool curriculum and teaching methods, occasionally do reviews of homeschool resources, and provide tips for homeschool/household management, in addition to offering encouragement for the homeschool mother!

Whether you homeschool or not, I hope you will be inspired by this blog, The Heavenly Hearth, to persevere in teaching your children to delight in God’s Word and to live for Him. Please feel free to take advantage of any information that you feel will be useful to you and your family.

~Jessica

Resources:

Legal:

• HSLDA. For general legal questions about homeschooling, I recommend taking a look at Home School Legal Defense Association’s helpful website.
• Heritage Defense. Legal advice in dealing with CPS (Child Protection Services). Specifically for Christian homeschool families.

Curriculum:

• Sonlight (Literature-based, parent-led, integrated curriculum (Bible, history, literature — and recently, science, too). This is what we use. Lanaguage arts, created by Sonlight, in addition to several language arts resources and a variety of math programs, can be purchased on their site to form a complete subject package.)
• Abeka (Traditional textbook approach. They also provide digital versions of all their print books. Abeka Academy video homeschool option. I used some Abeka books growing up, and I liked them a lot. Very professional, easy to understand, thorough, with a beautiful clean look.)
• Robinson Curriculum (Self-directed learning. A friend of my mom’s used this with her children and recommended it. It’s a literature-based approach, but with a lot less parental involvement than Sonlight.)
• Alpha Omega Publications (They have several different curricular approaches available [online, digital, student paced (print), teacher led (print]. I am familiar with Lifepacs, which are a collection of 10 self-directed, unit study workbooks for each grade and subject chosen. These were easy for me to use as a child, and it freed my mom up to get other things done.)
• Tapestry of Grace (Charlotte Mason-based, four-year repeating history course to be used with all ages and grades of students together.)
• Simply Charlotte Mason (Charlotte Mased-based, six-year repeating history/geography/Bible course to be used with all ages and grades of students together. Enrichment/art/music/nature study curriculum can be added to be used with the whole family. Language arts/math/science can be purchased for individual student levels. Uses Charlotte Mason principles. Beautiful and streamlined, with all lesson plans laid out in an easy-to-follow schedule. However, “living books” from the provided booklist — with purchasing recommendations — must be purchased on your own; they do not come with the guidebooks. Inexpensive. Additional homeschool support through videos, blogs, and discussion forum.)
• Ambleside Online (Free Charlotte Mason-based curriculum available online and as PDF’s, complete with schedules and booklists!)
• The Good and the Beautiful (Provides both free online and PDF materials or low-cost print materials using an approach that “emphasizes family, God, high character, nature, and wholesome literature.“)
• A.C.E (Similar to the student-paced Lifepacs [above]. Mastery based, mostly independent learning using 12 booklets/units. Less cost than the Lifepacs, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you about any other differences, since I’ve never used A.C.E., personally.)
• Cornerstone Curriculum (Classic, Charlotte Mason-inspired, integrated approach which teaches from a strong biblical perspective.)
• Generations (Emphasis on integrating God’s word and keeping Christ at the center of every subject. Family discipleship program using the “best teachers and the best books.”)
• Spalding Method (Language arts program which teaches phonics and uses a “writing road to reading” method.)
• Master Books (Bible-integrated curriculum. Same company which publishes Answers In Genesis’ books. Easy to use, open and go schedules.)
• Logos Press Curriculum (Classical; Doug Wilson)

If you know of any other curriculums you would recommend, please let me know by sending me a message! I am continually adding new curriculums to the list.