Roughly eight years ago, my wife and I decided to home school our first child. Neither my wife nor I had ever been homeschooled and went to public school. As we evaluated the home school decision, we had a number of questions and concerns as we started the process.
One of the greatest blessings in our homeschooling journey was meeting a couple, who we were close to, who had homeschooled their children. They were very encouraging to us, especially my wife, as she carried the majority of the load while I spent most of my energy on my job and being a husband/parent.
My initial contribution was focused towards encouraging my wife and receiving updates of how homeschooling was going. Within the last 1-2 years, however, I have had more direct involvement in the teaching of our four children. Over the course of educating our children, I have observed several things that have helped my wife and I recognize the Lord’s blessing in our work.
First, know why you want to home school.
This should be similar to a purpose statement. A purpose statement helps keep your focus on the prize when various challenges arise (kids complaining about having to do school, others questioning your decision or looking differently at your family, tough days teaching, etc.). Our primary reason for choosing to home school was due to the Holy Spirit pulling on our hearts. We wanted to honor our responsibility to train our children in the way they should go and felt the best way we could do that was by being the primary influence (time and voice) in our children’s lives. Regularly remembering why we chose to home school has helped us stay the course as well as provide another way to communicate our hearts for and to our children.
Second, find the right curriculum and structure.
One of the biggest challenges for people on the cusp of making the choice to home school is “What will I do with all of the time?” or wondering “Where to I start?” Freedom is a great blessing and gift regarding homeschooling a child, one that my family enjoys, but being intentional from the beginning will save a lot of stress and frustration throughout the process. There are many curriculums out there and each is good in its own way. Different ones are geared to various learning styles and dynamics. Ask other home school families what they use and what the pros and cons are about each curriculum. Pray for God’s wisdom in choosing one (or mixture of them). Then, don’t be afraid to change up the following year if you see one is not a good fit. A good curriculum can be a great foundation and you can enjoy adding your touch along the way.
Third, don’t go alone!
Galatians 6:2 says “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Previously, I mentioned it’s important to know why you are homeschooling. I shared about how my wife and I were blessed with encouragement from another family as we started out. Since then, we have been blessed by other home school families with encouragement, support, friendship, trading resources, and having variety in our children’s studies. It’s important to build relationships with likeminded home school families and engage in a local home school co-op. Our children have been also blessed from having relationships within these circles as well. Being involved in a homeschooling co-op has been a priceless experience!
I pray that the Lord will use these three lessons I have learned from my experience to bless others considering homeschooling as well. We have the unique freedom to fully invest in our children’s upbringing. At times, it’s not been easy, but I definitely feel is worth it!
