Dear J.K.,

First of all, I want to encourage you. Homeschooling isn’t as scary as it sounds. So many messages in our culture come against the idea, but, especially in the early years, homeschooling is pretty simple. I didn’t say it’s easy, but it is simple.

Your child needs to learn to read.

Because homeschooling is very centered on family, I would not try to do it if my husband wasn’t in unity. Is he open to trying it? What are his concerns? As you explore this option, continue praying and communicating about it.

Another thing to consider is your state’s homeschooling laws. It looks like you have more restrictions than I do in Idaho. However, you don’t have to start any formal education until your child is 6. You may have a year before state requirements come into effect, and by then you will have found support.

Honestly, I think homeschooling during the beginning years is more crucial than later. It is a time of laying foundations.

While our children are young, we need to teach them, not their peers. Then when they are older and capable of discerning good from evil, they have a foundation to stand on.

I hope this helps. You have already been teaching your child. And no matter where she attends school, you are still her most important teacher.

Peace to you,
Renae

What would you have said?

When I created scrapbooks, the stacks of pictures caused frustration. How could I ever get all those images into albums? I’d never catch up. The negative thoughts robbed me of the joy of the process. Scrapbooking suddenly became a race against time. A race I could never win.

Jogger

Instead of being stressed, I set aside the terms behind and catch-up. Scrapbooking was a hobby. I would simply finish what I could by working on it a few hours a week. My albums are still mostly empty, but I enjoyed putting color and texture behind a few memories. The guilt was gone and what I did capture will be special to my children.

I wonder if we need to do something in regards to education.

Homeschooling shrouded with guilt impedes the joy of learning. Are we doing too much or not enough? Is this curriculum a good fit? Would that one be better? Can we fit one more thing into our schedule?

Planning and judging are necessary, but most of our time needs to be spent learning not planning to learn and then doubting the whole process. Yes, there are learning thresholds. Yes, there are certain things our children need to know, but who determines whether they are behind?

Is education a race?

Education is important, but so is the child. What if a child doesn’t learn to read by the age of 6 or 7? What about those who struggle to learn? Should they try to push themselves beyond their capabilities to meet an arbitrary standard? Watching the backs of peers leap ahead, it would be hard to stay enthusiastic and motivated.

And what if your child is the one leaping ahead? Will he enjoy the rewards of diligence if lessons are always easy?

I propose that education is an individual thing. No one has the exact same knowledge. We all have different interests. The universe is immense, and we cannot know even a speck of all the treasures within it.

Perhaps, the race is really against ourselves. Perhaps, it is an internal measurement of growing in character and learning to learn.

Is education a race? Does every homeschool feel behind? What do you think?

For years, I rattled nonstop to Julie upon my return. This year, the teachings happened the same time as Julie’s visit.

I cannot recall all the challenging ideas in one post, but one question echoes in my conscious.

Does this bring life?

The question does not appear anywhere in my notes, but it was asked while Miss Katherine Dang discussed The Will of God Concerning Men. She simply reasoned through Scripture. The theme of life resounds from the creation of man:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

To the words of Jesus:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Miss Dang frequently prints verses on one side of the paper with empty lines on the other. The empty spaces on those particular pages remain mostly empty. My brain reached for the practical applications.

It’s something I have pondered. I want our lessons to be full of life, nurturing and purposeful. It took me six months to come up with my blog title, but it is taking years to fully understand the meaning. Education is about all of life; nothing is excluded.

I still tend to think of school as only academics. But life is so much more: thoughts, actions, relationships. Am I giving life or breeding death?

• Does the food I eat bring life to my body?
• Do I feed my soul the nourishing bread of the Word?
• Do my words give strength to the hearer?

Dusty clay was brought to life with a puff of love. The breath of God created with a purpose, to give a gift. A gift,

Abundant -plentiful; in great quantity; fully sufficient; as an abundant supply. In scripture, abounding; having in great quantity; overflowing with. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Life abundant, overflowing, in great supply. The choice is up to me.

The breath of Heaven still blows on dusty hearts.

In The Madness of Multiple-Choice Andrew Pudewa discusses why multiple-choice questions do not encourage reasoning. He states,

There is no room for different answers, unique responses, or independent views. The emphasis is always on what the child does not know, not on helping him clarify and express what he does know.

Do we really want to focus on what our child doesn’t know? It seems to me this just serves to discourage and frustrate. Students are conditioned to pass the test but end up feeling inferior. Then the game of comparing scores continues all the way through college and into the work place.

As home educators we don’t have to prepare for standardized tests. Our emphasis can be on teaching our children to think. If we challenge them to labor over ideas, they will receive the reward of knowing that they understand. They will be much better “fit for usefulness in their future stations” since in life you are rarely given the answers. (from Webster’s 1828 definition of education)

While taking classes at The College of Southern Idaho, my husband and I attended a weekly Bible study led by Pastor Randy Davis. He started by teaching us logic; A cannot equal non A. We soaked it up!

I had been a Christian most of my life, but was not prepared for listening to Allen Ginsberg quote beatnik lyrics about smoking dope, or grappling with the noble savage concept in Cultural Anthropology class. I began to cling to my faith based on my experiences. If Christianity was true I needed a stronger foundation than feelings from church camp. Graciously and consistently Pastor Randy reasoned with us. I struggled to renew my mind as we learned about apologetics, evangelism, government, relationships, religions, and revival.

Then I began to observe the students at Liberty Christian Academy, the Principle Approach school started by Pastor Davis and his wife Diane. Those young people knew more Bible history than I did. They knew God as Providence in the founding of America. I wanted to understand what those kids were learning! My husband and I asked Pastor Randy to train us to be teachers. He replied, “I wish I could but I don’t have time right now. Consider going to Youth with a Mission.” He wanted to start a college to train teachers then. That was over ten years ago.

Now the vision of a college has been revived. Albion Christian College is beginning with the desire to impart truth to a generation raised in relativism. The reasoning needed to apply Biblical principles in this world requires diligent study. The opportunity to do that at college is incredible!

Please pray that God will bless the founding of this college in Southern Idaho. May solid foundations be laid for future generations.