Thoughts on Homeschool

To be honest, I tend to get caught up in my own little world. Most of the people I am in contact with either already homeschool, or are at least familiar with why we homeschool...

I had a recent comment on a post, that expressed some curiosity about whether or not homeschooling is good for children or not.... and so I thought I would do a post on homeschooling.

I'm sure every family may have their own reasons to homeschool. But here are some reflections on ours.

It may surprise you to know that we do not homeschool for academic reasons. (although we do believe that children benefit academically from homeschooling).

We homeschool for spiritual reasons. We want to be the ones who teach and train our children, as is mandated by the Bible. God gave us our children, and He didn't give them to us to have someone else raise and train them. Psalm 127:3-5, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Psalm 78:1-11

We also believe that true wisdom and knowledge does not come outside of God.
Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7 “7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 2:6, 9:10 6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

(Which means we do not want them "schooled" by the public school system as they won't even allow God to be mentioned.)

We also do not want our children to learn from the world, or others that are governed by the world's standards. Romans 12:2 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

We believe that what we teach our children now, is the beginning (foundation) of their adulthood! 2 Timothy 3:15-17 15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

As far as being in peer groups with only children their own age. We don't see one single advantage to that. Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Personally, we believe that if children are limited to their own peer group, it stunts their growth!

Our children are comfortable and enjoy being in the company of elderly people, little babies, and everything in between! They know that they can learn from the experiences of the older people, and that they can learn from caring and nurturing the young ones. They do not "shun" younger children because it isn't "cool". They are friendly with all ages, and we had to admit, they are drawn to adults--they like to learn from them. :0)

And, shock of all shocks--they enjoy ( and prefer)the company of their parents! They do not look upon us as people that they are "embarrassed to be seen with" as many teens have a tendency to do... Exodus 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

See the article below for more information on this issue.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000068.asp

(We would also like to note, that this is not because our children are so exceptional. This is something we see in many other Christian homeschool children that we are acquainted with-it is a norm among those we were at church with!)

As we prepare to graduate our first child, we can say with certainty that this has been the very best choice for our children. Our children also agree! We have no regrets, and neither do they. We look forward to the next generation of homeschooling, as our children are dedicated to homeschool their own children as well.