Freedom in Your Homeschool

I couldn’t leave it to a stranger to shape who my children become.

As a beginning homeschooler, twenty years ago, I felt a deep sense of inadequacy. “How to do this and get it right?” I prayed lots and commenced when my oldest was old enough for me to teach her to read. Over the years, more children were added and at times I felt overwhelmed.

In sympathy, a close relative said to me. “You should send your children to school. Give yourself a break. Teachers are only child minders. Why should you do everything?”

I believe there is a lot of truth in that. A lot of effort has gone into producing an artificial environment to keep children occupied. This is why I don't feel I have to imitate the school. Too often as home educators we have thought we should. At home, education can and should be relevant to life. We should be preparing our children for this life and also the next.

Two things are of greatest value. The first of these is knowing God and understanding His will. To achieve this, the Bible must have the highest place. Teach your children to read the Bible and to live by it. As soon as they can read, put a Bible in their hands. Oh, but don't wait until they can read to teach appreciation for God's great book. I made it a daily practice to read the Bible to my children before they could.

Two of my children learnt their sounds with a Bible. As I showed them a ‘d’ their job was to find as many as they could in the first page of Genesis. It became the most natural thing for them to read it fully after they had learnt to decode the words they saw. One of my girls read Genesis all the way through before she turned 6. Establish the habit of Bible reading early. My children do their personal Bible reading before breakfast. I assign them one chapter as soon as they can read and as ability increases, this is increased. Giant print is the edition of choice for young children and I use the King James Version from the earliest years. This is what I read to my littlies and this what they read from the first. After a few simple explanations of the ‘thee’ and ‘thou’s and the odd archaic word, with regular usage, even a five year old will enjoy the King James Version Bible. I know this for a fact!

The second in importance, is the teaching of relevant skills. Simply acquiring information should not be the goal of education. Teach skills! This is where literacy and numeracy and domestic skills are on equal footing. Being able to keep house is just as important as reading and you don't need a workbook to teach it!! In my list of relevant skills, I include gardening, cooking, sewing for girls, mechanical know-how for boys, basic music knowledge, simple natural health care skills etc. The key thought is relevance!

Schools go to reasonable amount of expense to set up classrooms. Homeschool families should similarly consider the homeschool environment. A rural location is ideal for educational purposes. Why study nature out of a book? Have a field trip everyday in the paddock behind your house! I frequently assign my children to do a nature drawing. This way they have to stop and really look!

Live out of town. Relocating from Sydney to a country location early in our marriage, was a decision we have never regretted. We would have made more money in Sydney but there are some things much more important than money.

A simple lifestyle without artificial stimulation is most likely to produce happy contented children.

Enjoy the homeschool season. Don't allow yourself to feel burdened. Your children will quickly sense this and it will affect their attitudes. Don't feel pressured to fit into a system of grades. Homeschool parents have a nobler purpose than just filling in time. A favourite book of mine, Education, defines education as “the harmonious development of the physical, the mental and the spiritual powers.” Is that something that can be measured by grades?

What your children become is not an accident. The character they develop will be shaped by the education they receive. What their minds are fed will determine who, in their innermost self, they will become.