Back to "Home" School!

I'm 55 years old and have the pleasure of having grandchildren (17 to be exact with #18 coming right about Christmas time) and also still having "at home" children. Asher graduated last year which was sweet, wonderful and sad all at once!
However, I've still got Cierra (who is a 9th grader this year) and John (a 5th grader) so my days of homeschooling are still here for me. It has been a wonderful adventure that I wouldn't trade for the best private school available in town.
When we began homeschooling it was pretty much unheard of. Our local librarian introduced me to Raymond Moore's books telling me that she thought it fit my philosophy of mothering. I brought the children into the library at least twice a week on our daily walks and my children LOVED library books! (They loved books in general, but our personal library was rather small at the time!)
I soaked in what I read and took it to heart. Niki was already forcing me to teach with "What letter is that?" "What does it say?" She was reading well at four years of age, but in all truth I had to explain (when people exclaimed what a wonderful teacher I was to my four year old) that she pretty much taught herself by asking questions and applying my answers. It certainly wasn't any kind of planned schooling!
That's part of what turned the lightbulb on in my head. I taught my children almost every skill they had (good and bad:). I potty trained them, I taught them manners, hygiene and right from wrong. I had taught them how to talk and I had read to them so much that they had a huge library in their heads already! So, why did I think I couldn't teach them school?
(I've had more than one mother in my life tell me they couldn't possibly teach their children at home and then go to college and get an education and guess what they are now? Yes, you guessed it! They're a teacher! Teaching 20 or so of someone else's children.)
True to my personality I got on the bandwagon in a big way. I began researching, contacting others who had schooled their own children and finding out everything I could about this new thing called "homeschooling". My husband, who was a Christian school teacher and principal, wasn't quite so enthusiastic.
We had made the decision when the Lord gave us children that if we had to sell the furniture out from under us we would not do two things in our marriage. I would not go to work outside of the home and our children would get a Christian education--not one from "Caesar".
Although Gary thought it was a good idea he also felt it would appear like we had a double standard in our life if he worked in a Christian school and then homeschooled his own children. He also felt it would appear we were disloyal to our pastor's decision to have a Christian school at our church. (Because he was on staff.) I didn't agree but I knew the Bible taught me to obey my husband so I simply began to pray about it.
The year that Nathan was to go to Christian school I felt heartbroken. It would just be little Nevin and I at home and my husband and children were going to be at the Christian school.
Many people had suggested I come to work at the Christian school and I began playing with the idea that someone had planted in my mind that the church was simply an "extension" of the home.
The year Nathan was to go to first grade there wasn't a teacher available as our teacher's mother had developed cancer and she had made the decision to be with her mother. I cannot tell you how excited I was that anyone with a K-5 child needed to make other arrangements! Nathan had his first year of school at home! Nevin sat on the floor and listened and learned as he played with his matchbox cars.
The next year Nathan went to school with his sisters and his dad and I taught Nevin K-5 at home. So much fun!
But the new school year was coming and then I was going to be in an empty house--no hubby and no children. All of them at the church. I began dwelling again on just going to work at the Christian school and thinking of it as an extension to our home. I approached my husband and got an emphatic no! That decision had been made and it was not negotiable! Back to praying.
In my times when I am the very closest to the Lord my praying is simply talking to Him and pouring out my heart just like I was talking to a friend I could trust with my deepest secrets. So many times in our conversations He shows me where the problem I'm telling him about has me as part of the solution. (Or should I say that I am part of why there's a problem!) I had a lot of things to learn.
That year my husband accepted a pastorate in Tennessee and when we moved there we were free to homeschool all four of our children. Wow! The first year of homeschooling all four was a year of lessons! Although I loved every minute of it I quickly realized that if I had tried starting with all four I might have ended up being a homeschool dropout! I had no idea how much time was involved in four compared to one! The Lord gently worked me from one to two and then to four! Praise the Lord for a husband who operated by principles and obeyed them. Praise the Lord I truly believed in obeying my husband and trusting the Lord to work it out if it was truly His will.
When we first began homeschooling all four of our children I asked the Lord to give me a homeschool "core curriculum" passage from the Bible. He gave me II Peter 1:5-8. I realized that first we needed to diligently teach our children that the Bible was the final authority for our lives and they needed to place their faith in Christ and His Word. Then we needed to diligently work to develop godly character in their lives (virtue), and after those two things we needed to add the knowledge (facts) , temperance (self-control), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity. It's the best curriculum plan I've seen out there and I lay it beside every curriculum I find and many of them fail on the first item! (faith)
Now we're to the year 2010 and I'm a homeschool veteran. I'll be 62 years old when John graduates from high school. I wouldn't have any other life. I always catch myself in August getting that little thrill back of the new school year about to start.
Do I have days I wish I could pack them in the van, drop them off at the nearest school and tell them I'll be back in two days or two weeks or maybe even two months? You better believe it! My motivation is to please and obey my Father and nothing else and that's what gets me through the days (and sometimes weeks!) that are overwhelming with their duties.
On the whole however the Lord has made our homeschool journey a wonderful trip. I still go through old papers and old photo albums and get tears in my eyes. I still love looking at the new year with its new books (or computer program) and feeling a little thrill of what the adventure of our new year will be.
I pray that you have seriously looked at your home, your family, your children and seen the priority that God gives to our giving our children an education that is Christ-centered and that in the end will give Him glory. We're spending our life on what we treasure and I can't think of anything better to invest in than sitting, walking, standing and teaching our children! (Deuteronomy 6)

Love,

Mom


P.S.- Dr. Raymond Moore recommended that you make a philosophy of education plan and put it into words to read and re-read on a regular basis to keep yourself focused and on course. Here's ours. We haven't changed our minds (or hearts) about it since it was written in 1982 or "83.
"As Bible-believing Christians we believe and accept for our life standards the perfect Word of God. God's Word is the final authority for our lives.
Based on this, we believe God's Word teaches us that we are responsible for the provision and care of our children. We believe that we are accountable to God for the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical care of our children. (I Tim. 5:8)
We also believe that God commands us to teach and to train our children. God's Word qualifies us to be their teachers and we believe what He calls upon us to do, He also equips us to do. (Deut. 4:9, Deut. 6:1,2,6,7, Deut. 11:18,19, Exra 8:21, Ps. 78:1-7, Prov. 4:3-5, Prov. 22:6, Eph. 6:1-4, I Thess. 2:11,12)
We believe the Bible offers a plan of education in II Peter 1:5-8. It is our personal goal to lead each child into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, (salvation by faith), and to build onto that godly character, (virtue), and then add to that pertinent facts, (knowledge). We believe knowledge without character or Christ will produce a child that is a detriment to society.
Our homeschool is set up with the father as the final word and the decision maker and with Christ as his authority. (Eph. 6:22-33) The mother carries out his wishes and has the role of teacher. (Prov. 6:20, Prov. 31:1) The children have the responsibility to listen to and obey instruction. (Eph. 6:1-3, Prov. 6:20, Prov. 4:1-4)
We carry out our teaching according to Christ's example in Acts 1:1--do and teach. What we require and instruct we also teach by example.
It is our goal to produce children who know Christ as their personal Saviour, who live their live by character and principle and who are well-trained in basic academic skills.
Psalms 127:1-5 and Psalms 144:12 express our heart's desire for our home and children. we desire children to go out as arrows into a dark world and to make a difference.

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Neal

Family Field Trip...

We had a wonderful day last Friday. Thanks to Robin St. James for asking if we wanted to participate in it!

This was a field trip that we tried to take back in the fall and it got rained out! It wasn't really a reenactment as much as little "snapshots" of the Battle at Fort Sanders that took place during the Civil War.

We learned all kinds of things that we didn't know. The students were divided into groups and sent to stations to learn about the battle. I didn't know that the Union won this battle or that the fort was simply made out of earth with ditches around it.

Our first stop was the fort. Soldiers there told us about the fort, about life for a soldier, and about the battle.

Then we went and met a woman who told us about having two sons, one who went with the North and one who was fighting for the South. She talked about having your crops and animals taken and learning to live off of the land while trying to survive. She ended her talk with looking up to the mountain and saying that each day she looked at that mountain and said "I will look to the mountain from whence cometh my help--my help is the Lord."

Next we were given a lesson on the weapons of war from the 1600's to World War I. We learned how a battle could be won by simply having the right weapon at the time. It also made me thankful for those who were willing to face death to keep us free as a country.

Last we listened to a young man who was a Confederate who explained what they faced that day at the Battle of Fort Sanders. He talked of them charging across the "killing field" to get to the fort and then falling into a ditch they thought was shallow but instead swallowed them up over their heads. The battle only lasted about 20 minutes but it was deadly for the Confederates that day.

We ate lunch together and listened to Civil War music being played. Very relaxing to sit and eat and visit.

Last of all we headed back to the fort to watch the cannon being fired and listen to Mr. Lincoln. The man playing Mr. Lincoln was very, very good. In his talk he quoted the Gettysburg Address and his address he gave when leaving Illinois.

It was a field trip that will long be remembered by our family! A little walk in time past in Tennessee on a beautiful spring day!

Back to School!

This is our first week back to school but preparation for going back to school begins in April/May for the Neal household. ( We purchase our curriculum at the end of the school year! :) Then I do my best to concentrate on summer activities until about a week or two before time for the new official school year.
About the first of August I begin thinking about school again and it shows up in my prayer journals. This year the first entry was on June 17th. I think the reason for that is because Asher chose to do some of his senior year's schoolwork during the summer.
I remember when the Lord began dealing with me about our children's training. As I would read the verses in Deuteronomy that the Christian schools were using I was troubled because it didn't give the priests the responsibility to teach and train the children. The responsibility was laid squarely on the shoulders of the parents. The second thing that bothered me was that more and more Christian women were leaving their homes to work in the Christian school. As a young wife and mother the Lord had showed me very clearly that my ministry was to have my home as its core.
Please remember as I'm giving you our personal testimony that homeschooling was almost unheard of when the Lord began dealing with us about it. We were truly entering an area that very few people were brave enough to approach.
My husband and I would discuss it and we both felt that it would be disloyal to our pastor and send a confusing message to the church if we pulled our children out of the school to be taught at home.
I began to seriously pray about it. In my mind we needed to do it and do it now because time was slipping away. However, the Lord always knows what's best and the principle of honoring authority kept me from taking a position of authority over the Lord, my husband, and my pastor.
The real crisis for me came when it was time to send the last of our four children to the Christian school. I felt like I was going to be desolate staying at home with an empty house while my husband was at the Christian school with everything that was precious to me--my entire family. I began to waver on my conviction of the woman being a "keeper at home" (with the emphasis on the word "at") and listening to one older woman's comment that "the Christian school was simply an extension of her home".
It seemed everyone at our church assumed that when Nevin went to Christian school his mother would be there too joining the work force. I approached my husband with the idea that the school was just an extension of the home and got a strong reaction! He let me know that his conviction hadn't changed and I wouldn't be going anywhere!
Now during this entire time the Lord had been working. I truly didn't see any of it till I was looking back at it. The year that Nathan was supposed to go to Christian school our pastor announced that we were going to have to teach our own kindergarten age children at home. The woman that was supposed to teach had to stay home and care for her dying mother. So, we ordered the curriculum from the school and I taught him kindergarten at home!
The next year we had the same situation and I taught Nevin kindergarten at home. I absolutely loved every moment of it.
Then God called my husband into the pastorate and he began actively seeking where the Lord wanted him. When he took his first pastorate they had just closed their Christian school and he let them know we would be homeschooling. We offered to help anyone else that was interested in doing it. At that pastorate we ended up with a large group of homeschoolers!
Once I began teaching all four children at home I realized how merciful the Lord was to me to let me start out with one student, then two students and then up to four. His timing was so perfect, and mine so flawed. (This all took place over a period of about five years.)
Early on I asked the Lord to give me verses for our homeschool and He gave me II Peter 1: 5-8. That portion of Scripture taught me one of the most important lessons in teaching and training children--that teaching facts (knowledge) is useless if you haven't first taught your child that the Bible is the final authority in our lives (faith) and that character is more important than lessons. (virtue) I have used that as a pillar in teaching our children.
Another valuable lesson the Lord taught me was that just pulling my children out of the world system wasn't going to automatically give me godly children. I realized that based on the depravity of man my children had the love of the world built into them. Therefore, if I thought pulling my child out of the world was going to take the world out of my child I was sadly misled. My motivation for pulling my child away from the world system was so that the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit could be heard over the distractions and lures that the world has. That child had a choice to make but I wanted to get them in an environment where they could hear the Holy Spirit and have an opportunity to make a choice. Satan is a master at sending distractions, so I wanted to remove as many of them as I could!
I have met some parents who have been deeply disappointed when they thought having the perfect environment would create a perfectly spiritual child. Sometimes I've watched them even pull themselves into a shell and out of the local church thinking that would help. It doesn't.
The goal is to send those children into the world as glowing arrows to do the work that the Lord has for them. (Ps. 127:4) The home is the boot camp for this. Sending children into the arena before they've become trained and mature is like throwing a kitten into a pack of grown dogs and expecting it to come out the champ. My prayer for each of my children is that they will walk in obedience to the Lord in being 1) Saved 2) Surrendered 3) Submitted 4) Separated unto the Lord from the world 5) Servants 6) Soldiers.
Over the years the Lord has given me many verses concerning my children. Here are a few:
I. Seek the Lord for wisdom and the right way for our little ones. Fast and pray over them. They are so precious. (Ezra 8:21)
2) Fight for their spiritual welfare for all your worth. Remember who your Captain is so you're not afraid. (Nehemiah 4:14)
3) Three things that we must teach our children and grandchildren: A. the praises of the Lord B. His strength C. His wonderful works. (Psalms 78:4)
4) Letting the Lord keep the "strange children" out of our lives will allow our children to be healthier spiritually and "polished" as He wants them. (Psalms 144:11,12 ) *This is a cause-and-effect passage.
5) The Lord wants to fight for my children! (Isa. 49:25)
6) The bottom line teaching has to be done by the Lord Himself to get the right results. (Isa. 54:13)
7) I must set a "watch" and cry to the Lord even in the night for my children. (Lam. 2:19)
8) And here's my new one. This is a direct answer from the Lord with one of my biggest battles with my flesh--impatience and irritation. (I am in my 50's!) "the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning." Prov. 16:21b. Oh, I pray the Lord brings that one to mind on a regular basis when I need it!
That's not all my verses but some of the ones that are precious to me after over 20 years of homeschooling. The Lord's been good to me and given me "extra blessings" through adoption. I'll be 62 when my homeschool journey ends. But really it won't end there...I have 17 grandbabies you know!
As we head back into the homeschooling year I am reminded that we begin homeschooling when they are born. When I see someone with a lack of confidence I remind them that they are the one that taught there child to talk, eat, and encouraged them in their first steps. They are the one who potty trained the little one and has already taught them so many vital life skills.
Many years ago others taught me that curriculum is simply a tool and that a dedicated and committed teacher can learn right along with the child if they are willing to humble themselves and do it! My children have taught me as much as I have ever taught them!
I always grab a few hand-picked articles or books to get my homeschool engine up and revving at this time of the year. Some to encourage me and motivate me and some to remind me that God's schooling is the best.
I pray that each of you that are beginning a new year will be able to do it with joy and expectancy. I pray that those whom the Lord is dealing with will be patient and obey Him on His time-table. I pray that each of us no matter where we are in our journey will dedicate ourselves to being a tool in the Master's hand to see our children won to Christ heart and soul. God bless every mother and father who are committed to teaching and training their children for Him.