Homeschooling: Why We Do It

The short answer to the question, "Why do we homeschool?" is simply this:  God called us to do it.  In my case, He called me as I was kicking and screaming.  Matt was fully on board from the very beginning, although he really didn't understand (nor did I) what homeschooling really meant.  One thing was clear to both of us from the start--the Lord would have far more to teach us than He would our children.  After ten years of homeschooling, I can attest that this has most certainly been the case.

Our firstborn, Grace, had a good kindergarten teacher in public school.  For my part, I felt very torn having Grace away from home for half of the day, not knowing exactly what she was doing or how she was doing.  A kindergartner, even a very talkative one, can't really fill you in on all the details of her day at school, so I felt like I was missing out on part of Grace's life.  Nevertheless, her kindergarten experience was a good one and the school was conveniently located a quarter mile away from our house.

So the next year, without much thought, Matt and I placed her in the first grade.  That's just what one does when one's child is six and we were not at the point in our parenting journey where we questioned societal norms.

Before the school year started, I had my assigned meeting with Grace's teacher.  I showed up at the appointed time.  She went over the day's schedule, what subjects she would be covering with the kids, etc.  I remember asking, "But when do you do art?"  Her reply was quick.  She said emphatically, "We don't have time for art!  We have to get the kids ready for the big state test that they take in the third grade!"  So "teaching to the test," even in the first grade was going to be an issue.  That was a red flag for me, but I stuffed it.

During that same meeting, the dad of another student interrupted us.  Keep in mind this meeting was at a certain time, meant for just Grace's teacher and me.  Anyway, this man walked in and started demanding that the teacher tell him about his child's school day, etc.  Apparently his ex-wife had been in earlier, at the appointed time, but since he wasn't present at that meeting, he wanted to have his own time with the teacher during what was to be my time with the teacher.  Another red flag.  Many of the kids in Grace's class would not come from intact homes and therefore would certainly be raised in a much different manner.  I stuffed it.

Every night, Grace would come home with homework (busy work, I thought).  She had scads of worksheets that had to be completed by the next school day.  I thought, "Good grief.  This kid is totally fried from being in school all day and now she has even more work to do."  The breaking point for me on this particular issue came one night when I wanted to read a story to Grace.  She broke down in tears and said, "Mom, I don't have time for a story!  I have to finish my homework!"

At this point in our lives, Matt had a thirty minute commute to work.  He listened to sermons and such during the drive as a way to redeem the time.  I picked up a set of old cassette tapes from a thrift store for him one day.  They were from James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program, recorded in the early 1980's.  On one of those tapes, Dobson interviewed Dr. Raymond Moore, who is considered to be "the grandfather of homeschooling."  In it, Moore discussed his educational philosophy of "better late than early."  He explained how kids that started school later (eight years old or more), actually outperformed their peers.  This was especially true of boys, he said.  He advocated homeschooling, especially for the early years in a child's life.

Matt came home from work that night, threw the tape on the kitchen counter and said, "I wouldn't mind if you did this."  My reaction?  "NO WAY!"

However, over the course of the next few weeks, God planned that everywhere I turned, homeschooling would confront me.  I used to listen to  Focus on the Family in the mornings while I cleaned up the kitchen.  Lo and behold, more than two decades after his interview with Dr. Moore, Dobson was interviewing someone else about the benefits of homeschooling.

My sister-in-law was leaning toward homeschooling her kids, so I asked her about it.  She let me borrow the book Beyond Survival:  A Guide to Abundant Life Homeschooling by Diana Waring.  This book turned my idea of the who, what, how and why of education on it's head. The Lord was getting a hold of my heart on the issue of homeschooling.

I had heard that our state would be holding a homeschool conference during the spring of Grace's first grade year, but at the time the internet wasn't very good and I couldn't get the information I needed to register for the conference.  I attended a funeral not long after hitting this road block and a woman who had moved from our area and returned for the funeral handed my a piece of paper--right out of the blue-- and said, "There's going to be a homeschool conference soon.  I thought you might want to register for it."

After that incident, I said, "O.K., Lord, I'm beginning to get the picture."

Then Satan, in classic style, began assailing me with arrows of doubt.  "Maybe I didn't hear God correctly.  Maybe He doesn't want us to homeschool."  Then one day, Grace had an experience at school that cinched the deal.

I went to tuck Grace into bed and say night time prayers with her and she said, "I can't draw Jesus anymore in school."  I asked, "Why?"

The teacher had handed April calendars to each of the children that day and had given them the assignment to draw a picture at the top.  Grace drew a picture of an empty tomb..  The teacher completely overreacted when she saw the artwork and told Grace she wasn't allowed to draw such things.  She was in error, of course, but I thought to myself, "and I'm going to have to deal with twelve years of this?"

That spring Matt and I did attend the homeschool conference.  We had a chance to personally talk with Dr. Brian Ray, a researcher who publishes statistics on homeschooling and its benefits.  We showed him the picture that Grace had drawn.  Of course, he encouraged us to begin homeschooling her.  When we last talked to Dr. Ray a few years ago, he said he still used Grace's picture in the lectures he gave around the country.

We came home from that conference and Matt wanted to pull Grace out of school right away.  Had I been the person then that I am now, I would have agreed to it.  As it was, I was very concerned about what people would think, especially our families, if we did such a thing, so I talked Matt into letting Grace finish out the year.

The following fall, the adventure began!  I remember being so overwhelmed with the sheer enormity of the task at hand.  I cried.  A lot.  I knew God wanted our family to homeschool and that He had great plans for us, but I was SCARED TO DEATH.  I was right where God wanted me to be, in complete an utter dependence on Him.  We took the leap of faith and the Lord has proven (and will continue to prove) His faithfulness to our family as we continue on this homeschooling journey.

Has it been easy?  No.  But what in life worth doing is ever easy?  Has it been wonderful?  Oh yes, it has.  I haven't missed any of our kids' milestone moments.  I've haven't missed any of the small things, from the cute things they say, to the way they look out for each other.  I've experienced their moments of frustration, their light bulb moments, their asking of penetratingly deep questions about God and the world He created.  The Lord has and will continue be glorified through this process.  He is worthy to be praised!

Related Resources:  The books:  Home Educated and Now Adults by Dr. Brian Ray, Home Educating with Confidence by Rick and Marilyn Boyer, When You Rise Up by R.C. Sproul, Jr., and  Homeschooling: The Right Choice by Christopher Klicka.  The lecture given by Dr. Voddie Baucham entitled, "Why Homeschool? An Apologetic for Home Education."