Homeschool, Me?
by Angela Windham

This year I, God willing, will begin to educate, in a more formal way, my oldest daughter Lauren at home. Some of our friends and family think I'm crazy; sometimes I wonder if I am too. Homeschooling is a scary, but also exciting responsibility. I know it is what God and my husband desire, and I desire it too. Knowing it is the right thing to do helps me to summon the courage to undertake one of the most difficult and important tasks of my life. The encouragement of my supportive husband and a great network of local homeschooling parents helps as well.

The Lord has brought many homeschooled children into our lives in the last few years. They have been many different ages, from different churches (yes, we do have friends that are not Reformed Presbyterians) and backgrounds. They are all very bright and well behaved. They are articulate, polite, and well versed in many subjects. They love to read. Many are taking college courses at 15 and 16 years of age. How many government educated children do you know like that? Surely a child educated outside the home could have all these qualities, but it is more the exception than the rule.

While God blesses faithfulness, we do this because He commands it. And then we see the sense of it. How can we expect one teacher in a classroom full of 30 or more students to adequately teach every individual? At home we can teach our children on a one-to-one basis without all the distractions that a classroom full of unruly and noisy children would have. (Most of my friends who have taught in government schools felt that they were just babysitting most of the time). Your children can learn at their own pace instead of having to wait for the indifferent, rebellious, and bored children to catch up.

Homeschoolers are not held captive by time restraints. Having a schedule is very important to effective homeschooling, but you can be as flexible as you desire. You can work your schedule to fit your own family's lifestyle. Whether you are an early or late riser means you can start your day whenever you want. You can take as many or as few vacations as you would like. Your life is no longer being scheduled by a secular, anti-God, government institution, which is in itself a modem form of slavery. We labor under Pharaoh in too many spheres. Why add one more that we do not need to?

I love my children. I love spending all the time I can with them. Why would I want to take them away from the security and love of their home, then leave them with a stranger five days a week? The stranger then gets to spend all day with them, watching and directing their growth. I want to be the first one to see their faces when they start learning to read, especially God's Word. I want to see the wonder in their eyes when they learn how He created all things.

If they were in government school they would be learning from a completely anti-biblical world view. They would have a hard time differentiating between what they are learning at home and church, and what they would be learning in a government classroom. And by sending them there, we would be the ones responsible for creating that confusion. Why would any parent want to do that? My husband and I want to be the ones to decide what our children are going to learn and when they are going to learn it. Which of course, is what God has called all Christian parents to do. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut. 6:6 & 7).

I know this is going to take a lot of time and effort. Preparing lessons, guiding them in reading and writing, teaching them the basics of math, science, grammar, etc. Time is life. While others choose to spend their lives with things they deem more valuable, I want to be found on the couch listening to my children read, or at the table showing them how to write a capital 'P'.

Families today are fragmented enough and spend precious little time together. We want our children to remember that their mom and dad were always there, present in their lives, loving, listening, disciplining, teaching.

God has called me to be the best mother I can be. This means I should homeschool. I do not have a college degree, I am not the least bit organized (yet!) and I am not disciplined enough, but that will not stop me from doing what God has called me to do. One of my biggest fears is that I am not smart or wise enough to teach my children everything they should know. But then my husband reminds me that I do not have to take on the entire burden of teaching alone. He will, of course, take many of the responsibilities. And a wonderful friend, who has home- schooled four daughters, has offered to help. I have not forgotten God, whose grace is sufficient. I know in His strength I can do what I have been called to do.

I can overcome the fears that I am not up to the job. I can laugh off the jeers of friends and family. But I cannot and should not conquer the fear that would come were I simply to give up and go the way of the world. I can trust God who has entrusted His children into my care. I can take up this cross, and will discover, I'm sure, that it is no cross at all. And so I will count it all joy.