Mind you, I pretty much homeschooled myself my final year of school (combining my Junior and Senior year of highschool together, allowing me to graduate early).  That probably has a lot to do with it.  I figure, hey, if I can homeschool myself, then I can definitely homeschool my children.  (By the way, my mom fully-intended to homeschool me, but she was in a car accident and was unable.  She helped me pick out some software. And I’d tell her about subjects I was interested in.  I would plan out my work, do it, and let her check over it.)

I was in public schools for a long time, and, my goodness, I just cannot imagine subjecting my children to that sort of torture, especially the sort of harrassment that goes on between classes ranging from bullying to sexual hassment.  Anyway, I’m getting off the subject.

If you do have these sort of doubts and fears, then you have to come before the Lord and lay them at his feet.  Realize that you are not homeschooling “alone”, but there are co-ops, groups, books, software, and much more out there to help you do the job.  You don’t have to rely on your own smarts (or lack thereof), because people have banded together to assist you in guiding your children with wisdom and love.

Of course, that may cause another problem.  What sort of method do you use?  Which curriculum do you choose?  What will work best?  There are thousands of methods out there, all sorts of books and planners, and I know it can be overwhelming.

Pray. God knows your children best.  He knows their personalities.  He knows which method of learning will work the best for them.. and for you.  He know what will work, and what won’t.  God really does care about these things.  He is probably not interested in turning your kiddo into a prodigy child, but he does want to help you raise them, train them, and teach them.

I researched all sorts of curriculum and methods before I finally thought, “Maybe I should pray about this.”  After trying to use methods that really didn’t work well with my children, God opened my eyes to certain things that would, even if they were a bit unconventional.

 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
       I will be with him in trouble,
       I will deliver him and honor him.

 16 With long life will I satisfy him
       and show him my salvation.” 

Nearly every morning, as we enjoy our breakfast, the children and I do a family devotional.  Today’s devotional was focused on prayer.  After we finish our meal, we get ready for the day, then meet back at the table for “projects”.  The kids always look forward to these fun crafts and often come up with a few projects of their own.

Today, we traced our hands and made “prayer hands”.  I read a few verses in the bible about prayer, then we talked about what sort of things we pray for.  We closed with each of us praying.  I LOVE listening to their little prayers.

Nolyn’s went something like this, “Tank yooo for Mommy and Daddy. Tank yoo for letting me sleep in my bedwoom. It’s really cool. Amen.”

Merika’s was a little longer. “God, thank you for Nana and Poppa.  Please help  us to behave. Especially Keagan, because he can be a little booger because he cries sometimes.  Thank you for my ring. It has bunnies on it, and I really like it because I like bunnies, even though I don’t have any.  Bunnies.”  She said a few other things, which I cannot recall, before ending with, “Love you Jesus, thank you.”

Lately, the Lord has really been nudging me, reminding me, and pricking my soul. There’s a lesson to learn, one that I have to learn over and over again.

Where the Lord guides, He provides.

Sometimes God gives us a list of specific instructions. Sometimes He just points us in a specific direction, destination unknown. In I Kings, chapter 17, God tells Elijah to turn eastward and head for a brook near Jordan. There, the Lord would nourish him with water from the brook and food, which would be brought by the ravens. Elijah obeyed, and the Lord followed through on His word.

My Heavenly Father has been whispering in my ear, “Depend on me. I will provide.”

Often, as homeschoolers, we wonder how we’re going to do it. Maybe you feel ill-equipped…..

Read the rest over at Heart of the Matter! 

There’s been so much chatter about the big debate going on in California.  Should homeschooling parents be required to have a teaching degree?

It seems our government is trying to take more and more of our rights away.  It’s very disappointing.  What happened to freedom?

I don’t want someone else raising my children for 7-8 hours a day.  I don’t want my children to be thrown into the world before they are ready to handle bullies and ridicule.  I don’t want my children being taught by a system that does not allow God to be a part of education.

It is my RIGHT as a parent to teach my children.  There are millions of graduated homeschoolers who can prove that parents can do just as good, and in many cases, even better, than public schools when it comes to educating their child.  It infuriates me.  I am so tired of the government telling us what to do with our children!

These are the people who told me I must give birth in a hospital.  My home is just not safe enough!
These are the people who told me I must vaccinate my children, nevermind the fact that my daughter has had severe reactions!
And here they are…. telling us we are not qualified to teach our children.

Who will love my children as much as I do?  Not the school system! 

My goal is to make sure they are prepared for their future.  That is, prepared for today, tomorrow, for arguments, for friendships, for college (if they choose to go), for moving out on their own, for marriage, for children of their own, and for death.  My ultimate goal is to prepare them for Christ’s coming again.

These are MY children, children God trusted to me.  If my state tells me I cannot homeschool, I WILL MOVE.

First and foremost, I have to mention Heart of the Matter has posted their February E-zine.  HOTM focuses on Christian homeschooling. Don’t forget to check out my column, which talked about Time With God.

Also, I came across THIS POST in a search for other Discipleship Homeschoolers.  Here’s an excerpt:

“…It befuddles me why so many homeschooling parents work so hard to emulate the public school environment at the neglect of simple biblical discipleship—text books, lectures, workbooks and worksheets—everything you’ll find in public school—none of which will be even remotely alluded to in Scripture. These tools aren’t bad. However, majoring on the minors—focusing on the things the Bible is silent on to the neglect of the things the Bible is explicit on is a bit perplexing to me. I think we really need to keep our priorities in order if we are to use homeschooling for what it is: simply, the best tool available to us parents to fulfill our biblical mandate of discipling our children. We just need to keep our priorities in order.”
              [ValuesDrivenFamily.blogspot.com]

So many wonderful posts at this blog.  I’ll definitely be making it one of my regulars!

Family Christian Academy gives biblical reasoning and guidance for homeschooling in this particular post. It’s a bit long, but worth reading.

You can read the entire article HERE.

God made me head to toes
[Head to toes]
Yes, God made me head to toes
[Head to toes]
Hairs on my head, the number my Lord knows
For my God made me head to toes
[Head to toes!]

God made me for His own
[For His own]
God made me for His own
[For His own]
And all my deepest thoughts are known
By God, who made me for His own!
[For His own]