.Because You Asked - Homeschooling Part One.

The majority of questions that I get from readers, whether it be through email or comments here, pertain to homeschooling. Several of the questions have been duplicates, so rather than answer every email/comment question individually, I decided it would be fun to do a question and answer post. This is part one, these are from the questions I have already been asked. Part two is up to you! I will put together a part two next week that will answer any other questions you ask me pertaining to homeschooling and how it works for our family. You can leave your question in this comment section or email me if you feel more comfortable.

**Disclaimer: Our family has just begun our homeschooling adventure. My daughter turned four in September, and I am only doing the very basics this year. I am not uptight with it, and school fairly casually. I do not pretend to know a lot about the ins and outs of homeschooling, but because I had so many questions from readers it seemed like a fun thing to blog about. Just please know there are MUCH more educated people and mommies out there than I. {grin}**

1. What made you and your husband decide to home school?

This question is tricky for me to answer, as I can not pin point exactly when God softened our hearts and pointed us in this direction. I went to college and earned a degree in elementary education. I taught in two different Christian schools before Cadi was born, and I loved teaching. I loved having a classroom and students and watching these little children grow and learn each day. I was certain that as soon as my children were old enough to attend school I would go back to teaching. However, as Cadi grew and the months swam into years, my heart was tortured by the fact that once I sent her to school, and out of our home, that was it. I would never ever get the precious years of her under my wing at home again. And it saddened me and sickened me. It was all happening too fast. I wanted more time with her. And out of that desire God brought to my mind homeschooling. I rebelled for a bit. I didn't want to be that cliched home school family - you know the one that I am speaking of. I worried about all of the silly things like socialization and sports and other extracurricular activities. Then Jim and I began to seriously pray together about how homeschooling might fit into our family. I began devouring books on homeschooling written by other women, and I began speaking to other home schooled mommies and their children. At around this same time God was doing a work in my best friend's heart regarding homeschooling. It was an amazing blessing to go through the process kind of side by side, and then ultimately come to the same conclusion about homeschooling in our own hearts. So in a nutshell that is how it happened. {grin}

2. How long do you plan on homeschooling your children?

This is a permanent plan for us. We are committed to schooling our children, and we feel as if this is the best fit for our family. I do not foresee us ever sending our children to formal school before college. Can God change our hearts again, though? Yup! However, for now we are confident that this is where God has us.


3. What does Scotty do while you are homeschooling Cadi?

I am very, very blessed to have had two babies who were/are excellent scheduled sleepers. Because of this, I knew that for this first year, I could easily schedule our school day around Scotty's morning nap. We school from 9:00-11:30 (give or take some days). Scotty naps from 9-noon, so it has worked out beautifully. Next year . . . . well that is another story! Ha!

4. Do you think that every Christian family should be homeschooling their children? Is it wrong to send my child to a Christian/public school?

I think this is a big misconception regarding many home school families. No, I do not think that every family has to home school. While I think homeschooling is absolutely a perfect fit for us, it may not be for you. That is something each family has to seek out and answer for themselves. Yes, I do think the schooling children should always be prayed over and not just assumed that they will go to formal school, but again each family has to come to a decision for themselves. The same is true for sending your children to a Christian or public school.

5. How can I home school my children if I am not a teacher? You have an advantage and of course are qualified to teach your children.

Oh my, I really feel that at times I have a disadvantage! It is so hard for me to get away from the ideas of formal schooling - the methods, the practices, the applications. I think this is what I have struggled with the most this first year. I am so drawn to Charlotte Mason's method, and her gentle approach to learning. However, I cannot get away from a desk and structure and pencil work (a little bit). I am working on this, and I am praying that God would give me wisdom to be able to school a bit more naturally next year.
Anyway, yes, you absolutely CAN home school, if that is what God desires for your family. You do not need the education, all you need is a love for God, a love for your children and some tools. I think half the battle is desire, and if you have that than you are off to a great start!

6. Aren't there days when you just don't feel like homeschooling that day?

Well, yes! Aren't there days when you do not feel like doing laundry, wiping another snotty nose, exercising, picking up another toy??? Of course there are days when I wake up and don't really want to put the effort into a school day, but most of the time I push through, pray for strength and grace and patience and just do it. And you know what?? God usually blesses me with a really great day of school with Cadi. And yes, there have been days (very few) when I have decided to just skip the school day altogether and cuddle on the couch with some books. Cadi is just in preschool, and she still needs some unscheduled, unadulterated sweet moments with Mommy like that. {grin}

Okay those were the most repeated questions that I have been asked, and now it is your turn to ask - anything you want regarding homeschooling. I will {try} to answer - sometime next week! Hope this was helpful to some of my readers!



One of my favorite elements of homeschooling is fostering in Cadi a love for Jesus and watching her understanding of Him grow. I love listening to her sweet, little voice each morning asking God to bless our school day. It's priceless.