What I Learned Over These 31 Years of Homeschooling
By: Paula Judy
Looking back on this journey of homeschooling, I remember my first few years and my stress associated with it. I tried to duplicate what I experienced in school. I thought I was responsible to teach my children everything they needed to know to be successful. Could I teach art or music well, when I was not gifted in this area?
In the 80s and 90s, there were not many outside resources to take advantage of, so all of the instruction fell on my shoulders. I was very overwhelmed, to say the least. As I prayed about this and my husband saw my stress, he simply asked me, “What do you remember about art in 3rd grade?” This might sound strange, but that is exactly what I needed to hear in the moment. Thank God for giving me a husband to balance out my shortcomings and stress!
We decided to homeschool first and foremost to instill character and Christ-centered values into our children. We did not need to duplicate public school. If that was our main goal, we could just send them to school.
I would encourage you to write down why and when God called you to homeschool. This will strengthen you as you experience doubt and insecurities in your homeschooling journey. You will refer back to this many times and you may even add to this as God continues to work in your life.
My husband’s perspective was that if we could teach our children to read, understand how to compute, to think, and to reason, we would be successful. This changed my mindset on what was important and what was secondary.
Do you have to make a commitment to the governing authorities to teach the subjects required for your children’s education? Yes. Do you need to be accountable for your effort? Yes. I always thought about standing before the Lord and giving an account before Him as to how well I stewarded what He entrusted to me.
Does this mean that I buckled down and added more stress to my homeschool life? No, this means that I realized that I could not possibly give my children everything that they needed to know to graduate and become successful adults. I needed to be obedient to the Lord’s calling and to rely on Him.
2 Cor 12:9 – 10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
A major blessing to me was a connection with other homeschooling families through a local group. We attended gym and swim classes together one day a week during the school year. I also had a few friends from church that homeschooled. There were no co-ops available like there are now, but we started getting together when our children were young to have a craft time. This progressed into a time to serve together at a nursing home. It eventually became a time to study different historical events and gave the children opportunities to present speeches.
When my younger three children became school aged, we met with two other families to study together. I taught math and science, my passions. My friend taught language arts, her passion. We continued this until our children graduated.
If you can connect with a good local support group or co-op, I would encourage you to do so. Homeschooling is tough, and you need support from others that understand. If you don’t have anything available in your local community, perhaps you have a friend or two with children about the same age as yours. You can get together for a time of fun and crafts, a serving ministry, or shared teaching.
I will share one testimony. One of my sons wanted to start college courses during high school. At the time, this was a very new concept and offered at the local public school. We prayed about it and decided to allow him to pursue this option. However, we wanted to be sure the college would accept him and the local school would allow it. I believe he was the first homeschool student to be enrolled in our local school.
He had to undergo tests by the psychologist and entrance exams at the college. He also had to take the Ohio Graduation test. This would be the first standardized test my son endeavored to take. I did not know a single question from this test. My son scored well and came home excited to share the news with me. As he did so, I was in tears. He asked me why I was crying. I told him that I never wanted him to say to me that I hindered him in any way in his education.
I shared with you that I did not know a single question from the test because I want you to know that, while the academics are important, they are secondary. It is not important that you research the tests/subjects that are required by the public school system at each level of education, then plan your education accordingly. There is enough evidence against that mindset as to how the U.S. children compare to other countries around the world.
No one knows your children like you. You have the freedom to choose curriculum based on their needs and learning styles. Take this opportunity to allow your children room to learn and enjoy. Relax and try to treasure the moments, because all too soon you will be planning a graduation.
Be obedient to the Lord’s calling in your life, allow Him to guide you in planning and selecting what is best for your children. He will honor your obedience. In all my weaknesses, the Lord showed Himself strong in and through our children in their education.