Walking Therein

We all start this homeschool journey with preconceived ideas and expectations of how it should go or what we ‘have’ to do to teach our children. We enter into homeschooling, knowing it will set us and our children free from the perils of the public school system, but sometimes those ideas and expectations are like shackles that keep us from teaching and loving our children the way we really want to. It is as if the method is more important than the goal. Which it is not. I have met a lot of new homeschool moms recently through Jocelyn’s meme on the HSBA Post: Homeschool Memoirs Meme and through Cindy Rushton’s Talk-a-Latte I have attended. I remember being a new homeschool mom.

Fifteen years ago, there were not so many resources out there that could be easily found, and considering I did not have the internet or even a computer, I had little in the way of outside encouragement. Add to that the fact that I was a 3yo baby Christian, just learning how to train my children at all. I feel for these new moms who are searching for the ‘best way’ to home school their children. I remember being a new home school mom.

Looking back to when I was a new home school mom, there are a few small things I can think of that would have made such a difference in my homeschooling had I only been told. I think I would have wanted someone to tell me we did NOT have to go into debt buying every complete set of each grade. I would have wished they had introduced me to a Bible-based homeschool method like HOW - Heart of Wisdom. I needed to know that God MUST come first. The WORD truly is our life, and outside of that, there is no wisdom.

Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Isaiah 33:6
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

We get so caught up in what we learned in the government schools, and some of us just aren’t the ‘break the mold’ type of people. We were bound by society, and we have yet to break free. God is the one who can set our hearts and expectations free so that He is the Leader in our homeschools. If we bring all things through Him, we will not fail. It was He who told us to walk with our children and talk with our children to teach them His ways.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Read all of ‘these words’ of Deuteronomy chapter 6.

As society continues to move towards socialism, it is imperative that we stand firm in teaching our children as they need to learn. They are not cookie-cutter children. They each have their own strengths that we need to recognize and allow them to learn in, according to their bent (training up a child in the way they should go - according to their bent).

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

This is a freedom that will stop the tears and frustration. Some children just won’t read until they are nine. Period. Two of mine didn’t. They are voracious readers now.

The three books I suggest to a new homeschool mom are these: Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (you can get a free 75 pp. excerpt online), Educating the Wholehearted Child, and Teaching the Trivium. I like Teaching the Trivium mainly for the chapters on teaching the Bible, as the method is not necessarily for everyone. Oh, and also, I found GREAT freedom to educate in high school through the 2004-05 Elijah Co. Resource Guide (get yours now-they are $1!!) and Barb Shelton’s Senior High: A Home- Designed Form+U+la. These last two are are EXCELLENT for the discouraged high school parent who has been relaxed homeschooling their children and feel lost at the high school level.

When we listen to God and see the hearts of our children, recognizing their purpose and needs and walking in that with them, there is a freedom that will take us places that far exceed our original little expectations!

blessings to you on your home school journey,

>Please continue to pray for the Lirette family who lost their husband and daddy.<

Sarah, the daughter, wrote about what happened.

 

The Fort Wayne Homeschool Expo is this weekend. We weren’t planning to go, but is anyone else?? We can go. We only live about 20m away. Here is a link to the info: Fort Wayne Expo.

Friday, May 16, 2007 starting at 6pm

There is a preview that will be held at First Assembly of God Church from 6- 9 p.m. Workshops are also being planned.
Parents will actually be sharing their own materials, and there will be informations sessions.

Saturday, May 17, 2007 8a-5p
Memorial Coliseum. Curriculum fair with many workshops.

The registration fees for the Expo Preview and Resource Expo are as follows: Adults and Teens - $3.00, Children (ages 3-12) - $1.00, Children two and under -free, maximum charge per family - $10.00. Those who attend the Expo Preview will be given a free pass to Saturday’s Expo. Parking fees at the Memorial Coliseum are $4.00 per vehicle.

They also have a list of vendors on the site.

If you are a seasoned homeschooler or a new one or even thinking about homeschooling, it would be a good way for you to check into it and meet some homeschoolers in our area.

Anyone else planning to go? I might be persuaded….
blessings~