These are all things I have been told about home schooling

You have more patience than me

My child is so social, he/she loves school

I could never teach, I am not called to do that. I need to be away from my kids to be a better parent.

My kids are being salt and light in their school.

  I have had my share of home school opportunities this week and somehow I have come away from them dissatisfied at my answers and frustrated by the hurt they can invoke.Yet, the questions I am asked I know we have all heard and as homeschooler's, we must be ready to answer. 

If I had to answer quickly these would be my answers. I have no more patience than you, my boys are social too, and they love playing just as much as the kids in school. We are all called to train up a child.  Everyone needs breaks, but just because I don’t have as many does not mean I am not a good parent. Last, training as a disciple takes time and although many children can and do lead people to the Lord, I feel that their primary calling is not to be salt and light, but to be  trained up in the ways of the Lord.

 Up until now, I have been a homeshcooler who believed there is no perfect system.  I believed that how we educate our kids is a choice and that we were called to homeshcool and some where not. I am changing my mind.  I am also beginning to believe it is the church’s responsibility to promote and encourage the movement within their congregation.  It is a command that we “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4   There is no greater way to achieve this and know that it takes place, than to observe and instill it in your own home.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a church saturated with future leaders all being thoroughly instructed in the Lord, not just a youth group or sunday school, but each and everyday in the home? 

I am seeing that this challenge and heavy responsibility to train up the next generation is just as important a mission as bringing people to the Lord.  It is a part of the discipleship process. It is a part of the parenting process and it is sadly overlooked and largely underestimated in its influence.

I have to make others understand that is not about being right, or holy or radical, it is about obeying the command, raising the next generation of God lovers and being there for one another through it all. 

My child is so social and just loves school?  Aka who is in charge?

  God holds us accountable to meet our children’s needs. We must nourish them mentally, spiritually and intellectually.  If a child loves candy do you give it to them everyday or any time they ask just because they love it?

 Why then do we send them to school just because they may love it?  Loving it does not mean it is good for them.  Every human being is designed to be social. We thrive and survive on human contact.  My boys are no different.  However, school is not a social playground; it is supposed to be an educational institution.  Recess and lunch are supposed to be the times to develop relationships, all 15 minutes of  them.

Right now, I am the parent. I need to decide what my children need, based not on what they like, but on what eternity requires.  Home educated kids are not any less social than others, but it is the quality, not quantity of the social interactions that must be considered. Just as I would not let them eat chips every meal, every day. I will not let them waste their potential every day, feasting on what other’s, who do not know my child at all, say is important.

 My kids are being witnesses.

 I believe there is reason it takes about 18 years and longer, for a child to mature.  It is then, that they are ready to be planted, and then they are ready to take on the challenge of being salt and light.

Placing a six year old in the battle field reminds me of planting a seed in the winter.  A seed needs the perfect environment to grow. It needs heat, light and water and careful attention of someone to make sure it is not being destroyed by bugs or drought or disease.  Can you see the resemblance?   Someone needs to watch over the seeds to get them from germination to harvest.  Premature planting, lack of attention to its needs will cause it to die or cease to be fruitful.

 We are called to instruct our kids, to train them, to give them roots.  Why do we allow a government system to determine when our kids are ready to be planted elsewhere?   Christian or non Christian schools is not the issue, the issue is that I am accountable to God for how I raised HIS seeds.  When I picture standing before him to give an account  I can’t imagine He will be pleased when I explain how I shipped them off at 3 or 4 or even 6 to be raised by someone else.  Like it or not that is what the reality is.  30+ hours a week they are not in our gardens, under our care and when you uproot  and transplant to often we all know the outcome.

Many adults are barley ready to handle the witnessing, let alone an impressionable child.  To much burden is placed on young children, learning to read is challenging enough without the adults around them also expecting them to evangelize the playground.  Being ready to answer the hard questions of ones faith takes time. I plan on helping my children answer these questions by the time they leave home, not by the start of kindergarten.  A young plant is not required to produce fruit.  It is too much of a risk to place our kids on the front lines of battle. They are not spiritually mature nor do they have enough knowledge of the Word. 

Am I accused of sheltering them? Absolutely. But I am that shelter until they reach adult hood. I have been called to train them up, it is my responsibility and all the accusations in the world will not change the command on my life.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

 We are all commanded in this. I truly believe that if we take the time to hear what God has to say you will find that the reasons are right for the responsibility of training them up to come back to the parents. He did not give one mum more patience than another, when He gave us children He did not ask if you had a degree in parenting. It is the hardest job on earth and when the bundle of joy arrived you were called qualified. Qualified to care and train and raise them up in the Lord, mind, soul, body and spirit.  Life is hard for everyone, and we all need a break from what it is we do in life, but what makes a better parent, is the parent who will  consider eternity and weigh the cost involved of letting this command be filled by someone else.

 We are all witnesses in the way we live. Is home schooling not another way to be in the world but not of it? When one questions why my boys are not in school, it is a wonderful opportunity to share what we do and why with others.  The boys can witness what evangelism looks like and practice answereing the hard questions all in the company of an adult who is there to guide them and help them grow into the knowledge of the Lord.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

 What are the needs of my child?

Whatever they are, they are best meet in the environment of the home.  Yes, even social needs.  God designed the family unit for a reason, it is the perfect place to grow and develop lasting eternal relationships.  Extended family alone offers more than enough social opportunities.  Siblings can be best friends and there is nothing wrong with that.  My boys have their best friends living and playing with them every moment of the day. There is nothing as sweet as that.

 Diversity of life

 Creation is diverse. So why would God create humans to be any different?  A classroom of 30 six year olds does not respect, nor represent the diversity of life we were meant to have.  The adult word is not age segregated so why do we still believe it is best to teach children in an age segregated environment? This in no way prepares them for the real world. We learn best what is socially acceptable by being with adults who understand and are themselves mature adults. Ask any teacher what is the most challenging part of their day, and it will not be teaching a child to read, it will be teaching them to sit still and to stop talking!

 You see, as I am meeting neighbors around me and listening to mums with children in the school system, I am troubled by what I hear. I hurt that there are six year olds who hate their life, are being bullied on the bus. I hurt when I hear how homework hours eat even more of the day away from these already streched families. I am frustrated that  I know of a way to ease these burdens and it needs to be heard and encouraged. Homeschooling is not perfect, then again nothing in this life besides Jesus is, but it is becoming an educational system that is best for families and the perfect environment in which to grow and train up the next generation. It has become best for a generation of children profoundly affected by violence, drugs, pornography and broken families. If we are going to be salt and light, if we are going to bring neighbors to the Lord, then we have to also provide for their needs and where I am at, I see the need to bring children back to the families, to foster more family time and to teach them above all else from the Word of God.  It is one of the most rewarding ways to fulfill our command.

 The souls of my boys is a serious matter. The people and friends we interact with have influence over them, and if to much of the influence is worldy directed and anti God then it is cause for conern and time to take action.  Gambling with their souls is playing God.  If sending them to school and hoping they turn out is like playing the lottery than I think I will bring them home and take my chances that they will be citizens of God, protected in the shadow of His wing and allowed to grow and learn in the freedom  of our home with respect to who God made them. To everything there is a season etc  each of my boys is in a different season of learning, each one learns so differently. The freedom they have to grow into who God needs them to be is not worth gambling with.

I pray today that the next time I am faced with oppostion, or honest questions about what I do, I can offer others the encouragment along with the truth, that there is no better place to grow up the nations next generation, then in the commands of the Lord right where He placed them in the beginning, in our own homes.