Homeschooling

Monday's have become a fresh start to a new week for us. Malachi is enjoying his new job and hours. It is so nice to have him home on the weekends and home by 5pm during the week. It has brought great contentment to our home.

Baby Charlotte is growing and growing and becoming more active each day. She is proving herself to be a night owl and will kick and flip for hours at a time. I guess it is good since she still has the room to! It won't be long, and she will run out of room to flip freely! I am truly enjoying this pregnancy. I am not worried or stressed by the thoughts of labor and delivery, as I now know what to expect.

Malachi and I plan to use “The Bradley Method” to deliver Charlotte. I did get an epidural with Sofia, but only our of fear and pressure from others. This time I am confident that I can labor and deliver Charlotte naturally. Malachi is such a wonderful encouragement to me and I am blessed to have him as my coach.

I have been doing much research on homeschooling. Malachi and I decided long before we ever got pregnant the first time, that we are going to homeschool our little ones. Our Pastor and his wife, our music minister and his wife, and one other couple in our small congregation homeschool their children. They have all been a great encouragement to us as we prepare to homeschool in a few years.

The topic of whether Christian parents should homeschool or if the Bible mandates Christian parents to homeschool seems to be a “hot topic”. When Malachi and I got married, the idea of homeschooling was a “no-brainer” for us. We are both products of the government run public schools, and we honestly cannot say anything “nice” about them, or that we benefited from them either. I have found many Christian articles that support homeschooling and give a great argument and reasons why Christian parents should homeschool, however, I do realize that it is a personal conviction of each individual family. Do I think that spiritual maturity on the part of the Christian parents plays a role in the decision making process, ABSOLUTELY!

It seems the mere mention of homeschooling, or our conviction to homeschool, is offensive to those Christian parents who choose not to homeschool. We have heard just about every excuse in the book why these Christian parents choose not to homeschool. They all seem to begin with the issue of “socialization” to the “salt and light” issue. Last I checked, the mandate to be the “salt and light” to the lost world, was given by an adult to other adults, not children. In fact, Jesus tells us to let the little children come to Him. He is showing that children need to be led straight to Christ, not mandated that they are to be the salt and light. I am not saying that children cannot be a witness for Christ, but that is not their job as children. It is however, required of Christian parents to “train their children”. (Proverbs 22:6)

Does the Bible address specifically “homeschooling vs. government run public schools”? To say that it does not means one is making an argument from silence. Of course the Bible doesn't specifically mention government run public schools, as there were no government run public schools. Homeschooling was the method of schooling children from the beginning with Adam and Eve. So homeschooling has a longer track record of about 6,000 years as opposed to government run public schools which only have about an 150 year tract record. (give or take a few years)

So the burden of proof is on the government run public schools to prove they are either better or equal to the education and training a child receives in a Christian homeschooling family. I am sure one who is being honest with themselves will agree that government run schools are getting farther and farther away from Biblical morals and standards. In fact I would even leap to say they have gone totally astray. The popularity of government run public schools was not introduced until Communism and Socialism became popular about 150 years ago. Also, the manner in which public schools are run now, is a far cry from it's inception here in the US. For more information on the history and foundation of US public schools you can check out “Wall Builders”. (My pastor's wife recommended the site to me this past Sunday at church)

My husband and I do not in any way condemn Christian parents who do not homeschool. We do realize there are circumstances in which it just isn't an option. However, there are many resources that are afforded to Christian families who would like to homeschool. There are also resources that are available for single Christian parents who may want to homeschool. It is all a matter of getting out there and finding them. Malachi and I also agree that when a family is having financial hardships that keep them from homeschooling, the church needs to step in and offer aid. The Church won't know of a need unless they are told. So again, the responsibility is on the parents to make the appropriate sacrifices to homeschool should they feel convicted to do so.

Here are some resources that may help in making the decision to homeschool:

Homeschool Legal Defense Association

Biblical Reasons to Homeschool from the HSLDA Website

Homeschool vs. Public School—Article By: Corrine over at WholeHearted Boys—see Aug 28, 2007 Post

10 Good Reasons to Homeschool By: Greg Sherman, Ph.D.

101 Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids

Answers to Objections About Homeschooling By: Fred Worth

A Beka Homeschool Program

Sonlight Homeschool Program

Homeschool Today! Magazine and online resource

Preschooling at Home

The Heart of Christian Homeschooling By: Marc and Cynthia Carrier of Homeschool Enrichment

Hearts for Family—Homeschooling Articles

I will be continuing my research into the benefits of homeschooling verses placing children in government run public schools. I will also be blogging more on the issue as well and sharing our journey of homeschooling, when Sofia begins an actual curriculum. For now, she is learning all she needs to learn from her father and I. We take full responsibility for our little ones.

Got questions or comments? Feel free to leave them. Remember to remain respectful.

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <>< (SAHM)