Elizabeth's Top Ten Homeschool Requirements
1) Have children.
This is the hardest part. Once you have done this all the other decisions are a piece of cake
2)Like those children, or at least, wish you did.
Part of the reason to keep small people about you is because you enjoy having them there. At the very least you hope to teach them to be the kind of people with which you would like to associate. The best way to do that is to spend time together. I always read in inspirational books about the importance of the company you keep, things like "You are the average of your five closest friends." If influence of those we are surrounded by is so important, doesn't it make sense that we would like to have our children close to us?
3) Think highly of yourself.
This can be the tricky part for some people. But if you are a child of God, you should get this figured out. You are made in the image of the Almighty. If you know Christ and have been filled with his spirit, you have access to everything in the storehouses of heaven. God says that he LIVES in you. How much more qualified can you get?
4) Get over yourself.
The Bible says that our "sons will be taught by the Lord." Like everything in parenting, we do our best but rely on God for the outcome. Any parent who has held their child through the night and not been able to calm their crying knows how powerless parenting can feel at times. When Joe almost died, right next to me in bed, it was a wake up call about who is in charge around this home anyway. No matter what we do right or wrong, we will never be perfect. We will never be in control. I've said before that motherhood is a paradox of surrender, God in one glorious moment gives us a precious new life and we spend the rest of ours learning how to give that gift back to him.
5)Be passionate.
You've heard it said, "He who doesn't stand for something will fall for anything." Vision is very important. In order to risk your home, your free time and possibly your sanity, you need to have something that gets you fired up enough that you want it to be ingrained in your children. For me this is the easy part. I love Jesus, he is the breath in my life and the song in my night. He gives me hope, freedom and joy. Life without him would be like living in a water color scene painted only in grey, depressing. I think there is no meaning to life without the Lord and I think that alone is worth sacrificing everything so that my children can experience that truth.
But wait- there's more! :) Our country is unlike any that has come before. It was birthed through the blood, sweat and tears of those who longed for freedom. It is a beautiful place, and it's very core is under attack. I am surrounded by a generation of people who do not truly understand the gift that they have been born into, to be an American citizen. I want my children to know what they have, to understand where they come from. I want them to know that God cares about nations and that he has a plan for ours. This is big deal.
Have I mentioned family? The nucleus, the building block of God's design for nations, is also under attack in our day. Many people grow up not knowing what a true family even looks like. They have not seen love, commitment, and sacrifice. They have been shortchanged by a "Me" generation that cared only for themselves. In another great paradox, those who live only for themselves miss out on the fulness of all there is in life. We were meant to grow and live together, connected, not isolated and independent. Restoring family is so vital to our society, and how better to do that than gathered around the dining room table, day after day, night after night.
6) Don't be afraid!
So many people I talk to hide behind fears to keep them from taking up the education of their children. The Bible tells us to "train up our children" (not to send our children off every day for 6-8 hours for someone else to train them, I might add) Other than that it's pretty quiet on the whole "school" subject, which leads me to believe that God gives us a lot of room for options when it comes to training children. One thing the bible is very clear on though is fear. Look it up. Fear not, God is with you, be not afraid, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Be bold and trust God. Trust that he will teach your kids and show you the best path for them. Recognize whose voice you are listening to when you are thinking thoughts of dread, anxiety or worry, probably not the voice of heaven.
7) Check your qualifications.
You may not feel qualified to teach your child at home. How you feel is not the truth. If you are reading this blog you have all the skills that are necessary to teach your child at home (you can read and you can access the internet). God has given us the responsibility to train our children. He has given us authority over them. He did not give that responsibility and authority to the state. He chose parents, qualified or not to be the guardians and instructors of our children. Sure you may not be fluent in french, skilled in handy crafts or a whiz at algebra. These things are not required to homeschool. Despite what our society has said about teaching, pretty much anyone can do it. If you know something you can teach it. It's not rocket science. But hey, if it actually were rocket science your kids were after, you could point them to the internet and library and they could probably get a good start on figuring it out.
8) Be willing to work hard.
Titus and I agree we don't really care about the specifics of what our kids learn (apart from the basics) as long as they learn to work hard. If our children know how to learn, how to apply themselves, how to be disciplined, they will be able to learn whatever they want to know in life. Lack of work ethic seems to be one of the greatest deficiencies in our current generation, although from reading Proverbs one can see that this is hardly a new problem. This one is sometimes hard for me, but the best way to train our children is by example. So living a life on purpose, full of diligence and hard work is a big part of training up those little people who come behind.
9) Be flexible.
Sometimes this means adding rigidity to your life :) I, by nature, would prefer to flit around the house like a butterfly all day, doing whatever strikes my fancy. I am learning this is not necessarily the best learning path for all children. Part of homeschooling is being willing to change, and for me that's going to mean adding structure for my oldest son, who thrives on order and method. But that's okay, we can do that. We are lean and mean and can change our lives to accommodate any learning style. You've got to love that!
10) Don't take your self too seriously.
Brain people, who study brains and such, have found that the number one deterrent to learning is fear. Fear of messing up, fear of punishment, fear of judgement, ect. Kids who are doing well emotionally have the best time learning scholastically. So keep your home a happy place. Don't worry if it happens to be covered in dog hair, banana mash and baby snot. Don't worry about test scores, comparing yourself to some one else's blog, or what will happen if your children are behind. Life is too short for worrying. So instead I recommend, laugh, squeeze a small person and grab a cookie if necessary.
God has given us all that we need pertaining to life and godliness, so if he has called you to educate your kids at home, you have EVERYTHING that you need.
This is the hardest part. Once you have done this all the other decisions are a piece of cake
2)Like those children, or at least, wish you did.
Part of the reason to keep small people about you is because you enjoy having them there. At the very least you hope to teach them to be the kind of people with which you would like to associate. The best way to do that is to spend time together. I always read in inspirational books about the importance of the company you keep, things like "You are the average of your five closest friends." If influence of those we are surrounded by is so important, doesn't it make sense that we would like to have our children close to us?
3) Think highly of yourself.
This can be the tricky part for some people. But if you are a child of God, you should get this figured out. You are made in the image of the Almighty. If you know Christ and have been filled with his spirit, you have access to everything in the storehouses of heaven. God says that he LIVES in you. How much more qualified can you get?
4) Get over yourself.
The Bible says that our "sons will be taught by the Lord." Like everything in parenting, we do our best but rely on God for the outcome. Any parent who has held their child through the night and not been able to calm their crying knows how powerless parenting can feel at times. When Joe almost died, right next to me in bed, it was a wake up call about who is in charge around this home anyway. No matter what we do right or wrong, we will never be perfect. We will never be in control. I've said before that motherhood is a paradox of surrender, God in one glorious moment gives us a precious new life and we spend the rest of ours learning how to give that gift back to him.
5)Be passionate.
You've heard it said, "He who doesn't stand for something will fall for anything." Vision is very important. In order to risk your home, your free time and possibly your sanity, you need to have something that gets you fired up enough that you want it to be ingrained in your children. For me this is the easy part. I love Jesus, he is the breath in my life and the song in my night. He gives me hope, freedom and joy. Life without him would be like living in a water color scene painted only in grey, depressing. I think there is no meaning to life without the Lord and I think that alone is worth sacrificing everything so that my children can experience that truth.
But wait- there's more! :) Our country is unlike any that has come before. It was birthed through the blood, sweat and tears of those who longed for freedom. It is a beautiful place, and it's very core is under attack. I am surrounded by a generation of people who do not truly understand the gift that they have been born into, to be an American citizen. I want my children to know what they have, to understand where they come from. I want them to know that God cares about nations and that he has a plan for ours. This is big deal.
Have I mentioned family? The nucleus, the building block of God's design for nations, is also under attack in our day. Many people grow up not knowing what a true family even looks like. They have not seen love, commitment, and sacrifice. They have been shortchanged by a "Me" generation that cared only for themselves. In another great paradox, those who live only for themselves miss out on the fulness of all there is in life. We were meant to grow and live together, connected, not isolated and independent. Restoring family is so vital to our society, and how better to do that than gathered around the dining room table, day after day, night after night.
6) Don't be afraid!
So many people I talk to hide behind fears to keep them from taking up the education of their children. The Bible tells us to "train up our children" (not to send our children off every day for 6-8 hours for someone else to train them, I might add) Other than that it's pretty quiet on the whole "school" subject, which leads me to believe that God gives us a lot of room for options when it comes to training children. One thing the bible is very clear on though is fear. Look it up. Fear not, God is with you, be not afraid, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Be bold and trust God. Trust that he will teach your kids and show you the best path for them. Recognize whose voice you are listening to when you are thinking thoughts of dread, anxiety or worry, probably not the voice of heaven.
7) Check your qualifications.
You may not feel qualified to teach your child at home. How you feel is not the truth. If you are reading this blog you have all the skills that are necessary to teach your child at home (you can read and you can access the internet). God has given us the responsibility to train our children. He has given us authority over them. He did not give that responsibility and authority to the state. He chose parents, qualified or not to be the guardians and instructors of our children. Sure you may not be fluent in french, skilled in handy crafts or a whiz at algebra. These things are not required to homeschool. Despite what our society has said about teaching, pretty much anyone can do it. If you know something you can teach it. It's not rocket science. But hey, if it actually were rocket science your kids were after, you could point them to the internet and library and they could probably get a good start on figuring it out.
8) Be willing to work hard.
Titus and I agree we don't really care about the specifics of what our kids learn (apart from the basics) as long as they learn to work hard. If our children know how to learn, how to apply themselves, how to be disciplined, they will be able to learn whatever they want to know in life. Lack of work ethic seems to be one of the greatest deficiencies in our current generation, although from reading Proverbs one can see that this is hardly a new problem. This one is sometimes hard for me, but the best way to train our children is by example. So living a life on purpose, full of diligence and hard work is a big part of training up those little people who come behind.
9) Be flexible.
Sometimes this means adding rigidity to your life :) I, by nature, would prefer to flit around the house like a butterfly all day, doing whatever strikes my fancy. I am learning this is not necessarily the best learning path for all children. Part of homeschooling is being willing to change, and for me that's going to mean adding structure for my oldest son, who thrives on order and method. But that's okay, we can do that. We are lean and mean and can change our lives to accommodate any learning style. You've got to love that!
10) Don't take your self too seriously.
Brain people, who study brains and such, have found that the number one deterrent to learning is fear. Fear of messing up, fear of punishment, fear of judgement, ect. Kids who are doing well emotionally have the best time learning scholastically. So keep your home a happy place. Don't worry if it happens to be covered in dog hair, banana mash and baby snot. Don't worry about test scores, comparing yourself to some one else's blog, or what will happen if your children are behind. Life is too short for worrying. So instead I recommend, laugh, squeeze a small person and grab a cookie if necessary.
God has given us all that we need pertaining to life and godliness, so if he has called you to educate your kids at home, you have EVERYTHING that you need.
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