Are YOU Considering Homeschooling Your Children?

by Kelli  Johnson

So you "think" you may want to homeschool too, huh?

This is a great place to start if you are considering homeschooling your children, or just plain interested in why some of us have chosen this form of education. The best way we think we can do that is to share a testimonies from a few families:

Read Kelli's Testimony

Kelli's Personal Homeschool Testimony:

We are the Johnson's. Jay, Kelli, and our 4 boys.-Joshua 16, Jordan almost 14, Andrew 11, and Nathan 10. We first were introduced to homeschooling in 1991. I can still remember my initial thoughts. I saw a mental picture in my head...."HOMESCHOOL MOM",,, A woman on a farm, wearing a bonnet, and a long dress with Birkenstocks. I thought that I would have to conform to the image if I chose that method of education. (now please, please do not be offended if you wear a bonnet, Birkenstocks or live on a farm. In fact since then, I too have even  lived on a farm and worn Birkenstocks!  :) ha ha) I am not sure why I had that image, but initially it scared me. I think mostly because I enjoy being "unique" in style!

Well now, back to my point. I'll never forget the first discussions about homeschooling with my husband. He wasn't exactly accepting the idea. My best friend at the time was homeschooling her son, we both really respected her, and it seemed to be working out for her. We could at least talk about it, right? (In all honesty,I KNEW my husband was going to say no way, so it was "safe" to talk about it. It wasn't like I was really going to end up doing it anyway!) Since the original conversation regarding the idea wasn't received favorably, I pretty much decided to drop the subject God had different plans. Not much time passed, and the conversation came up again. To my surprise, this time Jay stated he thought we should do it. Uh oh, now what??? What did I get myself into to? While I was a bit freaked out about the idea, I resolved that it really couldn't harm our son, he is after all only 4 years old!  I can always put him in Kindergarten next year if it doesn't work out.

I was then ready to finding curriculum. Yikes, I never knew it could be so difficult. I remember going over to my friends' house. She pulled out her "very organized" filing box completely packed full of different curriculum magazines. I was deer stricken! My heart panicked, Where would I begin? How did I know what curriculum to use? There is so much to choose from. YIKES!" I left there more confused than ever and convinced that I would just try and reason with Jay about this whole crazy idea. What were we thinking? Surely, I am not called to homeschool.  I thought, "I am not smart enough. I can't even pick out curriculum." I seriously wanted to drop the whole idea and hoped my husband would agree.

God had another plan for me. About a week went by and another friend called me and said, "I feel like the Lord wants me to come over and show you my curriculum." I said, "Go ahead, I am already totally confused, what do I have to lose." Well, she came over. She showed me one three-ring binder that said "Teachers Manual" and another that said "Student Workbook". She sstated the besides a few staple items around the home like crayons, calendars, etc, that would be all I would need (except for a few regular scheduled trips to the library) I thought, "wow, I can do this, Thank you God!" (and thanks Andrea, for listening and obeying the Lord that one day so many years ago!) This is what she showed me: The Home Grown Kindergartner. (This was formerly titled Lighthouse Starter Kit written by Lloyd Bellamy (Or also Abbott Loop Christian School Kindergarten curriculum. Since then I have had the pleasure of rewriting and publishing this curriculum with Mr.Bellamy)

After the first year, we had accomplished so much. Our first son was actually reading! I taught him to read! WOW! God knew exactly what He was doing. As I look back, I will be honest that I started for the wrong reason. I was thinking "academics". Now, my heart is so different. I am so thankful that the Lord was and is in control. That is where we started, but now we homeschool our children for a completely different reason. Before continuing to read our story, please stop and pray. Yes, right now. Ask the Lord to soften your heart to what you are about to read. Please know that "we" do not want to bring you any conviction, that is the job of the "Holy Spirit". We do hope that you will see that in our home, homeschooling is much more than academics. MUCH, MUCH more!

Now, to help you see what brought us to this point in our lives, I want you to take this test:

TEST:

  
List activities here: hours
1.______________________________ ________
2. _____________________________ ________
3. _____________________________ ________
4. _____________________________ ________
5. _____________________________ ________
6. _____________________________ ________
7. _____________________________ ________
8. _____________________________ ________
9. _____________________________ ________
A. _____
B  
Step 1: Excluding yourself and your spouse, list all the people/activities, during the course of a week, where your child spends at least one hour. **Include friends, relatives, childcare, school, church, sports teams, and television.

Step 2: Now count the number of hours, of those listed that your child spends time with, that have standards and values that differ from your values and put the total in Box A.

Step 3: Count the number of wake hours that you and your spouse spend with your child, put that total of hours in Box B.

If Box A. is greater than Box B., what steps can you take to be the greater influence on your child's character?

**Just because the activity (Sunday School, Wed. night programs) may be labeled "Christian", doesn't mean that they will hold your child to the same standard you have set in your home. In fact, most of the time they are evangelizing other children so you will have a lot of influences on your child. Of course, maybe not godly influences. (Now caution here: BALANCE. Please know my heart here isn't to bash church activities or any other activity, however you might need to make some sacrifices to reach the heart of your children by spending more time with them to be "THEIR" main influence. This may include pulling them out of some/all/many of those activities for a season.)

So, here you have it, this little test was part of the process that we went through in evaluating what little time we have in their lives to reach their heart and build up their character. We want to be there to work through issues like self-control, anger, frustration, discernment. As a homeschool mom, when my sons begin looking out the window during school work or get angry with their brother, or get frustrated with their schoolwork, I want to be there to say, "What does the Word say about a undisciplined life", "What does God's Word say about having anger towards your brother, or "about giving up". Homeschooling is an awesome opportunity to be able to work on the hearts of our children each day. The Lord knows that we need all the help we can get in the world we live in today. We want them to be strong men of God with godly character. To be able to stand firm for their convictions.

If you have children already in school, you may want to start by visiting our Character Training Resources to the left. You will be sure to find many resources that will encourage you in reaching your child's heart. After all, that is the most important "subject" you can teach them.  So, begin with prayer, ask the Lord what subjects, character issues, and curriculum that He wants you to start with. I also would encourage you to pop over to my good friend Barb's site - Homeschooloasis.com for some great reading and further exploration on homeschooling. After you have made the decision to homeschool, be sure to drop us an email or call if we can help in consulting you regarding different curriculums.