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The Importance Of Knowing Your Homeschooling Why

Our Getting Started Homeschool Story

When our three oldest children were in third grade, first grade, and kindergarten, the Lord started working on my heart and changing my perspective about how I was raising them, how we were educating them, and much more. He was calling our family to home education, though I couldn’t understand why. Our children were in a wonderful Christian school where they had teachers who loved and prayed for them. Yet God was clearly impressing on my heart the need to take a leap of faith. I’ve got to be honest: I argued with God for a couple of months, thinking that surely I was hearing Him wrong and misunderstanding His leading. To be completely transparent, I was also afraid of what David would say when I told him, but I was amazed to find out that God had been laying the foundation for that conversation in David’s heart and mind as well. After some prayer about it as a couple, we felt confident in the Lord’s leading for our family.

We introduced the idea to our children shortly thereafter, expecting that it would take a big sales job to get them excited about what was coming. Instead, we found them eager to jump into the new adventure. In fact, they wanted to start right away instead of waiting until the next school year! After a good deal of research, I decided that we would stick with their current curriculum to make the transition easier on my children and allow me to feel more confident in what they were learning at least for the first year. So in the fall, as my oldest son started fourth grade, we began our foray into home education.

Our Homeschool Why

For David and I, homeschooling is a tool for our ultimate mission- the discipleship of our children. We realized that our time with them is incredibly short, and we needed to utilize that time as strategically as we possibly could to help them have a solid foundation for their faith and to build their life upon. We set out that year to educate them in such as way as to not only grow their mind, but also to gain their hearts.

What God has done through the years has been amazing. He has forged strong relationships within our family. He has given us opportunities that we would have never had in any other educational situation. He has opened doors for service. He has shaped within our children a heart that loves God and loves people so much that they make decisions day in and day out based on Who they love and Whose they are. That is a miraculous work of grace, and I truly believe that God blessed the step of obedience David and I took all those years ago as we remodeled our lives, rethought education and parenting, and made the discipleship of our children a top priority.

What’s Your Homeschooling Story?

For some of you, you started homeschooling because it was thrust upon you. You didn’t ask for it. You didn’t plan for it. You just knew you had to take action for the sake of your children. That’s an OK reason to start, but it is certainly not a reason that will keep you on this valuable path for any longer than the immediate need lasts. If you believe, then, that God is calling or has called you to invest in your children in this way, I encourage you to pray through your “why” and ask God to give you direction and insight. I’d love to hear your story, too! Send me a note– or tell me within TTD365– so we can all rejoice together in how God is leading your family!

 

Homeschooling Resources For You:

  • Rethink Education— This short ebook will help you look at some of the scary questions about home education and start to see them as exciting possibilities. It’s a foundational look at a lot of the practical considerations surrounding homeschooling. Click here to download that ebook now.
  • How To Homeschool With Confidence E-Course— Rachael Carman and I recorded a getting started homeschooling course a few years ago. In this 15-lesson course, the two of us will walk you through how to get started, what it looks like, how God can use homeschooling, and much more. Click here to learn more about this ECourse and order a copy now.
  • Write Your Why Printable— download this little printable to help you work through your big why you are homeschooling. I would encourage you to write your version of that why and have your spouse write theirs separately. Then, come together to form a cohesive why that you can lean on when days get hard. Click here to download that printable now.  Also check out the Write Your Story Printable to chronicle how God brought you to where you are as a family. These are both great resources to keep on hand for the days when you may be inclined to give up. Click here to download the Write your Story Printable.
  • Teach Them Diligently 365— if you are a homeschooler, no matter what stage of the journey you are in, you should join Teach Them Diligently 365. With more than 1,900 audio recordings and 200 video recordings already there, plus more being added weekly, you will have all the information and resources you could ever need right at your fingertips. In addition to the resources, you will also find yourself part of an amazing community of homeschool moms and dads who are making choices for their families that are very similar to the ones you are. They are there for fellowship, advice, encouragement, and a lot of fun! Click here to check out TTD365 and join us today! 
  • Homeschooling Families Podcast— Get more insight into our homeschooling story and our why by listening to the Homeschooling Families Podcast. Click here to listen to that specific podcast. Click here to check out all the podcast episodes.
  • Attend a Teach Them Diligently Event— With 6 more events this season, there is still time to secure your ticket and join us for a live event. Click here to find an event.