God
This
is the number one reason: I am called. So starting with the Word, I believe the bible
lays it out plainly for me.
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not
exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and
instruction of the Lord.”
Deut. 4:9 “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not
forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long
as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Deut. 6:5-7 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
2 Cor 10:5 says “…bringing every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
Isaiah 38:9 “The father to the children
shall make known thy truth”
Luke 6:40 states “A student is not
above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
Which teacher do I want them to be like?
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
How
am I to teach my children if they are gone all day long? How can I
hide God’s word in their heart if most of the opportunities happen when they
are at school? How can I truly impress upon their hearts if I only see them at
dinner and at bedtime? How can I make
sure they learn to bring every thought captive to Christ if they are spending
80% of their day with someone else?
Opportunities
The
opportunities for spiritual, character, academic, social, and family time when
homeschooling are special! I believe the American family institution is in big trouble
. It’s too easy to get caught up in the business of this world,
running from one activity to the next or whatever takes up our time.
Homeschooling affords our family the precious commodity of time. Time spent
together, and frankly that’s really what our kids want from us, our time. How
few years we have our children with us before they move on to their own lives.
At
home, I can make sure they are mastering the subjects, which means that they go at the right pace for
each child, have one-on-one teaching, and I can tailor and adapt my
curriculum to their needs. There are many subjects that are not taught is
public school and even private schools because of time, standards, government interference (Separation
of church & state) that my children may be interested in or that I think
they should learn. I also do not believe
that God created us all to be alike, therefore we do not all learn alike. In today’s society children are categorized
to fit in the box whether it is educational or developmental. If they do not fit into this box then they
are categorized at “Special needs” or “Developmentally Delayed” or on the
opposite side “Gifted”. These labels can
cause many issues for kids (and in becoming adults) in the areas of
self-confidence and entitlement.
Socially
I think I misunderstood the
word socialization, as that the idea that spending time with 30 other ? year
olds is in some way ‘socializing’ my child. Go to your local elementary, junior
high, or high school, walk down the hallways, and tell me which behavior you
see that you think our children should emulate. Definition of
‘socialization’- The process of learning
interpersonal and interactional skills that are in conformity with the values
of one's society.
Not what I want for my children - we are in this world but not of this world.
I
do think they need to spend time with friends, but I also believe that these
times need to be supervised and intentional for this purpose. Children are still in training and don’t
necessarily have the capacity to make the right decisions. Social situations are a great time to teach
them manners, conflict resolution- how to get along, sharing etc. But how can we teach them in these situations
if we are not there to be observing them.
We can allow them to be with other adults that we know share the same
beliefs and morals. But I am very weary
of leaving them in the care of someone that I do not know their beliefs or
morals.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Proverbs 22: 24-25 “Do not make friends with the hot-tempered, do not associate with
those who are easily angered; or you may learn their ways and get yourself
ensnared.”
1 Cor 15:33 Do not be mislead: “bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Cor 15:33 Do not be mislead: “bad company corrupts good character.”
We
asked ourselves “What do we want our children to look like when they’ve finished
their formal education?
Luke
2:52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and
men.”
We
want them to learn to trust in the Word of God, to have it hidden in their
heart. We want to train them in the way they should go, so it may go well with
them. We want them to be healthy, confident, and to know they are beautifully
and wonderfully made. We want them to keep their childlike faith, and we want
them to be a light in this world. We want them to be confident, to have
good manners, to be compassionate, to be respectful, and to be humble in
spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment