In our family, much of what we do for education is "intangible" to a certain degree, meaning we experience it, but it doesn't always translate to a concrete, paper-pencil product. Although I keep binders and workbooks for records, at times I've felt disappointed that so much of what we do for school and what we're learning together goes undocumented...and it's the undocumented stuff, the life experiences, the triumphs of the heart that mean the most to me.
I'm always seeking spiritual encouragement, primarily through God's Word, but I also appreciate other sources of practical affirmation for the homeschool journey/life journey we're on. My heart's desire is to offer back to God some of what He's generously bestowed upon me over the years and I'm prayerful that the words here can do just that. May what He's teaching me pour out for His glory and may the meditation of my heart be acceptable in His sight as I follow Him wholeheartedly through these homeschooling years.
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."
Psalm 19:14
Over the years, as I've pondered deeply how we educate our children, I've transitioned and grown and changed.
I'm constantly listening for the voice of the Lord as I search Scripture for His will for our growing family, asking
the Holy Spirit to convict and guide as we seek to please Him with how we live our lives and educate our children.
I'm constantly listening for the voice of the Lord as I search Scripture for His will for our growing family, asking
the Holy Spirit to convict and guide as we seek to please Him with how we live our lives and educate our children.
This chronicle is part of that journey as it unfolds...
Along the homeschooling journey, I realized at some point that God was nudging me to follow my instincts and focus our homeschooling more and more on what matters most...Him. At the outset of our 2012-2013 school year, I realized that the homeschool tides were turning and how we had "done school" historically was changing. As followers of Christ, we pray to morph over the years as we mature in Him. We hope that five or ten years from now, things will look different yet again as we grow. We are not interested in stagnance.
We certainly don't have all the answers and we really don't fit very well in the box,
but prayerfully this blog can serve as a memoir of sorts for my family and maybe even an encouragement to another homeschooling mom or dad who seeks the same goals we do...
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:37-39
I've kept a private record of our homeschooling in the past and I write more frequently at a tree and its fruit, but with all the homeschool conversations I find myself engaged in, I thought this blog might be a space to share more of the path God's taking us on through our choice to educate at home. It serves to document some of our curriculum choices and homeschool activities as well as a visual aid for a bit of our homeschooling scrapbook in a way. Perhaps it might even dispel some of the mystery that homeschooling is intimidating and shed light on just how fun and rewarding extra time together with our children really is...even in and sometimes especially through the challenges.
I've kept a private record of our homeschooling in the past and I write more frequently at a tree and its fruit, but with all the homeschool conversations I find myself engaged in, I thought this blog might be a space to share more of the path God's taking us on through our choice to educate at home. It serves to document some of our curriculum choices and homeschool activities as well as a visual aid for a bit of our homeschooling scrapbook in a way. Perhaps it might even dispel some of the mystery that homeschooling is intimidating and shed light on just how fun and rewarding extra time together with our children really is...even in and sometimes especially through the challenges.
I'm beyond thankful for life lessons that hurdle the boundaries of textbook learning through blessings that homeschool provides. And, I'm so grateful that the Lord prompted our hearts to a reevaluation of our educational experience as our family has grown and changed. I look forward to what He has planned for us with each new school year and eagerly accept His grooming process through the tough times as well, believing our trials produce a harvest. Mostly, I pray we can glorify God in our parenting and homeschooling and in everything that we do!
"So, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31