Doors And Windows: Access To The Homeschool Blessing

By: Sandra

Me? Homeschool? “Why on earth would a person want to homeschool?” That’s what I used to wonder. It’s a fair question. I can’t say that it’s something I used to dream of doing. I’m not sure anyone really dreamed of homeschooling in life before children. Ha! Can you imagine? But something happens along the way. A door of opportunity opens. And we, as parents, are positioned to recognize it...if our vision is sharp...and our eyes are not dulled from thinking of the impossibilities.

Actually, the opportunity is more like a window than a door, I’d say. You may not realize that this window has been open for your child since the beginning of your relationship with him. You child has been responding to you as a teacher since the day of his birth. You taught him feeding times, songs, potty chair etiquette, sharing with friends, kitchen appliance dangers, traffic light rules, and hand washing after visits to Diaper-Mart and doctors’ offices. You have been the source of valuable life skills and information, and you’ve had the invaluable privilege of providing the context around that data, so that he can synthesize all the wonder of the whys. This window of learning does not remain raised indefinitely. There inevitably arrives a day when the child begins to lower the learning window because he doesn’t trust the source of what comes through it. It’s distorted or it doesn’t mesh well with the lessons he has mastered previously, at home. Or he turns away from the window because he is overloaded by what he sees or hears coming through it, which may occur because of its volume or its presentation, or due to distraction.

A raised window of learning is a treasure to a child and to the life of a family. Through it, the child comes to know himself higher and better than he ever could have outside of the home. Helping a child realize the fullness of his God-given identity is beautiful truth in action. It not only equips him with knowledge for the decisions of life, it undergirds him with the confident truth of knowing who he is in God’s eyes. This is actualized as we convey our love and sacrifice to him every day, as we place his needs before our own.

As a child develops and learns under our tutelage, we resonate priceless messages of esteem and potential into the child’s present... and into the future. A legacy is staked out for future generations in our families, because we are establishing a solid foundation for understanding, wisdom, and victory in life, based on a relationship that God ordained and honors. Of course the parent-child relationship continues regardless of a choice to homeschool or not. However, surrendering our role as primary educator to another institution has long-term implications that are difficult to anticipate. Should we decide to reestablish that primary teacher role again, we can be sure a battle for territory will ensue. How difficult or easily it is recaptured depends on the truth taught in our home and the degree to which that truth was maintained in the educational institution we chose for our child.

“This is too big.” Have you caught yourself thinking that yet? It’s there, in the corner of your mind, I can assure you. I’m not sugar-coating this homeschool blessing. It is entirely wonderful for the education of the children and for the family which desires to flourish in the favor of God. But it is marked with a price tag. Scanning the barcode for this homeschool item requires the buyer to pay many installments of sweat, planning, determination, and prayer (to name a few). But there is also a buyer rebate. After your decision to invest, you get to see your child develop, become independent, be integrated with all age-groups in society, and observe him knowing himself through his strengths and potential...the way heaven sees him. And, of course, there are lots of field trips and hugs too.

I encourage you to act now. Take full advantage of the open window on your child’s learning. Find out more about homeschooling and what that would mean for your family. Here’s an easy place to start:

1. Find out about state homeschooling law.

For Maryland.

For other states.

2. Find out about teaching styles and learning styles.

Two helpful resources are Cynthia Tobias’ books, The Way They Learn, and They Can Succeed.

In Harford County, Maryland, They Can Succeed is available at the public library.

In Harford County, Maryland, The Way They Learn is available through interlibrary loan.

3. Contact a local homeschool umbrella group to assist you in this process. They do this all the time, and enjoy sharing resources or setting up an informal meeting with a parent to show you first-hand how they homeschool...All with no strings attached. One such umbrella group that I’ve found to have seasoned, veteran homeschoolers is Salem Christian School. (Although it’s called “school,” it’s an umbrella.)