Our homeschooling journey has been just that, a journey. I was not homeschooled so I didn’t have a grid for it. Even when God began to lay it on our hearts it was a process of back and forth for us. I was pregnant with my firstborn when I felt God impressing the idea of it on my heart. That’s how I knew it was God—because I never dreamed of homeschooling. But there it was, this far-out idea that had captured me. I couldn’t get it out of my head and it eventually made its way to my heart. Then I spoke to my husband about it and he was not onboard. Like me, he did not have a grid for homeschooling and he is from Switzerland where things run very differently from America so it was extra work for him to jump aboard. He made good points as to why our children would go to a public school and his points made sense to me. Like how our children needed to be the light because that’s what we are called to as children of God; and that’s true. So I hopped back over to sending our kids to a public school. But as the years passed God kept bringing it up until I knew deep within me that this was the right way. Our children are indeed called to be a light, but to be a light they must spend time getting to know the light of the world himself so that they can mature to be the light wherever they go. And this begins at home. So I began to pray for my husband’s heart too, just as God had changed my own and that’s exactly what he did—he spoke to my husband in his own time and together we gave God our BIG YES. And shortly after that, so much began to unravel that had been hidden in the public school system along with new ideas that we knew were nothing short of the devil’s handiwork. We praised God for caring that much about us; to lead us down the path of homeschooling our children so that they would be covered from the enemy’s agenda. We have just kicked off our first year of homeschooling with our first child. We are completely grateful for this season of our lives.
What homeschool looks like for us.
While it has been and will continue to be a journey for us, we’ve nailed down our foundational approach to homeschooling and that is Charlotte Mason & Classical approach. Most choose either, or. I struggled with both and was challenged by both. Both ways of homeschooling I found to be incredible. I also found things I didn’t like. I watched our kids, mostly our kindergartener, learning more about how God made him to learn and approach the world. I studied different methods, tried things here and there, talked with my hubby and just recently began to discover what suits us best and this is what we found: We are a hands on wild and free family and we have a high value for learning. The classical approach is built on bringing things back to God whilst also having an incredible education and community. The Charlotte Mason approach is very hands on, full of good literature and helping the child discover a love of learning. So I took my classical curriculum and I’ve started weaving hands on learning and good literature throughout. And it has become wonderful. Alive to all of us. We are enjoying our days together. Learning more about one another. Taking trips to see ducks by the pond and learning about their webbed feet and life. Dancing to math rhymes. Singing history. Learning art. Reading real, good, living books. While we are just at the beginning I am thrilled for the weeks to come. I know it’s going to be as brilliant as it already feels. I also know there will be hard days. But I am committed to God in this calling. I’m committed to His ability to carry it out in us. He made us after all. He knows how to help us through the beautiful and the difficult.
What about you?
What about you and your journey? Are you considering homeschooling? Are you already there or are you just interested? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below. 🤗 Thanks for reading!
Happy Fall,
Jessica
