Homeschooling

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I Peter 1:5-8

My husband Scott is a terrific and safe person to talk with on pretty much any topic because he is thoughtful with his words, sensitive to the feelings of others, slow to speak and quick to listen.  Many women like to externally process, and I am a huge external processor, and fortunately for me, Scott is very good at giving me the time I need to do so. He is the final decision-maker on all family matters, but He seems to have this amazing ability when we are not in agreement to bring me around so gently and patiently to understanding how his point of view is better for our family that I often feel guilty referring to my following his lead as submission because he has made it so easy to do.  

But then there was this one day... our son, Cole, was almost three years old and Scott was away on SCC's "All Things New" 72-city tour and our main source of communication was over the phone.  Often while on tour we did not have the luxury of talking at any great length because of things going on at my end, at his end or both.  So, this one afternoon he called and said, "Can't talk very long but I wanted to let you know that I want you to home school Cole. I've been talking a lot with Melanie Hall from Casting Crowns about home schooling, she's the lead singer's wife and she home schools her kids and I am convinced it would be good for Cole too."  I simply said, "OK, I will commit to doing preschool this year." And that is pretty much all that was said.  I got off the phone stunned.  

This isn't the kind of thing he should have just told me...is it?!  Shouldn't we have discussed this together for a long time - weighing the pros and cons...looking at school systems around the area, talking with lots of folks..letting me process out loud for a month or so, pray and pray and pray some more, letting me talk with other women about it...until we reach this conclusion together?  We both went to public school and we had yet to even discuss what we were going to do about our children's education.  And Isn't that my area anyhow, as the one who would be doing the schooling? 

I didn't have the luxury of talking about all these things with him and I was so stunned I just sort of moved on mentally and went about the rest of my day.  From that time to the next time I had the opportunity to speak with Scott, the Lord was continually reminding me of Scott's character.  How this is so out of character for him to "tell" me what to do and that perhaps God is calling me to simply trust God in Scott and truly submit and obey my husband even when I don't understand or haven't been consulted.

So, that year and the next Cole and I did preschool together.  It was great.  This last year, I taught him through a wonderful Kindergarten curriculum.  And we are now looking forward to this year's first grade together.  It's right around the corner.   So, as it turns out, Scott was right!  It was good and right for Cole and it has been one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done.  I rarely tell people I home school because I feel like such a novice, schooling only one child that is and only so far up through Kindergarten.  I still have no real bent towards or against it for other people.  Homeschooling has been right for us so far and for this I am grateful to God through my husband.  If I had not been home schooling Cole, we would not have had the opportunity to take Cole to China with us this past May and perhaps He wouldn't have learned to love orphans at such a young age or to witness the miracles of God which took place there.  Cole has been learning many virtuous things in a tangible way, such as the power of the Gospel, the importance of charity and brotherly kindness, as it speaks about in I Peter, and these are our greatest desires for our children.  I am grateful for my husband's willingness to lead us rightly and so strongly when it counted.  Although understanding a curriculum is important, through home schooling we truly are able to keep virtue placed as more important that all the knowledge and learning in the world.  And I do believe this is honoring to the Lord.   

Comments

[Debbie from Ohio]

That is truly awesome! What a blessing for your family that you are able to do this.

[Kimberly Cragg]

Kudos for you for home schooling! I love it .. the hard days, the easy days the fun days.

Find a great support groups....like minded moms! Be proud! Every day is an accomplishment!

[apostle]

Homeschooling continues to be the right decision for our family as well. I praise Him for leading all of us homeschoolers to take the leap of faith for our precious children. Like you, I do not profess to know that which God calls each individual family to do in this regard, but for us, it is a decision with which we are immensely pleased and we see evidence of God's hand all over it.

[Sarah Skees]

I am so happy for you! It sounds like it has been a wonderful choice for your family. I greatly admire homeschool moms. For most of my life, I considered homeschooling a fate worse than death. (Not bad for others, but for me!) God did finally soften my heart to the point of being willing, though still worried. He even provided someone who would help me out a great deal. But then He provided a really good school that both my husband and I agree would be great to try. Ethan didn't go to pre-school and now is going into Kindergarten, so... we shall see. We are open to bringing him home if it appears that that is best, but for now we are excited to see him get to go out there and be with other kids. (He's been pretty lonely since his sister, and only sibling, died.)

Thank you, and the other commenters, for being excited about homeschooling but not being adament that it's for everyone! I love the fact that God calls each family to do what is good and right for them. :-)

[Suzanne]

Isn't obedience to God's calling beautiful. My husband is quite a visionary and I have to admit sometimes his ideas are a bit daunting to me. However, he is also sensitive to the Lord's leading...so usually it is me who ends up realizing how great his ideas are. The one big exception so far has been adoption, God actually put that on my heart first. I am blessed to be able to homeschool my girls. Though some days seem more than I can handle, I love the time we get to spend together and I sometimes think I am learning more than they are! As we walk in the Spirit may God give us the flexibility we need to follow His plans!

[brandy]

just a funny suggestion, you should call your blog "Kerry Hasen Blog"

bad bad bad... I'll go now,

[lesley]

I am so excited to hear you homeschool. I don't think it is right for everyone either, but I don't think people realize what a joy and a blessing it really is. I told a friend recently that I get the 'best part of the day also'. I don't love first thing in the morning nor do I love bedtime. I get the time in the middle, too. The time that they are feeling and thinking well.

[Eileen Mestas]

We just graduated our son after 12 years of homeschooling. We started with the attitude it would just be kindergarten, then just one more year, and we would up going all the way. It was God's calling and BLESSING!! We now have 6 more children to go and just started the twins in Kindergarten this week. I thank the LORD every day for this honor and privilege and would not change it for the world. The best is yet to come as the opportunities for travel and making memories are revealed that we would miss if we chose the alternate route. I pray you will go all the way too!! Blessings to you Sweet Sista!!
In His Timing & Care, Eileen

[Sarah Skees]

I also meant to mention in my earlier comment (but forgot) that your attitude towards your husband in the whole thing was beautiful! I loved how you looked at who he was and how he had interacted up to this point with you in decision making. And then chose to believe that God was working through him. The whole thing from beginning to end was such a great example to wives! Thank you.

[Wendi Green]

I love what you say about virtue being more important than all the education in the world - I agree. There is a book called, "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by Sally Clarkson that I highly recommend for anyone home schooling or considering home schooling! We have home schooled our children for 9 years and it has been the best decision we have ever made. I LOVE being with my kids - even on the hard days. I am so grateful for this time that we have to continuously speak truth into their lives - constantly putting God smack in the middle of everything they are learning. Love it!!

[Andrea]

Thanks for sharing this Kerry. I have only one child, now 4 years old, and am launching into our first year of homeschooling. I've had my doubts about MY ability to do this. Our daughter will have no problem, but it will be a challenge to me to stay disciplined with our days. We know it's the right plan this year since we'll be traveling to China this fall to bring home a baby sister. I've decided to take it one year at a time.

[Monica]

This will be our first year homeschooling our two daughters. I am scared and excited at the same time! Thanks for posting how you and your husband were led to homeschool. I felt the Lord working in my heart about it for a while, but my husband wasn't there yet. I just prayed and prayed about it. Then one day my dh comes home and says, "I think homeschooling is really the way to go for our family..." Wow. Only God could do that! Keep posting about how your year is going!

[Jennifer]

Isn't homeschooling wonderful!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts--it really encouraged me. Sometimes when telling people I homeschool, I get looked at like I have 3 heads. I think homeschooling is such a blessing and the fact that we get to talk about Jesus anytime is a big plus. I still pray for you often, Kerry.

In Christ~Jennifer

[Beka]

That's great! I was homeschooled from 3rd grade through 12th, and I'm now about to enter Bible college. I think it opens up so many more possibilities for the children doing it. It's not for everyone, but it's wonderful for the people that are given the opportunity to make it happen.

[Deb]

I am one of those Moms who would tell people, when asked, that we were willing to commit to homeschooling one year at a time. I had never even considered it, but when our first son was old enough to go to school, we brought home our second son from Kazakhstan. He was almost 5 at the time, and totally bewidered by what had just happened in his life (as he told me a few years later, everything looked different, smelled different, tasted different, sounded different and everyone he loved was gone). We knew we would be keeping him home with us that first year, so we kept our older son home as well. That year was an incredible blessing to all of us, as we became knit together as the family God intended us to be.

That was over 8 years ago. We have started our first year of high school homeschool with our older son and 8th grade with our younger one. It has absolutely been the right way for this family! One of the other people commented on the joy of it all: I can attest to that. Just this morning, as my two sons and I sat in the living room, reading Galatians and discussing what God was showing us in it, I again realized what a blessed Mama I am!

Enjoy every moment of first grade! You get to be with Cole when he "gets it", whatever the "it" is at the moment in his learning. What a treasure that is!

[Cindi M.]

Our son was homeschooled from grades 8-12. If I could, I would choose to start earlier and do it all over again. It's not right for all families, or even all children, but it was right for Stephen and me. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in "the world."

Your husband sounds like an awesome, Godly man. I'm blessed to have one, too.

Love from NC.

[Racheal]

You know, homeschooling is such a wonderful thing and so many people still view it as isolating children as I think it use to be many years ago. Both my husband and I went to public school, but public schools are not what they use to be either. It is such a difficult and important decision to choose the best education for our children.

We have three children, and our oldest two spent a couple of years in public school. The whole time that they were there I just kept praying and praying for the money to afford a private school that reflected our beliefs, but God kept bringing me around to a homeschool program in our area. I kept telling Him that I was not smart enough for that and even reminded Him that I did not graduate well. But everytime I prayed, He would give me the same answer. Frustrating! Well wouldn't you know it, He was right! I had decided to give it a try, thinking that my kids were still young enough that I would not mess them up too much just by trying. Guess what? We love it! There is so much support out there and so much curriculum to meet different styles of teaching and learning. And it is fun! We do so much more now because school only takes half of our day, not all day and then homework. Our kids are more a part of our family, sharing in chores and fun. It was definitely the answer to prayer that I needed, even though it took me awhile to know it.