Why do we do it?

It’s the time of year that I check out “The Well-Trained Mind” from the library, feverishly read books on the trivium and Charlotte Mason, and search “home schooling” on Pinterest.  Generally, the one where I think “What the heck am I doing home schooling?  I don’t have a clue what I’m doing!” 

Does anyone, really?  Does anyone know what they’re doing?  This is not rhetorical; please tell me if you do…..

Our home schooling journey began out of necessity.  When my daughter reached preschool age we lived in an area that had not ONE preschool I felt comfortable dropping my child off with.  That journey of necessity evolved into a calling that I cannot deny.  There are times when I WANT to deny it, but God has called me to do this, and so I do. 

We do not home school to “protect our children” from the evil out there.  It’s impossible.  You know why?  Because the evil is in here.  Sin is everywhere.  Does sheltering them from the world really keep them from sin?  Absolutely not, we were born with a sin nature whether we home school/public school/private school or unschool. As a matter of fact, we actively look for ways to get out of our "Christian Bubble" and teach the kids about being like Jesus in the world.

We do home school because we feel like it is what God has told us to do for our family.  Our family.  I can’t tell you what God wants you to do with yours.  We have to be careful not to make precedents out of things that the Bible never clearly spells out. 

That being said, do I think home schooling is the better route?  Well, we do home school, so I guess that answers the question.

When you home school, you get the question a lot  - “Why?”. 

I had the most interesting conversation with my neighbor over supper the other night.  He is what I would call “pre-Christian”; he’s seeking and interested, but not quite there.  He’s also very blunt.  This is the way he asked it “Amy, why do you keep these kids at home.  You see, I read Playboy sometimes, and I like Hustler too.  (At this point I’m trying not to flinch and stop the whole conversation, and wondering where the heck he’s going with this…) My parents raised me right, but I still do things I shouldn’t sometimes.  Do you really think keeping them home will make them grow up to be good people?” 

Last time he asked me why I home school I fumbled the ball.  I couldn’t explain it AT ALL.  Talk about feeling like a failure!  This time I took a deep breath, PRAYED, and then opened my mouth.  This is why we home school.

God called us to do this.  We cannot deny a calling from God.  In the formative years of our children’s life, we as parents want to be the primary influence over them.  If I don’t have to give 7 hours of their day over to someone else, then I’m not going to.  The bible says in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and in the end he will not depart from it”.  Now, this is in the Proverbs, so it can’t be taken as an absolute, it’s more like really good advice.  If I do what God has called me to do to the best of my ability, then prayerfully (and I believe more than likely) A + B will equal C in the end.  Now, if A + B = X one day, then at least I will be able to stand before God and know that I did what was asked of me. 

My neighbor actually nodded and said he understood.  It felt like victory!

Now, if I could just figure out why we need to teach them Latin, then I may have it all together.

Off to read more Charlotte Mason, happy home/public/private schooling!