We have been incredibly blessed by experienced home schoolers sharing their wisdom for successful home schooling. As many of us begin our year–and for those who have already begun–here are a few tips that others gave us and that have stood the test of 15 years of home schooling.
Tip 1: Put Bible first.
We heard this from several friends before we began our home schooling journey. I filed the tip away, looked at our curriculum, and immediately decided to begin with math in order to get the hardest subject out of the way first. We loved Bible. I was sure we would get to it after we got the hard stuff done.
Two months later, when I was drowning in a sea of confusion and fear, I remembered those words from a quiet, home schooling acquaintance, “Put Bible first.” I altered our schedule. Morning worship and study of scripture became the first focus of our day.
Math didn’t suddenly become easy. Children didn’t suddenly become friction-free. The day’s schedule didn’t suddenly sprout two more hours giving us the breathing room I desired. But, our home schooling did change–for the better. Our focus changed as we focused first on God and His desires for our day. I went from asking His blessing as icing on the cake to seeking His blessing as the foundation of the day. His truths became the first priority and the rest of school became a way to explore these truths in specific subject areas. Our day became bathed in prayer–not just by me, but by our whole family. Best tip ever–put worship/Bible first.
Tip 2: Focus on character.
“Focus on character and the academics will follow,” said a home schooling mom that I met once in a “chance encounter” in an airport. Truer words were never spoken. This mom shared that her husband had set the priority of always focusing first on character. “He never worried about the academics. He was sure that if we focused on developing our children’s character to conform to God’s, God would take care of the rest. We have graduated 3 of our 9 children. Two received full scholarships to the college of their choice and the third is pursuing an internship before going to college. God has truly taken care of the rest.”
To be sure, we can’t be lazy about academics–but laziness is lousy character, so we wouldn’t choose that. We teach character when we urge our children to persevere through a rough math assignment or stick with creating a science diorama. We teach character when we insist that our children treat each other with the “one-anothers” of scripture such as putting up with one another, loving one another, encouraging one another.
Academics have value in themselves. But, their greatest value is as a concrete testing ground for proving character. Will our child pursue excellence when wrestling with a complicated theory? Will our child develop patience to help a younger sibling? Will our child develop the courage to present the biblical view of issues we’re reading at home in the face of persuasive, popular alternative theories offered in youth group at church? When we view all of school as the opportunity to shape character–we make the most of our home schooling endeavors. God will truly take care of the rest.
Tip 3: Treat all of life as school.
Too often I get caught up in the books. Are we on schedule? Have we finished our worksheets? A dear friend’s motto, “All of life teaches, and some of the best lessons can’t come from books.” More importantly–children remember what they do far more than what they read about. When the family travels to help a sick member through an illness–children learn how to put compassion into action, how to balance competing priorities, and how to deal with emergencies. Trips to the grocery teach nutrition, budgeting, and meal-planning. Trips to the library offer opportunities to show manners and consideration to strangers. Our children will constantly face these issues as adults and the life experience prepares them. Further, our children are far more interested in the leaf they discover or the bird they spy at the feeder. When we pause to explore these real-life connections, our children learn and remember far more than simply passing eyes over a science text page so they can say they are done.
Tip 4: Keep school manageable–enjoy your children.
I’ve seen a lot of families begin home schooling. I’ve seen a lot of families quit. Most often they quit because they become overwhelmed. Don’t. Every curriculum has its strengths–every curriculum has its weaknesses. Parents who try to fix every weakness with another curriculum soon become so weary (and their children so overwhelmed and rebellious) that they feel like failures and send the children back to school. Parents who stick with a curriculum they dislike because its “what everyone else does” grow weary. Parents who try to do every single element no matter how irrelevant it seems grow weary.
What excites you about learning? Choose a curriculum that helps you focus on that. Sure, school is work–but it shouldn’t be drudgery. Yes, your curriculum will have gaps. Let those go. If you are faithful in doing what God sets before you, He will fill the gaps. More importantly you free yourself and your children to spend your days enjoying learning together. You have time to focus on the individuality of each child and nurture God’s design of them. Life opens into an adventure of learning you enjoy together. An adventure you don’t want to give up no matter how bad an individual day might be.
May God bless the beginning of your school year. May He guide and sustain your efforts. May He unite your family in a common vision for the coming year.