Homeschooling

What is homeschooling?  I would like to define the word.  Home- a dwelling house; the house or place in which one resides; close;to the point.  School- a place or house in which persons are instructed in arts, science, languages or any species of learning; or the pupils assembled for instruction; the state of instruction; a place of education, or collection of pupils, of any kind;separate denomination or sect; or a system of doctrine taught by particular teachers, or peculiar to any denomination of christians or philosophers; any place of improvement; to train; to tutor; to educate.  In our modern world, we have allowed our definition of school to become very different.  In our imaginations, we imagine a school building with separate classrooms and many students being taught by one teacher.  In the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), the word school had a very different meaning.  My home meets the definition for school.  I teach my children in our home.  They are learning very well how to become good christian young men and women.  I teach the Bible (KJV), Science, History, Language Arts, Music, Art, Home Skills, Physical Education, Typing, foreign languages, and several other subjects.  My days are not always full of picnics and sipping lemonade(although we have had those days as well :)).  We live normal lives and have good and bad days just like anyone else, but the difference for us, is that along with other christians, we have the Lord to seek refuge in.  God gives us wisdom when nothing else can.  It is for the sake of our children that I went against the grain and stayed home with them.  I am not seeking a status of "hero" or "martyr".  I am seeking to teach my children all they need to know to make it in this ungodly world we exist in.  God is not the author of confusion, but of a sound mind.  I have taught in a classroom, and there were times I wanted to spend more time on a subject, but due to conflicting schedules, I could not.  There were times when a student desperately needed extra attention, but I could not stop, due to the schedule.  In our home, I have already been able to stop and assist my daughter in a subject and she understands it better now.  I am learning more about my children each day.  They are individual, and unique.  It has been a blessing to get to know them.  They are not isolated.  We are involved in a homeschool support group.  My children attend 4-H meetings, Keepers of the Faith meetings, park days, craft days, and other activities.  Every parent wants what is best for their child.  In our case, this is best for us at this stage in our lives as a family.  I am never going to say everyone must homeschool or every public school is bad.  There are many public schools that are very good.  The goal is to teach our children in the best way that they can learn.  My children are blooming in ways that were not available to them until we began the adventure of homeschooling together.  God has enlisted my husband and myself to guard our children and to train them in His ways.  We prayerfully continue on the path of homeschooling and training our children to be keepers of the home and teachers of the faith. 

In His Steps,

Katie Faulk