In the early years, my goal as a homeschool mom was to have my children know God, what they believed and why, read, write, math, and know how to find answers to their questions.

I knew that there was absolutely zero way for me to teach my children everything they would ever need to know, so it was important for me to teach them how to find the information they need when they need it.

Growing up, I didn’t really know what I believed or why. My religion was more about the things I could and couldn’t do rather than knowing that God created the world, made man and placed him in the garden. Man sinned and needed a savior. Jesus came, lived a sinless life, died for our sins, and resurrected from the dead three days later.

If my kids didn’t watch or read certain things, I wanted them to know why. If they didn’t take things (drugs, alcohol, or smoke), I wanted them to know why. Most importantly, I wanted them to have a relationship with God themselves. This was the focal point of their education. Oh, they learned to read, write, and do math–sometimes even with tears. They even learned how to research and find the information they need, when they need it.

As they matured, it was important for me to turn the responsibility of their education over to them. I was to help guide them and provide materials but they needed to take ownership of it. This can be done by letting them choose the curriculum or, to some degree, the style or philosophy of their education.

Sean devoured science books in his final years. Tiffany worked on writing a book and learning about things concerning animals, gardening, and decorating a home, among other things. I made each of my children, in their senior year, be responsible for making dinner one night every week, so that they would be able to feed themselves well on their own and once they were married. Yes, even my boys; they can cook, they just choose not to.

Homeschooling does not have to be hard and by no means does it need to look like schools. I think it is important to foster a love of learning so that they will continue to do so the rest of their lives, in some way. It is not good for anyone to become stagnant; we should all be continuing to learn new things.

I hope this helps, realizing that you don’t have to be everything and in charge of everything, as your child grows and matures.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº