20 Years Later...

20 Years Later… 

We are starting school today… yes, it’s a late start for most homeschoolers. I’m sipping my coffee and reflecting over the past 20 years of homeschooling my eight children as I let my sleepy teenagers wake up a bit slower (minus the alarm clock.)


This journey has definitely been the most easy, most difficult, most thrilling, most depressing, and the most unexpectedly beautiful adventure! What an invitation from God, I’m so glad I accepted it. And all along the journey I have been privileged to have gotten a front-row window seat.


In my early 20’s I wasn’t on the path to motherhood and homeschooling certainly was the furthest thing from my mind. My “career” was my plan. But then God gave me the “desires of my heart” before I even realized what they were! Homeschooling my children came into focus and became a reality.


We started out with nothing more than a sweet, eager-faced little towhead boy. With his newly sharpened pencil, he eagerly waited for me at a re-purposed, hand-me-down end table with a little stool in our unfinished basement and a handful of books. While we read and played together, I discovered a great and unexpected pleasure in teaching this little person whom I loved most in the whole world. I jumped wholeheartedly into the joy of teaching him and vowed I’d never share that joy with some unknown schoolteacher down the street.


As we ventured along this path, our family kept adding a new student every couple of years. One of my first big homeschool purchases was my “school table” – a real, school-quality, blue table with adjustable legs that we could raise and lower. I got quite a workout over the years doing deep squats near that table every day! I vividly remember sitting at that very table with my older three children and thinking, “Someday… all these chairs will be filled with my kiddos, and God wants ME to teach all of them!” It was hugely intimidating yet quite exciting, too!


We outgrew the table pretty quickly. I knew I was in over my head and would need divine intervention to complete this monumental task! I asked God to show up and help me do this…since it had been His idea from the beginning! I kept that table for many years, it was always a symbol of God’s provision for me: He called me to this job, and He showed up day after day to help me.


Our journey took us through several family moves to several different states. We participated in co-ops and didn’t participate in co-ops. We played sports, did music lessons and orchestras, joined theater groups, and drove to hundreds of soccer practices and ballet lessons–and didn’t do all that, too. We had seasons with church activities and programs and seasons without.


We prioritized the Word of God. We memorized scripture (thank you - Awana and the Bible Bee!) We read about our heroes with biographies about Christian missionaries from all over the globe. (My second big purchase was every YWAM Benge Christian Heroes Then & Now series ever printed!) We LOVED reading them out loud as a family and listening to them on road trips. They built an incredible shared heritage between the kids and us and gave all of us a passion for the world and godly heroes to look up to. We prayed over countries and Unreached People Groups. We studied worldview and apologetics together and learned about the world God so loves.


We spent endless hours lost in great books and read-alouds together –The Wingfeather Saga and the Mysterious Benedict Society series were a few favorites. Our family has many hysterical inside jokes that come from the pages of the books we shared together. Almost all my favorite homeschool memories contain references to the books we read.


We explored the wonders of science together. We watched as tadpoles turned into frogs (that lived for 7 YEARS!) We marveled at our caterpillars flying away as butterflies. We collected every type of stick, pinecone, stone and bird nest we could find! We took countless nature center and science museum field trips and practically grew up at the zoo. We did experiments (including my personal favorite…the dissections!) together at the kitchen table and in classes at coop together with our friends.


We learned about the world while we cooked the craziest concoctions, (ever tried Pilgrim Swill?) and eagerly tasted food from all over the world (Vegemite anyone?). Our home was filled with maps and globes. For many years we had maps on the kitchen table under clear tablecloths. Our favorite school time snacks came from our “Universal Yums” boxes as we tried treats from different countries.


We ventured into high school, eager to prove we had done this homeschooling thing well. We mastered dual credit college courses, and rigorous study, classic literature analysis papers and the ACT. We did all the “Bonus” questions, and extra credit assignments and we had years we didn’t even finish the book!


I discovered I had a passion for teaching– both at home, and in a co-op setting. We learned to manage our time (the kids and me!) by doing schoolwork, having part-time jobs and balancing our commitments and responsibilities. We survived Driver’s Ed (Only a few more to go…) We deepened our faith and understanding by taking the Perspectives of the World Christian Movement course together. We went on mission trips and learned to serve others. And we learned to bravely step off the fast track and customize their education to the person God created them to be with new and varied learning opportunities.


We experienced health issues and came face-to-face with cancer, twice. We suffered deep tragedy and we wrestled with trusting in the goodness of God. We learned how truly faithful God is. We experienced beauty for ashes and thrilling new beginnings.


We came to the end of the school years for my first born (that seemed would never end) and I had the great joy to hand my son a high school diploma. I was an absolute emotional mess as I graduated Sam, my always eager student, in a full cap & gown ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance (How do we parents ever survive the Senior slide show?)


More years passed and more graduations have taken place. I’ve loved seeing each of them fly high beyond our homeschool! So much is happening now with all of them and some are launching into adulting from home which has had some amazing lessons, blessings and opportunities for all of us! My kiddos joke that I get more relaxed with each child… the last one will probably have a diploma thrown out the window at them as I speed off in my much-dreamed-about red convertible… and a laugh…a wild crazy laugh!) Homeschooling will make you lose your mind at times!


These past 20 years have taught me so much more than I ever dreamed. Sometimes I believe God’s direction to homeschool my children may have actually been more about my learning than theirs. There are amazing and abundant blessings that came with this decision! I have learned that I need to be constantly reliant on the Lord for each and every step along this path. Each new season requires His fresh guidance for the twists and turns ahead that only He knows are necessary for the wonders He wants to bring. I need to be truly as dependent on His leading today as I was in that first uncertain day.


This gift of TIME with my children is the most precious gift I’ve ever been given. I had time to get to know them, time experience life with them, time to learn together, time to grow in knowing God together, time to get to know and love on many people together and time to catch a glimpse of the amazing people God designed them to be.

I was given an invitation to participate in this great work to the very end of the journey–their graduation from High School and beyond! I’m so incredibly grateful! I pray that you will accept the invitation too!

Blessings,

Renita 

All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace. - Isaiah 54:13

Two Trains

 TWO TRAINS

Where are you Going?

I’m probably going to be unpopular stating this opinion, but I have learned it from personal experience, so hear me out…

Maybe you do NOT need to do AP, Honors, or dual credit college courses while in high school. Whew… I said it, after graduating five students from our homeschool (they were all homeschooled K-12 and all earned college credits on their transcripts).

Close your eyes and imagine with me that you are getting on a train. You purchase your ticket and sit down to enjoy the scenery. BUT you forgot to check the train’s destination.

You wanted the “Scenic Train of Wisdom” that took the beautiful route–the one including stunning views and a delightful table set before you, complete with tea and scones as you gazed out the windows. You wanted to marvel at the company, enjoy the conversations, and simply soak it all in.

Instead, you accidentally purchased a seat on the “High-Speed Bullet Train of Knowledge”. You sat down, buckled up and took off. There’s no chance to see the sights as they whiz by, no time for a restful meal, no deep conversations. It’s just zoom to the destination in the most efficient and speedy way on the pre-determined train schedule.

This is what dual credit in high school was like for us. Sure, we were able to earn college credit in an efficient way and my children were certainly capable of doing the course work. But I should have remembered something I always say… “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I forgot to check which train we took a seat on and the destination this ticket would take us to.

The “High-Speed Bullet Train of Knowledge” got them to college quicker, for sure. But we missed the scenery! We didn’t have time to taste the tea or enjoy the conversations on the ever-faster speeding pace. They earned college credit and stuck to the pre-determined schedule (which dictated our family schedule as well). My children finished their degrees and got off the faster train only to discover that they really didn’t know where they were. They arrived at the destination early but, they missed a whole lot along the journey that cannot be revisited. They were in the rush to get to that “somewhere” they couldn’t quite define. They had empty suitcases without the souvenirs and treasures they should have collected along the way. They had their college degrees in hand, yes, but they lacked much of the real-life wisdom and experiences that they could have had.

The slower “Scenic Train of Wisdom” takes a more enjoyable route. This train’s schedule allows for multiple stops along the way and offers the time needed to experience and engage in the opportunities that present themselves. You are even allowed to stop this train and get off to explore without disrupting the ever-demanding schedule. There is an open invitation to take side journeys like mission trips, back-yard building projects, and serving opportunities in all shapes and sizes. Not only that, but you can also collect precious souvenirs along the way–souvenirs like valuable lessons and skills learned while serving others and the real life experiences that will help put knowledge into practice, along with the abundant blessing of time to develop an ever-deepening understanding of who God is.

This has really gotten me thinking about these two trains. I know it’s very popular to grab a ticket on the “High-Speed Bullet Train of Knowledge” and get a head start on college, but, maybe what our children will miss out on isn’t worth the price of admission.

HIGH SCHOOL YEARS ARE THE BEST TIME TO HOMESCHOOL! The four short High School years are full of scenery we don’t want to miss. We finally get to relax from some of the pressure of teaching those labor-intensive basics and get to sit back to taste the depths of what our children know. We get to share real-life experiences together–without car seats, strollers and diaper bags! We get to enjoy deep conversations (usually late at night) as we get to really know WHO they are becoming while we listen to their hearts. These years are truly filled with WONDER! The “Scenic Train of Wisdom” has treasures we should consider carefully before we trade them for a couple more college credits.

The slower “Scenic Train of Wisdom” also gives our children a chance to look around and explore where they really want to go. High school is such a short season, and it can never be replaced. This is the final opportunity to truly taste all the options available and to see which they prefer before getting stuck on the fast track to college which can actually limit their choices long-term. College, on the other hand, doesn’t have a “use-by” date, it can be done any time for the rest of their lives.

I'm praying that before you hop on the homeschool train of high school (and you certainly will want to!) spend some time considering where the destination is heading to before you grab your seat!

Blessings,

Renita

“This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!” – Jeremiah 6:16