July 2025
It seems like summer has just begun when the stores start putting out paper, glue, scissors, crayons, and other school supplies. It seems like those “back-to-school sales” start earlier every year. What if you didn’t have to stress about getting the right brand of crayons or supplying a room of 30 people with enough hand sanitizer for the next 10 months? What if you could take a vacation whenever it worked best with your husband’s work schedule, rather than just the time designated as “vacation”? There are many of these little benefits to homeschooling, but they are not the primary reason we chose this approach. Our reasoning for homeschooling goes much deeper.
As I mentioned in my writing on Childhood in June, Parents are charged by God to nurture, instruct, and train their children. We are not just waiting for them to grow up; we need to be actively teaching them how to love, believe, think, and act as mentioned in Luke 10:27 which says, “And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’” To do this effectively, we need to do more than just take our children to Sunday School and church every Sunday and to a week of VBS over the summer. There is much more time that needs to be invested. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 tells us, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” This does not describe just a once-a-week or every now and then instruction. This is a continual process, happening every day, as we intentionally teach and point them to Christ.
It is hard to continually teach your children if you are not with them. Sending children to school removes them for over 8 hours every weekday. Considering that most children are only awake for about 12-14 hours a day, this means that they are away from you for more than half of their waking hours. School hours don’t include all of the times they are also removed for music lessons, sports, dance, playing with friends, and other extracurricular activities. Homeschooling allows for more time with your children, giving you more time to instruct them. It also allows parents to have more control over what they are learning. Some parents have petitioned schools to stop teaching certain books and curricula with which they disagree. While it is good that they are paying attention and involved in what their children are learning, they are still not in complete control. Sometimes, they only have the option to remove or exempt their child. This doesn’t mean children won’t talk about it on the playground with their friends. This doesn’t mean that your child won’t be introduced to the topics before parents become aware of them. When homeschooling, parents choose the curriculum. Different states and countries have different requirements. I understand that in some countries, homeschooling is illegal. However, in the United States, homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. Even the states that have placed strict guidelines and curriculum requirements on the parents allow for parents to do the teaching and decide how they will present material and to what extent they will cover the required courses. All homeschool options provide more time with your children. Time for scripture memory, learning catechism questions, and family worship is more available when your family isn’t on an imposed schedule.
You don’t have to do all of the teaching yourself. There is room to hire tutors to help you in areas with which you may be unfamiliar or where your child needs additional help. For example, I know the basics of playing piano; however, I do not know it well enough to teach, nor do I know how to play violin. Therefore, we sought out professionals to instruct our children in these areas. We also have one who is struggling in math. I have run out of ways I know how to explain, so we have hired a tutor to help. It is also helpful to be able to go at the pace at which your children learn. If they are struggling with a concept, you can slow down and go over it again. If they pick up on something very quickly, you can continue moving ahead regardless of where they are in other subjects or how quickly someone else is learning. Second to the spiritual benefits of homeschooling, I find the individualized instruction to be a key reason to teach your children at home.
While the benefits of homeschooling are great, it does take thought and planning. You must decide on your philosophy of teaching and learning. You must go through the curriculum options and find what works best for your children. You need to plan how you will schedule your day. I can tell you from experience that if you don’t have a plan, you will eventually neglect something. You need to plan your day and set aside a specific time for direct instruction. Find other homeschool families. This is not only a great source of friends and encouragement on your journey, but also a place to find wisdom and advice. Seek out those who have homeschooled for years and ask them what has worked and what has not. What do they do when their kids aren’t interested? How do they work with struggling readers? What were their strategies for teaching math? Did they have a favorite read-aloud book or series? Find the mom who has been effectively homeschooling her 10 kids for the past 30 years. Ask her how she manages multiple ages and grade levels. Ask how she taught her older kids while caring for infants and toddlers. It is okay to ask for help and advice. That is the Bible’s model for learning - older ladies teaching the younger ones.
I strongly encourage you to find a way to homeschool. I understand this is not always an option, and can be especially difficult in a single-parent home. However, I would urge you to think unconventionally and see what you can do. You may be surprised at the options available to you. Whether or not you homeschool, I would implore you to take responsibility for what your children are learning. Teach them throughout all of life, and make every day a Gospel conversation. Point your children to Christ in all you say and do. Spend as much time as you can teaching and training them while they are with you. Time is short.