Y From the Heart Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
Depending on how you define your school year – Traditional (September to June) or Year-round, you are two-thirds or three-quarters finished with your school year. And if you are like many families that home educate you are beginning to think about what you need for the next school year. You are making your wish list. Talking to other moms. Getting ready for your “hands-on experience” at one of the numerous homeschool conventions starting about now through July.
I’d like to share one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received as we approach the decision-making time for the following school year. Ask yourself, “Exactly, what is my ‘philosophy of education?’” What convictions strike your heart when you think about how your child should be educated? And why they should be educated that way. Write these convictions down. This may take some time and that’s OK. Many of us have pre-conceived ideas about what education is “supposed” to be and operate our home schools based upon how we were “schooled.” Pray and ask God what He is leading you to pursue in your child’s education. Get a firm hold on your philosophy.
After writing down your philosophy, evaluate this school year. Did the choices in your curriculum and outside activities align with the convictions to which you came in the paragraph above? As a Christian home-educating family, are your plans in line with our Father’s will?
Create a Mission Statement for your school. Your Mission Statement is what you tell people when they ask, “Why do you homeschool?” This is a fun one to do as a family. It should be three to four specific action statements. For example, the Mission Statement for DCHEA is:
1) To provide information and help to families who are considering Christian, private home education;
2) To provide an educational and social context for our children with other families in the Christian, private home education movement; and
3) To act as a support network for member families active in their roles as Christian, private home educators.
After you have a solid (1) Philosophy of Education and a (2) Mission Statement, you are ready to determine your favored (3) Teaching Approaches and your children’s favored (4) Learning Styles. Teaching Approaches are simple to figure out. As you read the Approach descriptions, you will have one or two that really resonate within you. Learning Styles are also fairly simple, but be careful not to put each of your children into a “box” and think that they stay there permanently. Tiffani has definitely changed a couple times in five years.
One of the best resources for Learning Styles is Cathy Duffy’s Curriculum Manual found in the DCHEA library or the CHEA Introduction to Homeschool Manual. http://www.elijahco.com/help/articles/teachingapproaches.htm contains a good list of the most common Teaching Approaches.
Christian home education is a lifestyle. It’s not anything like a life that revolves around the government’s plans for our children. We choose our day according to how the Lord calls us. Is He the author and facilitator of your home “school?” Do you look to Him for direction? Do you ask Him for help when you feel like you can’t go on? Do you ask Him to point you in the right direction for your curriculum? Do you lean on Him for His understanding when your children “get it” one day and don’t the next? Do you trust Him to fill in the gaps?
Seek Him for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. By knowing your philosophy, mission, and favored teaching approach you will save so much time and money through the years. You will also be a wonderful help to newer home educating parents when they ask, “Where do I begin?” Pray! And allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your educational decisions, as you allow His guidance in all areas of your life. Our Lord has the perfect answer to all our questions. And remember, sometimes the answer may be “Wait.” This happened to me one year when I was ready to purchase my curriculum at the CHEA Convention. I had my list, but I was not allowed to buy anything. And am I glad that I didn’t. It would have been all wrong. Pray and listen. If you make a mistake in a curriculum purchase, sell it and move on to what you now know you should be using. Lovingly, in His service, Traci J
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6