Can you tell that Noah was thrilled to be interviewed for our local paper? My friend Debbie will finish homeschooling the child she is holding next year. She has successfully homeschooled all her children.

Have you ever thought of homeschooling your children? Jim and I would pray before the beginning of each school year as to our direction concerning the education of our sons. One year, much to my surprise, we felt it was time to start our journey into educating our boys at home.

I wanted to nip the “if only” in the bud by giving our son, Josiah who was starting high school a choice. I’ve always loved thinking outside the box! I went to the local high school principal and asked since I had multiple houses upon which I was paying taxes in his district why my son could not attend his high school for classes to round out his education? He had never been asked that before so he looked into it and agreed to allow Josiah to enroll as a part-time student. We gave Josiah his option to attend high school as he had always gone to a tiny private school. He picked two classes, driver’s education, and an electronics class. It was a rude awakening for him as the large high school had a problem with gang activity, bullying, sexual experimentation, as well as heavy drug and alcohol abuse. There were two suicides that semester.

What was I thinking to allow him to be exposed to all that? After one semester, he decided to be homeschooled exclusively, but it was with the conviction that it was the right path for him to take–no doubts about the greener grass of high school.

I asked him how he survived the public school, and Josiah was quick to tell me that he would have been beaten to a pulp, but the class bully took a liking to him and protected him. Now I am not saying that all high schools are that toxic, but that was our public high school experience.

Homeschooling was an excellent fit for us as we were often serving on the mission field. One summer all four of us spent two months overseas. Jim and I were in Fiji, Noah was in Ecuador, and Joe was in Malawi. Any time our sons left the country, it became a “homeschool adventure” where we did a unit study on the country where they were going, they wrote essays and reports on their time in-country and did presentations for their supporters when they returned home. One of the things I loved about schooling was how everyday activities would lend themselves to a teachable moment, and we all learned together.

Homeschooling is not without its challenges as you are not only your children’s parent but also their school principal and teacher. One of my biggest fears was that the boys would come to hate our time together in the classroom or that I would be unable to master the skills needed to teach the advanced courses effectively.

The most overwhelming hurdle was the abundance of curriculums available even back 17 years ago! Finding what would work for each son was surprisingly difficult (and expensive). One thing that helped was researching the different types of learners as most students will have a dominant learning style. The three learning styles are auditory, visual or kinesthetic (or tactile). We are all able to ascertain using all three, but most of us have a preference. It helped me gain an understanding of why if Noah, my kinesthetic learner, was able to walk or move around when I tested his spelling words, he did much better than when he confined to a desk and chair. Both boys did well with lesson plans that included lots of hands-on activities that they completed themselves. There is an excellent translation of a wise proverb that says to “train up a child according to his personal blend.” As a parent, you know well what are your children’s “blend” or passions.

My sons and I grew in our relationships during our time homeschooling. They learned morality, good citizenship, critical thinking skills, and integrity. My only regret concerning homeschooling is that I didn’t start it sooner. Think outside the box! Enjoy life!

Ann May