The "Why?" of Why We Home School

Bible time with Daddy

 

As the time approached for Eden to start school, I've felt a nervous excitement over the decision we have made to home school.  Finding curriculum and planning our future year was a bit overwhelming, but mostly fun. It feels like I’ve been in a “nesting” period with planning, organizing, gathering curriculum in anticipation of starting this new endeavor. There are days I’m so excited about the future, then there are other days when I can’t believe I am about to take this next step. I often wonder if I’m capable of educating my children. It is in those times that I rest in the fact that God has entrusted Eden, Josiah and Titus to Larry and me; and that through HIM, all things are possible.

Home schooling has come a long way in the past 15-20 years. The stigma that was once attached to it is giving way to more acceptance as more and more children are leaving the public schools for home schools. Those children are now excelling in college and professionally. There are also support group, and resources available that make the process much easier than in the past. In fact, there are over 45,000 home schooling families in North Carolina.

As we meet people in the community, they ask which school Eden attends, we share that we home school. I wish I kept count of how many times my heart has been blessed when people find out. Most people are intrigued.  A lot of moms have said they wished they could do it, or they don’t have the patience to do it. Then we get questions as to why we do it. So I have compiled this list of following reasons, I don’t share all these when people ask. I try to keep the image of home schooling as sane as I can. : ) As time and opportunity permits, I do try to share our heart for home schooling.

Our primary reason for home schooling is our desire for our children to know God thorough their education. We believe that Discipleship and Education are one in the same in aspect of training our children.  Discipleship = Education

Sadly in our country, Discipleship is something you do on Sunday; Education is done Monday through Friday in a public school. But when you look to the Scriptures you will not find this separation. Discipleship IS Education. Passages like Deuteronomy 6 show us that teaching our children about God should be intertwined in every aspect of our daily life. There are constant teachable moments throughout our days. This has as much to do with their character as it does their knowledge of the world.

 

We want our children to know God as the creator of all knowledge, that everything we can ever know or experience is only by and though Christ. As we study Language and learn words, I want them to know the Word that became Flesh, Jesus Christ. As they learn to count, I want them to know the God who gave us order and systems that are constant. As we study History, I want them to realize God is the one who ordained time, and is sovereign over all time. Before there was even time, There was God.  As we study the solar system and astronomy, I want them to know it was God who created all of it. In every aspect of what our children will learn; Science, Social Studies, Math, Reading, History, Language, Art, Music, we want them to know the God who created it all.

 

Developing the character of our children is the next positive on our list of reasons to home school. Who is better in tune with the heart issues of our children than we are as their parents? Public schools don’t have the investment in training our children like Larry and I do. We are the ones who will be called to give an eternal account of our leading in their lives. As we begin formal education, developing my children’s character is much more important to me than how quickly they learn to read or write. 

And while we are discussing the public school arena, please do not take our desire to home school as a reason to think we hate public school. Let me state it clearly,  WE DO NOT HATE  PUBLIC SCHOOLS. My Sister in Law and my best friend are both public school teachers. Larry was a public school teacher before he went into the ministry. My Granddaddy and Granny dedicated their careers to public school education. Teachers are some of the hardest working and most under appreciated people I know. They deserve super hero capes and theme music to follow them around wherever they go. They deal with constant struggles, as class sizes continue to grow larger, resources become more limited, and discipline is always an issue.

 

Curriculum is another issue we are excited to have control over. You can spend LOTS of money homeschooling your children. Sadly there are no tax advantages to any expense we put in to education our children, but that’s another issue for another day.  However, homeschooling does not have to be expensive. Resources are limitless as to what you can gather through library books, the internet and life experiences. When we study dinosaurs, we can go to the museums in Rocky Mt or Raleigh and see dinosaurs after we check out free book about them from the library. When we study butterflies, we can hatch our own, and I bought a book on butterflies at a yard sale for either 50 cents or $1. When we study community helpers, there is a whole host of people we know from our community that would invite our children in to watch a day in the life of a police officer, dentist, librarian, doctor and farmer, just to name a few.  When we study the solar system we can make a model of one using supplies from the Dollar Tree and NASA online. Learning will be hands on for our children. How exciting that will be! If I do it well, they might not realize they are learning because they will be having so much fun!

 

There are two other big issues people question: Will they be shelter? And will they be socialized? And the answer to both is Yes.

It amazes me that people think being sheltered is a bad thing! Don't get me wrong, There are extremes to this thinking. But when you actually think it over why would you want to purposefully expose your children to things you don’t agree with and have no control over if you could prevent it? I have many friends who complain about the language their children have been exposed to as well as other offensive things their children have learned at school. I am perfectly fine with keeping my children outside of that environment. When people ask me if I’m worried they will be too sheltered, I reply no, and ask what advantage do they think their children will gain by being exposed to language and behaviors they don’t support.

Will they be socialized? Yes. It’s not like as home schoolers we will stay home all day, every day. Our family is super social.  The children are loved by all of our church members and engage with them often each week. We go to the park, library, grocery stores, and restaurants on a regular basis. Eden plays a Rec. league sport.  I also started a local home school support group. We have over 40 people in our group. I’m looking forward to our home school times with these families as we have music and nutrition classes and play dates this fall. We also have plans to do community service projects at a local nursing home. 

Will our children learn how to do things like public school kids? No

Our kids are not going to have to learn how to take bathroom break in groups of 20 or how to carry a lunch tray. It was brought to my attention recently that Josiah didn’t know how to act in a classroom. When I asked if he obeyed the teacher, she said yes. He followed directions. But He didn’t know how to put his hand on a wall and walk in line with other children. I was really upset at first, and then realized. Well, why should he? He doesn’t go to day care and will not go to public school.  I was so worried that he would never ever learn to stand in line! Then I started to laugh, we stand in line all the time at the grocery store, Wal-mart, McDonald and the library. We practice taking turns with one another at home. So yes, there are some skills they might miss out on, like putting their hands on the wall at school, but there are others we will gain. I’m OK with that!

 

The bigger aspect of the socialization issue is that our children will lean how to be adults from adults. Neat concept isn’t it? The qualities and characteristics that we find import, we will train our children to accomplish.

This is a big step for our family. I’m still trying to figure out a schedule and how many outside opportunities to engage in. I know there will be challenging days when I will feel like chasing down the school bus and putting them on board. But mostly I am excited that God has blessed me with this opportunity to invest in the three miracles he has given Larry and me. I pray I don’t mess them up to much!  I’ll try to keep you posted on how things go at New Covenant Christian Academy.

 

 

The Lego Challenge

Eden and Larry took on the challenge to build the "tallest tower"  this evening. What a great time for daddy and daughter. They did get it to touch the ceiling. Great job Daddy and Eden!

Father's Day Fun

We have lots of fun here at the Gilbreath house,. Today we took the fun outside for Father's Day. Eden was given a slip and slide for her birthday and Daddy decided he would play too.

And everyone had to jump in the pool to end the day!

We are so blessed to have Larry lead our family. He's a wonderful  husband and father.

Happy Father's Day, Larry we all love you :)

Meal time fun

Meal time is always a little crazy our house. Most days I put 3 meals on the table, so being creative and  getting the kids to eat what I make is always a challenge. Teaching table manners is also a work in progress. We're trying to teach the kids how to ask for things nicely, ask to be excused when finished and to hold their hands in self control until we've said the blessing.Those skills are in addition to a few other important things like chewing with our mouths closed, using utinsils instead of fingers, and using napkins when needed.  And my personal favorite, if you don't like it, don't eat it but you may not throw it on the floor!!!

So as you can see, Larry and I have our work cut out for us during meal time. There are days I think I should feed the kids first and Larry and I wait to eat until after they go to bed.  But I must say, eating together is one of my favorite times of the day. We always laugh and have fun. We talk about our day and it's such a great time to be together as a family. One of my favorite parts is saying the blessing. It is so fun now that Eden knows it and Josiah is learning it. If Larry and I forget, Eden remembers, We should always thank God for our food. Josiah likes it too. He always says, "AMEN!" at the end. He waits patiently with a huge grin each blessing, just to say, 'AMEN!"

 Typical clean up afer meal time!

 Check out how icky Josiah's shirt is.... He really enjoyed dinner that night!

Smiling and happy.

Who wouldn't want to have dinner with this handsome little man :)

I blame Wyatt!

This handsome fellow is Wyatt, or "baby Wyatt" as Eden and Josiah like to call him.

Wyatt hangs out with us a few days each week, so his Momma can go to work. I blame him for giving me baby fever. He's a snuggle bug and LOVES to be worn. It took a few days to find the balance of caring for three, especially when all three of them fuss at the same time. But faster than I realized it we got into a little routine.

Josiah really loves Wyatt. Most days as Wyatt leaves, his hair is a little greasy from the many, many times Josiah has rubbed it and said, "easy" or "soft touches."  It makes me happy to know that Josiah is so caring with a little one because his little brother or sister will be here in July! I'm hoping we'll have perfected the "Easy" touches by time the next little one gets here. :)

3rd times the charm!

If I time this just right, this should post right about the same time we share with our church family that we're expecting baby number 3 July 18th. Larry and I are thrilled with this new blessing and look forward to welcoming a new Gilbreath to the family.

 This is our first pictures of baby #3.

I know it looks like a little blob, but that is a person, a unique creation of God.

It amazes me that all of his or her days are known to God. Their life is ordained by the great creator of the universe. And God has chosen to bless Larry and I with this wonderful gift of life. What an honor to be entrusted with this little person.

Even at 8 weeks this baby has strong heartbeat, 174 beats a minute.

What a miracle that a little life is growing inside of me.

What a blessing to be able to hear the heartbeat for the first time.

That whosh, whosh, whosh  sound is one the sweetest sounds I have ever heard.

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;" 

Psalms. 127:3-5

The difference between boys and girls!

The difference between girls and boys.

Eden wanted a wagon ride but freaked out because there was a frog in the wagon. She squealed and jumped up and down, well like a girl :)

Josiah seeing the frog thought, Wow that's neat. I think I should catch it. And he did!

That's a little frog leg under his thumb. I was so impressed that he caught it, then fearful he might squish it. 

So I quickly put down the camera to free the frog.

This was one of those times I loved seeing the difference between my boy and girl! It' is a blessing to have one of each. They are so different, but they are supposed to be :)

*** no animal was harmed during this episode. Maybe a little freaked out, but not harmed.

Potty time

Over the past few weeks I've been working with Eden to potty train her. Some days we seem to do really well. Others are full of accidents and battle of wills. Some days it's my laziness b/c it's just easier to have her wear a diaper. I know I know, bad Mom! But I figure she'll be potty trained before she goes to college, so I'm not going to sweat the small stuff.

One of Eden's best encourager is my niece Brielle. While visiting them Eden and Brielle would go potty together. Eden thought she was such a big girl just like Breille. Nothing like good peer pressure to help :)

One of the other big helps was the crafts we did while visiting. Shay and Brielle have scissors. Eden wanted a pair too. So I made it a goal for her potty chart. When she earned enough stickers she earned the scissors. Plus she gets two M&M each time she goes. she has an immediate reward and a long term goal. It only took her a few days to fill up her chart. She was so proud of herself! And I'm proud of her too.

We still have some work to do and we're not ready to go out in public yet in big girl panties, but like I said, we'll have this figured out by time she gets to college, so no pressure!

The funny thing is Josiah is watching and learning. He already seems interested. I have teased Larry that I'll train our girls and he can train the boys. My guess is he'll be easier to train b/c of Eden. Any ideas

Full potty chart!
Reward in hand

I love the concentration on her face as she learns to cut.

Going to the Park- 2007

Another blast from the past. These are from July of 2007. Eden still loves her purple passy. Wow! those first few days of parenting. I laugh at how naive we were.





This was Eden's first visit to the park. She wanted to sleep the whole time. Next time we'll try to have someone take our picture so we can finally have one with all three of us in a picture at the same time :)

So Blessed

I am so blessed to be the Momma to two amazing children. Years ago doctors told me it would be nearly impossible to get pregnant b/c of a medical problem. What do they know? I have an amazing God, who is the great physician. He surprised us with both of my pregnancies. I have come to realize that parenting is a monumental task. Shaping the mind and heart of a little one is a lesson in sacrifice that requires so much patience and care. I feel like I fail so often. Thankfully, God's mercies are new each day. There are so many moments lately that God has moved me to understand my relationship with him by using my children. It isn't always easy, but it is always a blessing.

Eden is a curious and happy almost 2 year old. She continually amazes me with her ability to learn and comprehend. She is also quick on her toes, laterally. I was just told to look at this coming year as the "terrific two." They will pass before I know it. My little girl won't always be so little :)

Josiah is a laid back and sweet little boy. Actually, he's not so little. I think he's around 15-16 lbs by now. I call him big red. Along with his awesome red hair, he has beautiful blue eyes. A sweet older lady from our church said, "he has smiley eyes, you know he'll have a happy life." What a great thing to say and hope for my son.

Our most important hope for our children is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the reason they exist. We all exist to have a relationship with him. Jesus is the source of our blessing as a family.