First Day of School (expanded)

After almost 8 years of homeschooling, God has led us to something new.
And His leading was pretty clear.
So even though it was a little hard for this mama
(and even more so for the papa),
our little brood has started school.

The first day went wonderfully.

Excitement was rampant!

And the neat thing is that they are all together.

Plus, they are with their brothers and sisters from our church.

They're learning to love even more.

They're learning respect, honor, discipline and vision.

And that's a blessing to this mama

(and to papa too!).

And not to worry.

We'll be with them all, helping at the school at least twice a week.

We can't let them go that easily.

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Expanded version for Jennifer (and anyone else who might be interested):

 I've been wanting to write a post about our school decision for awhile now, but with Jadon's surgery and getting ready to go to India, I haven't had a chance to do it (until now).


Last winter, our church started looking into having a school.  We live in a state that has abundant opportunities for charter schools, alternative-style schools, etc.  A sister at our church came across a computer-based school that offered a lot of flexibility.  Although we would have to use their curriculum, there would be a lot of freedom to discuss the Lord, emphasize godly character, etc.  Plus, it would be FREE and people from our church would be paid to teach there.


The two drawbacks (for David and I), were that we felt there was too much computer time, and there would only be one full-time teacher.  So, though we were supportive of the school, we didn't think that it would work for our children this year.


Then, a couple of months ago, we found out that the computer time would be drastically reduced.  A couple of weeks after that, the Lord made it possible for another man from our church (who had been a youth group leader and a public school teacher for many years) to teach, as well. These two things fully answered our concerns about the school and we knew that God was leading us to enroll our children. 


You may wonder why that would be if we really enjoy homeschooling.  Wouldn't homeschooling still be the best option?


In many cases, it is the best option.  There simply aren't a lot of schools where the emphasis is on loving the Lord with one's whole heart, soul and mind.  And though I know of many wonderful Christian families who have their children in public school, David and I didn't feel that was an option for our children. We have homeschooled for these past 8 years because we wanted to instill a great love for God in their hearts.  And though they do love the Lord, it is difficult to help our children live a fully Christian way of life in isolation.  It is extremely important to us that our children learn to love their neighbor as themselves and to really see other christians as their brothers and sisters.  This is not impossible in a homeschool environment, but many times homeschooling can breed individualism.  It absolutely does not have to, and there are many incredible homeschool families out there.  But, from our experience it took a lot of work to make sure our kids were learning to love others, and not be consumed with themselves.


So, the bottom line is that we want our children to love God and to love his body (the church).  We want them to grow up with their identity in the Lord and His people.  We want them be in an environment that fosters a way of life that centers around the Lord.  We want them to learn to reach out to others.  For us, this school is a gift from the Lord in order to help our children do just that.


The school has 16 children, two teachers (who we know and trust) and many parent/grandparent volunteers.  Grace is going half days, and for two of those days I'll be teaching her, along with one other kindergarten student and a first-grade student.  David will be helping with the older children, and next year, I'll be able to work with the older children, as well.  How wonderful to be able to be completely involved in my children's education, but also to have other teachers who reinforce what they are learning at home and in church.  Thank you, God, for your many kindnesses and gifts of great love!