Modern Homeschool Today

  I once asked a seasoned homeschooler how she managed to fit so many activities and events around 'schoolwork'. She told me she had mastered the art of car-schooling! Plenty of learning takes place in the car: Organic discussion of topics, answering questions, reading and the odd math quiz...and then she mentioned audio books.  We had only ever attempted an audio book in the car, once, and then a little person shoved chips into the CD player and that was the end to audio books. But recently I got a new car - one from the 2000's - that has bluetooth capability and all of a sudden, audio books were back! The problem? Finding ones engaging enough that kids actually want to listen, that doesn't make me fall asleep while driving and is relevant for 3 boys aged 8 - 12. Enter: Jonathon Park audio adventures. These. Are. Brilliant.  These are highly engaging stories based around a family of creation scientists who go on all sorts of adventures wh...

The other morning my day began in tears, my tears. I awoke to the sound of high pitched squeals, aggressive voices and unkind words. Like most parents, I don't like when my children fight. I'm not a morning person at the best of times but that day, I lost it. I lost my marbles, my cool, my common decency.. I was overwhelmed. See, justified or not, I take misbehavior personally. I see my own inadequacies and failings when I observe undesirable behavior in my own children. I don't expect perfection and misbehavior is always an opportunity for character development but I take the task of raising children very seriously. Why? Because I know that my children are a gift from God and that he has given me the task of 'training' them. As long as I rely on him, he gives me the strength to rise to the challenge but I have to keep my eyes fixed on him and remember why he has given my children in the first place. God's design for parents = Training "Do not ex...

Part of the reason we chose to homeschool after spending time in a local state school was because we wanted to teach our kids Christian values. We had the opportunity to experience education and socialisation in a secular environment which helped us realise how important it is that not only our home life be centered about the person of Jesus but also our children's education. I have mentioned numerous times about homeschooling being a socially unpopular choice. It is also a counter-cultural choice. But what many people don't realise is that we often face opposition from other Christians and Christian leaders. Homeschoolers really are going against the flow! Even in church communities we are taught that it's best to go with the flow - just follow the majority and we should be right. The problem? We end up using imperfect people to guide our decisions rather than look to the word of God. We stop following God and start following church culture and church leaders inste...