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In a few short weeks my boys will walk into a traditional classroom for the first time in almost two years. When we found our local public school not working well for us, we knew something had to change. My boys would come home from school and be completely defeated. They insisted that they wouldn’t understand math; or they would say that they were dumb or that they would never understand the subject at hand.
Weeks had gone by with the same type of attitudes and there was little help from the teachers or principal. I could feel God pulling me in a different direction for their education. At the time I was not willing to answer the call to home-school the boys. I would often say to myself and others “I can’t home-school them, we will never survive.” Never say never when God is involved.
When I finally had seen enough with our oldest son, Tanner, I made the decision to bring him home. We would finish out the rest of 3rd grade as a home-school family. Not having any idea where to start or how to go about teaching my child at home I hit the web and did some research. I figured if we only focused on the areas where Tanner was having trouble, it would at least help him gain the skill he needed and he wouldn’t have to feel defeated when it came to school. So the venture began.
It wasn’t but a few weeks later when we decided that Parker needed to come home, as well. His teacher would often call and say that Parker wasn’t completing his work during center time and she couldn’t send it home because it was center work. I felt like the teacher had me on speed dial. Parker soon made the transition to home-school, as well, and we would now be home-schooling the rest of 2nd grade as well as 3rd grade. I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel because we would put the boys in private school starting in the Fall of 2009. But, God had other plans.
Soon after starting the home-school journey we received notice that we had to move out of our rental house because the landlords wanted to move back in. That began the frantic house buying search. It also was the end of the private school dream. The money we needed to buy the house would have to come from the money we saved for private school. When I realized that, I felt defeated. I knew I could home-school short term but being responsible for an entire year would be another story-or so I thought.
I learned so many things while we went on our home-school journey. There were good days and bad. We made many friends with different home-school groups, and I quickly learned a routine that would work for us. I expected the days to be hard and I expected there to be challenges and great triumphs. When your child completes a timed math test and yells “I AM AWESOME AT MATH,” it makes for a great day. Especially, since he was sure he would never understand math. I also expected to teach my children and help them understand concepts. I didn’t expect that God would be right there teaching me along the way.
I’m not sure why I would be surprised that God was teaching me all along, but it seems odd to say that I feel like I am the one that learned the most during our home-school journey. I was reminded that when God leads you to something He doesn’t leave you to figure it out. He is right there guiding your path and going before you to clear the way. It may still be bumpy and I wasn’t always sure where we were headed or how we would get through a situation but God led the way.
When a situation presents itself, don’t be quick to say “I could never……”- you will be surprised when God leads you down that path. Allow Him to lead and clear the path. I once said I would never home-school my children. I’m happy that the home-school journey is coming to an end and the boys will be in a traditional school setting in the Fall, but I am so grateful for the experience. I learned that you can do anything with God. That is probably the most important lesson I could have learned.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” Psalms 127:1
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Homeschool: The Journey
by Shannon Burrous, posted Aug 2010
Shannon Burrous
Senior Contributor
www.frazledmwcn.com
faith@armywifemagazine.com
FAITH & VALUES
Archives: Faith & Values
Everyone learns at a different pace and has a different learning style. I saw this firsthand while home-schooling the two boys. I also saw it in myself and my family as we learn the lessons that God puts before us.
Photo: Jan-Erik Finnberg
