Education

As many of you know (if there is anyone still actually following this dusty, hardly any posts, blog) we put our boys in school last January.  As Preston reminds me, nothing is ever a mistake, it's all a learning process, and it always serves some purpose at the time.  Very true.  But what we've determined is there simply isn't enough time in the day, even with a shortened school schedule at their school, to accomplish everything we want and need to do when they are not WITH you.  After school activities, homework, and exhaustion take over and everything else gets pushed to the side.

So we are all returning home in the fall, and quite honestly, are so excited about it!  I love that homeschooling allows for one on one learning, at the pace that suits the child.  Ethan went in to school a bit advanced in many areas, and while he is getting straight A's in his classroom, I actually see a "decline" in his learning vs. the pace we were on at home.  That gives me reassurance that I'm actually a good teacher and shouldn't doubt myself so much.  LOL  Ashton struggles with spelling..he's able to pass the weekly spelling test just fine...actually A's and B's...yet ask him to write a paragraph with some of those words in it a few weeks from now...nah!  So I'm certainly excited to get him home and truly help him to "see" spelling, not just for a test, but for life.

And while all of those "academic" areas are certainly important and high on my radar, more importantly is the rich education I want them to receive in knowing Christ and who they are in Him.  If my children grow with academic rigor alone, yet leave our house one day, and walk away from the Lord, what really have they gained?  Can I guarantee their obedience to the Lord?  Certainly not.  Can I do all of this and they still choose something else?  Absolutely.  But if we don't lay the foundation, emerse ourselves in His Word, study it and meditate upon it...not just in "bible" class, but throughout all aspects of the learning process, then we will just be like the chaff that gets so easily blown in the wind when the world comes knocking.  And hang onto your bootstraps boys because the stories I hear about college professors and people of this world...it will blow your mind the brainwashing and bashing they do to unsuspecting and not firmly rooted Christians.  I want my boys to own their faith, to be so firmly planted in their faith, that they will be able to defend what they believe with conviction and authority.

Can this happen if they school elsewhere?  Sure.  Will we have the time to sew the seeds we desire with such richness and conviction between 4-9pm each night?  For us?  Probably not.

So we are returning home.  A 5th grader and 3rd...wow!  Where does the time go?  I remember 4 short years ago when we were hopping around the room, as Kangaroos do in Australia, as we were learning our continents.  Such sweet memories. Looking forward to making MANY more!!!