Tim and I both grew up in Christian homes and met while attending church together in high school.  Tim moved back to Alaska after graduating and we began a long distance courtship four years later.  The first seven years of our married life the Lord did not give us children. People wondered if we were ever going to have children…now they wonder if we are ever going to stop! Tim and I were not unified on a schooling choice for our children when our oldest was a toddler.  Tim thought that we should be salt and light in the public school, and I prefered the idea of private Christian education.  During a Sunday school class on parenting, two couples shared the reasons that they home schooled their children.  God used them to turn our hearts toward home schooling.

We officially started the home education of our children in 1991 when our first child was kindergarten age. He actually began reading on his own at the age of three.  We were amazed and looked for help from a local home schooling mom.  She gave us some ideas for teaching him more subjects. It was a rewarding and fun experience so we just kept on. I also met another mom who had toddlers the same age as mine, and we decided to take our children on field trips together and do crafts or science projects once a week. I felt like God was gently guiding us into home schooling and rewarded us with the enthusiasm of our children. Initially, our philosophy was to invest what we had into teaching academics with a Godly focus.  Today, our philosophy has changed to invest in discipling our children in Christ centered academics, with a focus on character and life skills.

We’ve always had a goal or vision for our family in home schooling, but the most significant was in 2000 when we became involved with Advanced Training Institute (ATI).  We went to training for several days and were equipped with encouragement, and materials, to help train our children to be mighty in spirit.  We have used their Life Purpose Planning book to help our teens see why God made them and what direction their ministry is in. We have seen tremendous fruit from this, things we would have missed had we not kept them at home. The elementary age is an important time for home schooling, but now I see the high school years as just as strategic. When our children are young they demand our attention, when they are teenagers they need our attention.

I have done most of the classroom teaching while Tim is often called upon for math explanations and science projects.  The majority of our teaching has to do with the application of Scripture, resulting in Christ-like attitudes and character.  Tim leads our family worship time with Scripture reading and table talk discussions every morning.   He is also on the property most days because of our home business. This enables him to be available to train in righteousness, attitudes, and behavior.   Tim will also take the children with him on jobs and errands as teaching opportunities. We both teach life and vocation skills in the kitchen, shop, raspberry business, and home.

I believe in teaching the basics of reading, writing, math, and Bible, and those four open the door for other studies.  Once a child knows how to read, he can learn other subjects by reading good books, which we fill our home library with.  I look for teacher-friendly materials that can be adapted to different age levels and learning styles. I like unit studies because they cover many subjects with one effort, plus the topic is well covered and adapts to many learning styles.  I started out teaching a book for each subject and discovered that not all children learn well from textbooks and workbooks. Also, as more children came into our family, I found that I needed curriculum that maximized on my time and energy.

When our oldest was moving into high school, we decided to look at our options. We evaluated a Christian school and checked out the community college. We prayerfully decided to keep him at home so that he could help his dad in our family business, be involved with his siblings by helping them with their school, and so he could saturate himself more in the Word. In training our high schoolers, we involved them in speech and debate, a Worldview philosophy course, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests, time management training, and daily Bible reading. As of 2005 we have informally graduated our two oldest children. For one child we had an open house, inviting family and friends.  We had a sharing and praying time for him.  Our other child moved from High School studies to real life skill studies without fanfare.

Our oldest son took CLEP tests in order to get into a distance-learning Paralegal program through Oak Brook College of Law and Government.  While living at home, he is taking advantage of various outreach and service opportunities, such as Gleanings for the Hungry, The Portland Rescue Mission and local political projects. He helps in our home business with raspberry farming and custom cabinetry.

  We have guided our daughter toward homemaking skills.  She has taken an 8-week course in Dallas, TX, called EXCEL (Excellence in Character, Education, and Leadership) that covered many life skills with a Christian focus on areas of spiritual growth and character.  She helps in the office of our home business, is learning about managing a home, takes classes that benefit her for keeping a home, does child care for family and friends, helps with the teaching of her younger siblings, plans meals, and cooks.  All of the activities and projects are chosen and evaluated to help prepare her for keeping her own home.

Because we are a large family in a small house, we are learning to be respectful and patient with each other.  We are training the older to help younger siblings with school and life skills, which helps mom, and teaches them to be others-focused and a contributor to the family.  Another benefit is one-on-one time to focus on weak spots in education and character.  Home schooling also gives us time to be together and time for delight driven interests.

There have been times when I have been so focused on academics and character that I have not taken time to feed upon the Word.  When this has happened, I have fallen into the trap of teaching character or behavior without taking the child back to the Cross and their relationship with God. When we changed to the ATI curriculum that was Scripture-centered, I began to really get fed each day along with my children.  I am now growing and continually being brought to the realization of God’s sovereign work in all areas of my life.

One of our challenges has been teaching a child with dyslexia.  The first two children learned to read and write easily, so when our third was struggling, I waited and gave him some time to mature.  However, every time we came back to it, we continued to struggle.  I changed curriculums and tried some therapy at a local optometrist. There was some improvement, but not enough, and by then he was 11 years old.  At age 13, we found out about a program founded by a man who had dyslexia.  We implemented it for a year and saw much greater results. Another aspect that helped was our child’s attitude. He desperately wanted to read better.  We read the Bible together as a family everyday and we switched to a reading/spelling program that had been developed for special needs.  We prayed a lot about it together and talked about how God uses our weaknesses to show His strength in our life. We have a custom cabinet business and we allow him lots of shop time to be successful in and develop his strengths. This has improved his weakness.

Another challenge was when our daughter developed a problem with self-acceptance that took the form of anorexia. We received help from our doctor and a nutritionist, but it was the counsel from one of our church elders that God used to really turn her heart back to Him, and His purpose for her life.  God has used this to again draw us to the Cross.  God has healed our daughter and she has become a trophy of His grace. It is true that fire refines us and He brings beauty from the ashes.

We have seen this be true also when we had our eighth baby.  When she was born we were surprised that she had Down’s syndrome.  At the time, we didn’t even know what that really was.  At first there was a sort of grieving that took place in the fact that she was not the “normal” baby we thought she was going to be. We then grasped God’s sovereign hand and started to walk with our daughter on this new journey. She has had three years of early childhood intervention therapy and now we home school her along with our other children.  She is an unexpected joy in our lives.   

For my husband and I, working together to come up with a purpose to home school has helped us to be united in the leading and training of our children.  We now work together to evaluate all activities and projects, … according to our goals and in keeping with an eternal worldview.  We also do as much as we can as a family; this has brought unity and a deeper appreciation and love for each other.  We are not going in various different directions, but stay to our purpose.

Ten years ago Tim was a partner in a business but felt God leading him out of it to begin a home business with our family and to move closer to our parents. We decided to become farmers!  We live in the country and commercially farm raspberries and strawberries. But two years ago Tim and the boys also began building custom cabinets. We still have a few berries but the main projects are now in the cabinet shop. We enjoy working together, playing games, going on walks, hikes, or adventures. Most of us play a musical instrument so we really enjoy worshiping together.  The one unique thing about our family is that whenever we do something, we do it as a family or with family members.  Because of home schooling, the one word that best describes us is togetherness.