The Confident Homeschooler: A 12-Part Journey from Doubt to Growth.

Welcome to The Roadmap to Homeschooling

When I look back at when I really started putting a plan together to homeschool. I really didn’t want to let my little daughter go into a program that I felt like would not teach her the way I wanted her to be taught. I wanted her to be taught about Christianity, and who God is. Even in the 90’s schools were drifting away from honoring your religious preferences.

When I was in school, if your parents decided that a class did not line up with their beliefs, they would just assign you to a different class, but that all changed. They took God out of schools so that religion would not be a part of it, and in turn, made all children atheists. I also felt like I could do a better job of teaching her to read as I had already tested her and she was reading at a third grade level at 4 years old. That was the proof that I needed to show the family because they thought I was crazy. Mamaw said that a child needed to go to school to learn, but she was learning, at home, better and faster than school kids.

So if you are thinking about homeschooling, I know that it’s a huge cliff to jump off of, but you really just need to trust in God that he knows what you’re doing and He will catch you when you fall. If He’s leading you into schooling your children at home, He’s not going to let you down, you’re going to reap rewards for what you’re doing. 

So just take a slow deep breath and realize that you don’t have to have everything figured out today. 

So welcome to the Road Map to Homeschooling. It’s a 12 week series that I’m going to do to help new homeschoolers get through all the different things that you have to do just to get started. I know that it can be kind of scary and uncertain to start something new but God’s got you. We’re going to do this together. 

Part one: Finding Your Way in the Unknown. 

I realize that starting homeschooling can look like you’re jumping off a cliff into the vast unknown, but that’s just where you need to be. God wants you to step out in faith. If He is talking to you about taking your children out of school, or not even putting them in, He’s doing that for a reason. The school system today leads children down a path to atheism. I know that’s not what I wanted for my children, so perhaps that’s what you don’t want for yours. Sometimes you have children that are not perfect. They’re autistic, they’re dyslexic, they have other problems, and sometimes they’re just so smart that they leave everybody behind. No matter which one that is, we can walk together through it, because once you get started putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll see that daily it’s not that hard. Mostly it’s just your brain thinking bad thoughts that overwhelms you, but God tells you to take every thought captive, and that’s what you have to do. Don’t overthink it, just do ‘today’.

I think one of the first things most people want to do is to do a bunch of research. Is it legal to homeschool in my state? Actually yes, homeschooling is legal in every state but there are different rules so find out what those rules are and then you can start from there. 

I would also advise you to look up your local guidelines through The homeschool legal defense association or (HSLDA) or even your state’s department of education. Once you have those, then it really helps you to know what those guidelines are and go from there. Scripture reminds us in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 

Another thing that parents often think about themselves is that they might not have been trained professionally as a teacher, so how could you know how to teach a child. Many times people think, I need to get a room and get desks, and white boards, and computers, and decorated it to look like a school room, but that’s not necessarily true. You’ve been teaching your children since they were born how to walk, and how to talk, and you have ideas about what you want them to learn. The curriculum, you can look through, and find the one that you like the best. Don’t overthink it, just do something everyday, and eventually,  you’ll get a schedule together. 

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 it says “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. “

Yeah notice that he didn’t say you have to have a professional degree to teach your children. He didn’t say you have to have the perfect curriculum. He didn’t have to tell you that you needed a whole school room inside your house. You just have to be willing to do what he asked you to do. Sit at the kitchen table. Start there.

When you get frustrated and you’re exhausted after a long day. Take strength in the words that God tells you. Read your Bible. If you speak in tongues, pray in tongues. Play worship music. God will help you remember why you are doing this. 

Your 1st practice for this week: Get your whys together. Why are you doing this? Is it because you don’t want to let your children go into school because you believe that you could do a better job? Is it because your children are already reading? Is it because your children have a learning disability? Is it because you want them to have a Christian education? Find out your whys. Write them down on a note card and post it somewhere so that you can see it. That way when the days get long and hard, and they will, you can look at your note card and remember why. Next week, we are going to face the single biggest question everyone asks at the grocery store: The Socialization Question.

Reflection Questions

1. What does “successful education” look like in the eyes of God versus the eyes of the world? Strip away state requirements and test scores for a moment. When your child is grown, what spiritual fruit, character traits, and biblical foundations do you deeply pray they walk away with?
2. How can you release the “School at Home” picture? When you think about homeschooling, are you trying to force your home into a rigid, institutional mold, or are you allowing God to build a peaceful rhythm that fits your specific family’s design?
3. Where are you relying on your own strength instead of God’s equipping? If you are feeling inadequate, look at 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” How does knowing that God fills in your gaps change how you view your qualifications to teach your child?

This Week’s Routine Practice: The Daily Reset

Before you get crazy busy this morning let’s go ahead and start a simple habit called the morning grounding check-in. 

Every morning before you get started go ahead sit down at your kitchen table, grab your coffee and look at your why statement. Then read Deuteronomy 6: 6 – 7 out loud. If you have a daily devotional do that. Then remind yourself that when God calls you to do something he’s going to teach you how to do it himself he’s going to lead the way and you just have to take it one step at a time.

A Prayer for the Journey

Father, 

As I stand at this cliff looking at an overwhelming thing that I am pondering, lead me with your Love. I know that you have called me to homeschool my children, I put my faith in you that you will educate me because you have called me to educate my children. I am obeying you. 

When I feel overwhelmed and I feel like I just can’t cope anymore. When I feel like I’m just not cut out for this. Help me to remember my whys, and that I am being obedient to you. Help me to rest in your presence. 

Help me to take wisdom from other homeschoolers around me, from the homeschool association and from reading your wisdom. Give me Grace for today. 

Amen

Next week, we are going to face the single biggest question everyone asks at the grocery store: The Socialization Question.