Whether you homeschool or not this will help you because your kid’s education is your jurisdiction even if we delegate part of it.

If you do homeschool, never make homeschooling an idol because when we idolize something we start to think poorly of anyone not doing the thing we see as so important. Homeschooling is not an identity, let’s not stereotype people. “Oh, they are homeschoolers…”

Homeschooling doesn’t guarantee your kids are going to be saved but we do have the most influence on them in pointing them to God.

Over coddling will actually backfire on you.

11 Reasons Why We Decided to Homeschool

 

#11 The Perks

• Vacation when you want and at times when others aren’t. It costs less and the places aren’t as busy.
• We did a 3-month RV trip around the country visiting 34 states and the kids.
• Kids have joined Isaac on work trips.
• Mom is there when kids have their firsts, they don’t miss out. You are there to celebrate with them.
• Being able for your kids to move academically at a pace that stimulates them.

#10 Customization of Curated Life Skills

• We believe speaking in front of groups is an important life skill we can nourish.
• Putting our kids in situations where they can be effective in practicing leadership.
• Apprenticeships, involving kids in experiential learning from other people we trust.
• Fine arts which largely has been cut out of public education. For example, our 14-year-old Megan recently had someone license her art to be put on products.
• Piano and guitar teachers we hand select to teach our kids.
• Two things Isaac has always told Angie we should never skimp on financially:
  • Healthy food
  • Educational resources

#09 Out of The Box Education

• We’ve done an eclectic combination of curriculum over the years.
• Classical conversations has been huge for us.
  • They meet with other kids once per week with a tutor, keeping the parents as the teachers.
  • Socratic learning method causing kids to learn then come and have to discuss and answer tutors questions in a class setting.
  • When someone teaches something they get to the pinnacle of learning.
• Delight directed study
  • Focus on educating in the direction of the interests of your kids.
• Angie, what do you say to people that just want the plan so they can follow it?
  • No one’s homeschool looks the same.
  • Your kids are unique.
  • You are unique as a teacher.
  • You need to find what works best for you and your kids.
• How do you make sure they learn what’s required if you decided what to teach them.
  • Go to your state’s website and find out the requirements.
  • You will discover how low the requirements actually are.
  • It’s very easy to far surpass them.

#08 Stewardship

• God calls us to steward things He gives us well.
• Time is important to steward well. Angie liked her free time which initiatlly discouraged her from wanting to homeschool. 
• She realized though that their vision for their legacy would be hard if they spent so much time away from her.
• Kelsey our oldest went to first grade but it took so much time to fix the poor influences of the kids around her.

#07 Socialization and Relationships

• Who do you want your kids to be like?
• If I could find kids in the public education system in their teenage years that I want my kids to be like that might sway me. But unfortunately very few over the years.
• Do we want our kids to be the kind of people we love spending time with when they are older?  Yes!
• So if we are the ones we are helping to socialize them this is more likely to happen.
• We believe it’s important to highly influence who they spend time with while they are younger so they make smart choices when they are older about who they spend time with.
• You cannot become isolated if you homeschool, you must be proactive in building relationships with families you want your kids to run with.
• If you aren’t socially awkward, then you probably won’t raise socially awkward kids.

#06 It’s Sanctifying, It Produces a Rare Fruit

• Anything worth doing is hard.
• But neither is putting them in public school if you are going to detox them on the things that aren’t good.
• However, they are educated there will be hard work required by you to do it well.
• It’s sanctifying to surrender your will to His.
• We encourage you to pray to God on how He wants you to be obedient in this area.
• We are to walk in the spirit, not the flesh.
• Living in obedience will look different for different families.

Unity is not uniformity.

#05 Indoctrination

• There is good and bad indoctrination.
• It’s always happening. It’s good or bad and there is no in-between. Your kids are being filled every day, is it media and liberal ideologies at school that’s filling them or you?
• I don’t know why parents are shocked when kids fall away or have more liberal beliefs than they do when they let the world fill them while they are young?
• It is very clear that you are in charge of what they are indoctrinated with.
• We are not to be of the world. If you are allowing the kids to be indoctrinated by the world you are disobeying God.
• We need to run the race and finish the race and how do you do this if you let them be overly indoctrinated by the world.

#04 Discipline

• Training our children to be living a spiritually disciplined life.
• We should want them around so we can model it often for them.
• There will be lots of times that our kids need to be corrected
  • Teachers can’t do it the way you can.
  • They won’t do it, they don’t have the bandwidth either.
  • If your kids roll their eyes, they need to be held accountable for that for example.

#03 Discipleship

• It’s not an event, it’s something that happens every day and differently based on age.
• We cover this in detail with resource lists in the Parenting Mentor Program.
• Read the word of God often to your kids.
• Do family Bible time.
• Discipleship must be woven into the fabric of every day.
• If you only get the leftovers when they get home from school, it’s very hard to dig in with them when they are tired.

#02 Leaving a Legacy

• A multigenerational vision for your family.
• What you do with your kids will echo into the future.
• What do you want to be repeated in the future?
• We already know what the future is for the world is, everything continues to get worse. We aren’t to fear it we are to lead and stand for righteousness in it.
• How are you going to create leaders in a deteriorating culture if you are leaving a legacy of them being indoctrinated by the world?
• We want to leave one generation praising God’s works to the next generation.
• There are many mundane hard days, weeks, and months but you must remember the why.
• You are cultivating a closer relationship with your kids.
• You are modeling with them what they should be doing with their kids.
• Do you think the education system is going to get better in 20 years?

#01 The Mission and Your Why

• We are leaders in the great commission starting with our children. 
• If you don’t teach them when they are young, they won’t ask for your advice when they are older.
• Beware of academic elitism getting between you and your children.
• You must figure out your why and make sure your education choices align.
• For us, it is a conviction to do this. Our bigger goal can’t be accomplished without it.

Scripture Mentioned In This Episode

1 Timothy 4 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

Collosians 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Proverbs 4:20 “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.”

Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Psalm 145:1 “One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.”

1 Corinthians 1:19 “For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Matthew 25:21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'”

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