Today being the last day of July means I have only one month left to prepare for another year of “teaching” my children at home.
This year I am going into it with a bit of a different mindset than before. I am not overly worried about the “grades” we are entering (just enough b/c the state “watches”), we are leaving desks behind, the textbook teaching has been lessened, etc. I am realizing much of what our children are learning has little or nothing to do with school time.
My focus this year seems to be geared towards what I’m teaching them in our everyday lives, what am I teaching them life is about, how am I preparing them for life?
(photo belongs to office.com)
As a parent I feel called to ensure my children are prepared to face the world when they leave my home. I know many whom believe this is one of the down sides to homeschooling. While I have seen parents that over shelter their children (in my opinion), I know many more that teach, protect and prepare their children by homeschooling.
Protecting our children is becoming more important by the day. Shootings, bullying, hate crimes, etc. show how important it is.
Preparing our children to live outside our home is essential. One day they will leave our home and if we do not prepare them for the ungodly world, then they will wander and struggle in their daily lives. Ensuring our children are grounded in God’s word, knowing why we live the way we do and how to combat all the ungodliness in the world; are just a few ways we must prepare our children.
As you can see, my focus for teaching differs this year. Yet it is just as, if not more important than textbooks.
In September, I will begin a series titled “Training Thursdays”. It will detail what topic I am training my children in, and how we are putting it into practice daily. I hope you will join me on our training journey!
*Please note, while we are a homeschooling family, I am in no way opposed or against private/public school. I have many friends that successfully went through the above mentioned educations. Homeschooling is where my heart lies and what we believe is right for our family.
8 comments
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Kate @ Teaching What Is Good
July 31, 2012 at 3:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Wonderful encouragement today! Very blessed that you linked this up. We need to remember that our homeschooling our children is so much more than academics and I love how you shared that. I’ll be watching for your series in September!
simplyhelpinghim
July 31, 2012 at 3:59 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
🙂 I am very excited about my upcoming series, but am ensuring I stagger then as I don’t want to be overwhelmed! LOL! Thanks for stoppin by! Blessings!
Mary Beth
July 31, 2012 at 10:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You make a great distinction between sheltering them just to shelter them and sheltering them so that you have the opportunity to prepare them to live independently. There is definitely a difference!
simplyhelpinghim
July 31, 2012 at 11:02 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yes, there is a huge difference and balancing it is not very easy, but very necessary. Blessings friend! 🙂
Kendra@ A Proverbs 31 Wife
July 31, 2012 at 9:48 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You are so right, preparing them for the world is what you should be teaching them. While I am very grateful to have been homeschooled and plan on homeschooling our kids. I feel that we were so protected in the home that at times we were ill prepared for the world. In fact for a long time both of my brothers were indeed lost to the world once they escaped home (their words not mine). Praise the Lord that one brother is back but the other is still lost.
simplyhelpinghim
July 31, 2012 at 9:51 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yes, there is definitely a “right way” to “shelter” your children, so as to teach them at your pace when you feel they are ready, but they must be taught of the world and it’s ways and how to live in the world. It is a delicate balance, to be dealt with much prayer and guidance from the Lord. Thanks for stoppin by! Blessings friend!
Amy
July 31, 2012 at 8:25 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So true! We are training our children to not need us, right? And if we neglect training about God, nothing else will matter. Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us today at Trivium Tuesdays!
simplyhelpinghim
July 31, 2012 at 8:44 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yes exactly! What we hope to see is dependent on what we teach and train them in! Thank you for stoppin by! Blessings!