wheter or not to homeschool?

Hi April!

My greatest advice to you would be this:  pray for her. Pray for her to have the strength to listen to the Lord and discern His will.  Tell her you are praying this way for her.  Then do it.

Also, in the back of the FABULOUS book called Homeschool Supermom…NOT! by Susan Kemmerer there is a wonderful article in the appendix called “A Conviction to Homeschool.”  It is highly Biblical, as is the whole book.  There is another article in the appendix called “Questions to Discuss with my Spouse ABout Homeschooling.”  I think ALL homeschool Mamas need to read this book.  If you don’t own it and don’t know anyone who does either, let me know, and I will copy and mail these articles to you for your friend.  However if you are so inclined, grab your own copy.  I keep mine by my bedside or by my Bible, it’s that good!

Another thought is that Lisa Welchel book, So You’re Thinking About Homeschooling?  If that is not the title, it’s something similar.  I liked that one when we were first considering homeschooling.

THere is also A LOT of info online, and I am sure that you could do some Google searches and get some great hits that might be of assistance to your friend.  It is a tough decision, and not one to be taken lightly!

Hope this Helps!

Amy

I am certainly no math scholar and we are almost done with high school using DVDs and dad to help when mum could not – so that can be done and is successful.  Linda

A lot of men need facts. I suggest she supply him with some. Look up statistics about homeschool. Go to HSLDA’s website. Also each state should have their own organziation. I found a lot on Georgia’s site. For instance, he can read some books or a book that she chooses about homeschooling. Here are just a few that were listed. 

• A Field Guide to Home Schooling, by Christine Field
• Cultural Literacy, by E.D. Hirsch (grades 1-6)
• For the Children’s Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
• Home Grown Kids, by Raymond and Dorothy Moore
• Homeschooling by Heart, Kristina Sabalis Krulikas
• How to Homeschool, by Gayle Graham
• Language and Thinking for Young Children, by Ruth Beechick
• Teaching the Trivium, by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn
• The Christian Home School, by Gregg Harris
• The How & Why of Home Schooling, by Ray Ballman
• The Three R’s (K-3), by Ruth Beechick
• The Whole Hearted Child, by Clay and Sally Clarkson
• You Can Teach Your Child Successfully (4-8), by Ruth Beechick

Another good book that has some statistics is Mary Prides Big Book Of Homeschooling. She could also make a chart of pros and cons. Once again, men see things differently than women.

She could find some homeschooling families to talk to and introduce him to. If time is not a factor, she could take him to a homeschool convention. Lots of great people, info, and encouragement there! Fears can be melted away!

Are they considering PS? She could get statistics on PS children and things they are taught and exposed to in today’s world.

A great website, books, articles for just dads..author who happens to homeschool..is http://www.familymanweb.com  Todd Wilson is a down to earth kind of guy that sheds truth on life and family.

I would be interested to know why a pastor is so against homeschooling. There are a lot of misconceptions about homeschoolers. We are all backwards people, ya know?? LOL! Maybe, if she is concerned, she could provide her pastor with some info!!

I have recently heard this about my friend’s pastor. Their church has a Christian school..could it be that he is a little biased because they have a school? My friend’s pastor commented that the con of homeschooling puts pressure on the wife, a.k.a. she has too much to do and gets burned out! Not sure if this was his ONLY reason.

I can think of more ideas..will PM you later. We have been so sick at our house. Time for me to wrap this up!

Hope this helps!

Wanted to add, I am sure she knows this! But to approach hubby with a loving attitude and prayer! 🙂

It took about five years of devoted prayer and fact finding missions on my part to get my husband on board.  He still would prefer our kids to be in school but has told me that he trusts my decision regarding this and thinks I do a wonderful job.  He came from elementary in a Christian school and middle/high school in a public school where he was a great athlete and that really shaped his thoughts on school even though he admits he only graduate b/c of he was a good athlete.  Anyway, I think what helped him was my not nagging, my constant prayers, athletic options for homeschool kids, and our local education stats for both the public and private schools in our area.  It included things like teacher’s wages, how much money is spent per child on their education, test scores, graduation rates, college bound students, GPA’s, etc.  It was shocking to see how much money is spent for kids who end up dropping out, barely graduate, or just have bad grades.  Things are much different in school today then they were fifteen to twenty years ago and once my husband saw that, he started to see the benifits.  We have also decided to take the “one year at a time, one child at a time” approach.  Maybe that would help your friend’s husband if he realized this wasn’t a life long commitment, that they can change their minds if they decide to.  My husband would not have read any books about homeschool either.  Just a list of facts, short, simple, and quick.  Focus on the Family has information about various types of school choices including homeschooling at this link:  http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/schooling/school_choice.aspx  It walks through all kinds of choices and may help.  God Bless.

I just wanted to add my testimony here.

The Lord put it on my heart to homeschool when my oldest was 2 (she’s now 15). My dh said no way. Both his parents were ps teachers, so that was going to be out of the question.

Do not underestimate the power of prayer for your friend. In my case, I said Yes, Lord immediately, as I felt it was what I was meant to do. 

I got trouble from several pastors (whose wives were ps teachers), so I had every possible thing against me, as well as getting slack from my own extended family (I have a PhD and was constantly told I’d be wasting my degree). 

But I decided to trust the Lord and pray. By the time my oldest got to Kindergarten age, dh said I could try it, but he would not allow me to purchase any homeschool books. So the Lord showed me how to homeschool with my library card. We moved across country after that year and being in an apartment in a not so nice area until we were able to buy a house, I was able to continue to homeschool, never ceasing my prayers to change my dh’s heart.

Although he was never thrilled with it, dh had to admit I was doing a good job. 

Three years ago, my 3rd child was diagnosed with Aspergers, and that was the clincher to dh finally realizing homeschooling’s the best thing. He actually thanked me for homeschooling because he knows the bullying and trouble my son would have faced in ps because of his issues! we are now in our 11th year of homeschooling, thanks to the Lord’s intervention.

All the while I remained respectful of dh, which I know is the key to the success of my prayers.

Prayer moves mountains of opposition. Pray that she will hear the Good Shepherd’s Voice and not listen to the “excuses” of the enemy.