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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:31:16 GMT -5
From the good folks at Teaching Home (see clickable link at top front page of this site) www.teachinghome.com/
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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:32:04 GMT -5
The Benefits of Home Schooling Whether you are reaffirming or reevaluating your decision to educate your children at home or are considering this option for the first time, reviewing the unique benefits available to home schoolers will provide the conviction, confidence, and commitment that you will need in order to persevere. For a Christian, your decision to home school should be based on a determination that this is how you can best fulfill God's mandate to teach and train your children.
For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments. Psalms 78:5-7
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
Seek the Lord through His Word and pray for His promised guidance, then agree as husband and wife on this important decision.
"Recently we moved out of state, leaving behind our church, friends, and family who were so encouraging and supportive of our decision to home school. Since our move, I have been quite discouraged, questioning my capability, my commitment, my convictions from the Lord. "As we sorted all this out, taking inventory of why we began in the first place, our daughter made it all very clear when she said, 'Mom, you should listen to what God has put in your heart, not what man has put into your head.'" -- Shirley G., Colorado
The Home-School Advantage Teaching and training your children at home can provide the optimum environment for your children's spiritual training and character development as well as their social and academic welfare. Consider how teaching your own children at home can open up wonderful opportunities to excel in the following areas.
Academic Benefits Research shows that home-school students’ academic achievement, on average, is 15 to 30 percentile points above the national average in reading, language, and math. For learning-disabled students, there are higher rates of academically engaged time in home education as well as greater academic gains. Some of the home-school advantages listed below will show you why this is possible.
A Solid Foundation in the Basics Basic skills (reading, writing, math) must be thoroughly mastered and then retained through review in order for children to acquire, use, and communicate knowledge in other subjects.
• Educationally, the one-on-one tutorial method has always been a superior teaching method. Individual attention has many advantages over a classroom setting where many children at different learning levels are taught at once.
• You can emphasize basic skills that are often neglected today.
• You can slow the pace or add more practice if necessary for a child to master a skill, rather than trying to build on a shaky foundation.
• You can use excellent, time-tested methods (such as phonics to teach reading), as well as unique materials written especially for use in home schooling or for special needs or aptitudes.
"I left behind a career of nursing; it was stimulating and fulfilling. But my career as full-time wife and mother is infinitely more stimulating and fulfilling. Home schooling allows me to round out that mothering career with teaching our children." -- Miriam S., Maryland
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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:32:48 GMT -5
An Excellent, Well-Rounded Education The reason Christians want their children to be well educated is so that they have the skills and knowledge to better serve God and others, as well as to appreciate and enjoy God and His creation.
• You can provide your children with a variety of real-life experiences that build the background knowledge for academic learning as your children accompany you throughout the day during many real-life situations. (Classroom teachers have to work hard to create simulations of these experiences.)
• Because you know your children better than anyone else and have the deepest concern for them, each of your children can better have his unique needs met.
• You can recognize and accommodate your child's readiness to learn new concepts, his abilities or difficulties in various areas, his personal interests, and his tendencies to learn best by methods that incorporate more sight, sound, touch, or movement.
• You can show relationships between facts learned in all subject areas as well as previously acquired information. This integration of knowledge can help your children to better understand and remember what they are taught.
• You can make available extra educational resources, reference materials, and supervised Internet searches.
• You can use your child's curiosity, needs, and interests to motivate learning, and you can stimulate new interests through reading, conversation, questions, and family activities.
• Children have more time to explore new interests and to think within the efficient, yet flexible schedule you can create at home.
"Here are some of the benefits of home school. First of all, I can accomplish so much more in a day. It has been stated that every six hours of institutional school is equal to two hours of home school; so that gives me more time to involve myself in not only academics, but also Bible study, research, writing, voice lessons, piano playing, oil painting, and sports, as well as learning and using home economic skills. "Home education is an important part of my life. It fills a need for more family-centered, biblical, one-on-one schooling. "In home school, not only are children spared unnecessary harassment by peers, but they have the positive advantage of learning to relate to their parents and other adults. "I am very grateful to my parents for their sacrifice of time and energy for home schooling." -- Holly H., age 18, Pennsylvania
A Christian World View Parents can present all academic subjects from a biblical perspective and include spiritual training. We want our children to view all they are learning, as well as all of life, in the light of Bible truth. The facts, truths, and principles revealed in God's Word should form the basis for each course of study and the standard for evaluating its content.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" Proverbs. 9:10
The practical uses of acquired knowledge and applications unique to Christians can be made an integral part of each subject taught:
Math Mathematics reveals the consistency and beauty of God's truth. It is used in measurements of fair trade, in scientific studies, and for producing all that is necessary or helpful to mankind.
Language Accurate reading, writing, speaking, and understanding of language is essential for communication. Through language we hear and proclaim God's Word, we teach and learn from others, we do good business with each other, and we maintain godly relationships.
Literature God's standards for all we take in and hold in our minds include truth, beauty, and purity.
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8
Science Facts revealed in Scripture, such as Creation and the Flood of Noah's time, guide our understanding of what we see in nature. Our use of science must also respect the sanctity of human life and reflect good stewardship of God's gifts as well as compassion toward His creatures.
History The Bible gives us the framework for all of history, from the very beginning until the prophesied end of the world. God expects us to learn practical and spiritual lessons from the study of past events as well as see His hand in the affairs of man.
Geography and Social Studies The Bible tells us we are all sinners who came from Adam through Noah, that God loves us all, and that we as Christians are His ambassadors of the gospel to the whole world. Our knowledge and understanding of peoples is based on these facts and is useful for that purpose.
You can use Christian curriculum with a built-in Christian worldview in all subjects and/or interpret all educational materials in the light of God's Word.
"It was not until we had gone through the upheavals of three or four years of public school and its attacks on the values we taught our children, as well as another exhausting three years' participation in a private church school, that God brought us to the place where we could accept that we alone were responsible for the education of our children. "We prayed and agonized, then finally found peace when we accepted the "radical" decision to home school our boys. Almost immediately we began to experience the benefits and blessings of teaching our 10- and 12-year-old sons at home. Problem behavior could be dealt with immediately. Our family grew much closer and began to learn what teamwork was all about. "Through the wonderful Christian curriculum, books, and periodicals we were exposed to, our eyes and hearts were being opened to the peace and blessings that result from obedience to God and the willingness to pay its costs. (And there were costs -- isolation, disapproval even from the Christian community, feelings of inadequacy, plain hard work, etc.). "God was using the process of home schooling to restore to us the meaning and ministry of the Christian home. As we sought to regain control of our children's education in order to raise them 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,' God's affirming peace became more and more evident." -- Georgina R., British Columbia
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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:33:43 GMT -5
Social Benefits Your home and family provide the first and best context for your children to learn effective and godly ways of relating to others.
Family Unity God wants us to have a home filled with love, joy, and peace where each member of the family relates to the others as He intends.
• Your family can experience unity, closeness, and mutual enjoyment of one another as you spend more time together working, studying, and playing.
• Flexible home-school scheduling can easily accommodate parents' work and vacation times and allow time for more family activities.
• Your family can learn teamwork as each member of the family makes a contribution to the success of your home school.
• Your children gain respect for you in a new way as you teach them a wide range of knowledge.
"You are lucky if you are home schooled. I'll tell you why. You can still do school if the school closes down because of bad weather or if you move a lot. "If you are home schooled you can learn more, and you can be together more as a family. "You know why I like to be home schooled? Well, I can sew, write letters, play with my sisters, and one is learning to walk. If I were at school all day, I wouldn't be able to play with them very much. "Now you know why I like home schooling!" -- Grace W., age 8, Missouri
Social Skills Social skills are those that enable your children to show love to and serve others. These skills include understanding others, communication, cooperation, managing conflict, leadership, and lovingly meeting the needs of others.
• There are many opportunities to practice social skills in the context of normal family life and under your guidance in groups of friends, families, and your local church.
• Negative socialization by peer pressure from classmates can be avoided through home schooling.
"Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character." I Corinthians 15:33
• Your child can develop confidence in interacting more often with people of all ages and stations.
"The first time I heard of home schooling, I had very mixed feelings. After meeting several children who were home schooled, I was very impressed. they were intelligent, well-adjusted, polite children. These were qualities I wanted instilled in our own children. "Home schooling was the answer to my prayers. I knew it would be a lot of work and responsibility, but I had no idea how much fun and enjoyment I would receive!" -- Teresa W., Kentucky
Life Skills Practical preparation for adult life includes skills such as managing finances, running a home, cooking, shopping, driving, repairs and maintenance, voting, researching information, and keeping one's body fit and healthy.
• Your children can receive training and practice in these skills as they work and live with you throughout the day.
• As they develop these skills, your children can begin to take responsibility for some of these areas, thus rehearsing for adult life.
Confidence and Independent Thinking We want our children to have the courage, good sense, and strength of character to think and make decisions for themselves based on Scripture, truth, and logic, rather than following the crowd and the latest trends.
• Children can develop confidence and independent thinking away from the peer pressure to conform and in the security of their own home.
"We are so thankful to the Lord that I can be at home, not working, and that our children can be home schooled. If they were in school, they would never get to garden, play games, or spend time with their dad. We feel that we are fortunate to be a home-school family." -- Karen R., California
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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:34:26 GMT -5
Spiritual Benefits Providing for your children's spiritual welfare and training is the most important part of your parental role.
Bible Teaching Consider your responsibility for your children before God; He commands you as parents to teach your children His Word, the most important thing they will ever learn.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:4-7
• You can read, teach, and discuss God's Word in many situations when you are together throughout the day.
• You have more time available to systematically study God's Word together (perhaps in a formal Bible study curriculum) and to help your children memorize and meditate on God's Word.
"As I look back, I realize that it has really taken the whole 1st grade year to "deprogram" our daughter from the outside controlling influences that really did take away from my parental authority. "I do see academic achievement, but I have learned that you can have all the academics in the world, but without the godly character binding it all together, you will not be equipped to face life." -- Carol S., Maine
Salvation and Spiritual Growth Your children's salvation is the first priority. Then follows their spiritual growth through loving dedication and obedience to God, knowing and speaking to God in prayer, Christian fellowship, and ministry to others.
• You can make personal application of Scripture and guide your children through your example, teaching, discipline, and training throughout each day.
• You can teach your children that God's Word is the final authority for your faith and practice and teach them how to look up what God says about any given topic using Bible study tools such as a concordance.
"Home education is more than 'book learning.' It is, rather, a discipling process, leading our children to the Lord Jesus, and then equipping them to serve Him and lead a godly life. Our more important textbook should be the Bible." -- Deb H., Iowa
Character Development Ranking higher than academic training in importance to Christian families are excellent character qualities, gracious manners, and self-discipline.
• Home schooling makes quality time available to train your children in these areas and minimizes harmful influences from outside your home.
• You can better model your own dedication to God, good character traits, disciplined habits, and enthusiasm for learning when your children are with you more each day.
"When I first began home schooling 10 years ago, I was chagrined every time a school lesson had to be interrupted for character training. After much prayer, I realized that these character training times were the most important aspect of our children's education. They were not interruptions; they were opportunities! "This realization changed my whole outlook and enabled me to relax and appreciate the opportunities that I have to correct our children's behavior and train their character." -- Joy Marie Dunlap
"Our convictions have grown stronger over the years. Even though we have many ups and downs, the benefits are far greater than the problems. "Children are truly a gift from God and such a blessing to have around." -- Mr. and Mrs. C., British Columbia
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Post by Charity on May 25, 2005 12:37:55 GMT -5
Proverbs 22:06 Tells us to "Train up a child in the way he shall go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it". -Me
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