M.O.M.’s Mailbox- Home School Questions from Scotland

Question: Hi there!  I live in Scotland.  I found your blog through Courtney at Living well and am glad!  I have 2 children, one in his first year of primary school and another in nursery for a few hours each day. My husband and I seriously considered homeschooling but then felt God led us not to do it.  Recently we met a Canadian family who live locally with 4 kids, Christians and homeschoolers.  I spoke to a close friend of mine (also a teacher) and her arguments against it were so convincing.  My husband and I had many silly arguments about homeschooling so we felt it was best not to do it.  The problem is that I keep coming back to it! The kids being at home is stressful but can be great fun and gives me something to do! I just wondered what motivates you to do homeschooling?  How do you manage high school years?  We don't have a lot of money to pay for day trips here and there also or curriculums.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance for taking the time out of your busy day to read this.

Answer: You asked, what motivates me to homeschool. Truthfully, it is the Lord. We have always home educated our children. I can remember 21 years ago with a six month old baby in my back pack as I scanned the shelves of the bookstore for this "idea" I heard about called, "homeschooling." I was interested, curious and full of questions. The more we prayed about it the more we felt that the Lord wanted us to keep our children at home where we could teach them His Truths. There were passages in Duet. 6, that were instrumental. Also just the common message throughout the Scriptures that God never told his people to send their children to the Hivites or Canaanites to be educated. In fact, over and over he tells them not to take on their customs or false gods. About High School. You know how faith is, you just take one step at a time and pray for Him to lead you. He is faithful. We have graduated two of our children and still have eight more to go. They have graduated with exceptional skills and talents and yet their greatest achievement is that I know they have a personal walk with God. On a practical note there are so many resources, not expensive ones, that can help offer you a springboard of ideas. As far as costs go I can tell you that I home educate 8 children now on aprox, 500.00 for the entire year this includes all the goodies and extras I want to have to our school year. I am a very hands on teacher and love to use unit studies, Konos is my favorite.

What hinders you from doing that which you feel He is calling you to do? Do you have certain concerns that I could perhaps share with you about. Any other questions? I would love to answer anything the Lord led you to ask. Just let me know.

Have a wonderful weekend with your family and thank you again for your note... it was nice to hear from you!
Because of His Love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood