As a child I always wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I forced my friends to play school whenever possible. And of course, I was always the teacher.
After becoming a 'real' teacher I noticed a distinct difference between boys' and girls' classroom behaviors and learning needs. The fidgety boys often needed to be sent out to the running track to release some energy. The girls, on the other hand, were generally content to remain in their seats earnestly reading and writing their assignments. These observations didn't make much of an impact on me until my husband and I had produced a family of 3 boys. I had resigned from teaching after the arrival of our first son and as he approached kindergarten age I grew increasingly more excited about his entry into public school. Within months however, he became resistant and disinterested in kindergarten. I was shocked until I began hearing from homeschoolers that little boys develop fine motor skills later than girls do. As a result they find it difficult to sit quietly indoors all day, while coloring and cutting paper and listening to stories. My previous observations of the differences between male and female students came back to mind. When a close friend of mine decided to homeschool I jumped on the bandwagon. I could do this!
Looking back now, its hard to put 14 years of homeschooling into a paragraph. Yes, there were ups and downs, but always underneath it all was an ever-growing confidence that this was the right thing to do. At times, I didn't know what I was doing, I worried that I was ruining my sons' education, I faced big challenges like Andrew's childhood cancer and Aaron's chronic neck pain, but the best thing I ever learned was to pray daily for my children! Every night I or Harry would put them to bed and then an hour later I would slip in once more to pray quietly with my hand on each sleeping boy. My prayers were always different. After Andrew was cured I would kneel beside his bed and worship God with tears of thanksgiving. Those became very sacred times for me as I began to feel the presence of God in a very real way in his bedroom. When we weren't fighting a life-or-death situation I would pray for their health, their spiritual growth, their relationships with one another, their future educationa, their future wives, and anything else the Lord brought to mind. Each boy told me at some point that he tried to stay awake to hear me pray. After high school as they attended university and got summer jobs, I would pray outside their door with my hand on the door as a blessing over them. And upon leaving home, my prayers continue on as Harry and I pray together morning and evening for our children.
I believe homeschooling is a superior way of educating your own child, but prayer takes it to a different level that education alone cannot do. For example, all three boys did well academically. Each one attended university and each one is in an honoroable profession. When we are together we are usually discussing politics, or the intricate workings of a car engine, or the physics of lifting and moving 1500 pound concrete blocks in the most efficient way without a machine. I love seeing their brilliant minds sparking each other into greater solutions to ever greater problems. However, nothing gives me more joy than seeing my children walking with God. Hearing them pray. Worshipping together. Discussing theology but also seeing a living relationship with Jesus in each one is hugely gratifying. Knowing our weaknesses as parents, and the flaws within the world's school systems, I cannot convince myself that any other path would have produced the godly sons that we are so thankful for.
The engineering minds of my husband and sons
After becoming a 'real' teacher I noticed a distinct difference between boys' and girls' classroom behaviors and learning needs. The fidgety boys often needed to be sent out to the running track to release some energy. The girls, on the other hand, were generally content to remain in their seats earnestly reading and writing their assignments. These observations didn't make much of an impact on me until my husband and I had produced a family of 3 boys. I had resigned from teaching after the arrival of our first son and as he approached kindergarten age I grew increasingly more excited about his entry into public school. Within months however, he became resistant and disinterested in kindergarten. I was shocked until I began hearing from homeschoolers that little boys develop fine motor skills later than girls do. As a result they find it difficult to sit quietly indoors all day, while coloring and cutting paper and listening to stories. My previous observations of the differences between male and female students came back to mind. When a close friend of mine decided to homeschool I jumped on the bandwagon. I could do this!
Looking back now, its hard to put 14 years of homeschooling into a paragraph. Yes, there were ups and downs, but always underneath it all was an ever-growing confidence that this was the right thing to do. At times, I didn't know what I was doing, I worried that I was ruining my sons' education, I faced big challenges like Andrew's childhood cancer and Aaron's chronic neck pain, but the best thing I ever learned was to pray daily for my children! Every night I or Harry would put them to bed and then an hour later I would slip in once more to pray quietly with my hand on each sleeping boy. My prayers were always different. After Andrew was cured I would kneel beside his bed and worship God with tears of thanksgiving. Those became very sacred times for me as I began to feel the presence of God in a very real way in his bedroom. When we weren't fighting a life-or-death situation I would pray for their health, their spiritual growth, their relationships with one another, their future educationa, their future wives, and anything else the Lord brought to mind. Each boy told me at some point that he tried to stay awake to hear me pray. After high school as they attended university and got summer jobs, I would pray outside their door with my hand on the door as a blessing over them. And upon leaving home, my prayers continue on as Harry and I pray together morning and evening for our children.
I believe homeschooling is a superior way of educating your own child, but prayer takes it to a different level that education alone cannot do. For example, all three boys did well academically. Each one attended university and each one is in an honoroable profession. When we are together we are usually discussing politics, or the intricate workings of a car engine, or the physics of lifting and moving 1500 pound concrete blocks in the most efficient way without a machine. I love seeing their brilliant minds sparking each other into greater solutions to ever greater problems. However, nothing gives me more joy than seeing my children walking with God. Hearing them pray. Worshipping together. Discussing theology but also seeing a living relationship with Jesus in each one is hugely gratifying. Knowing our weaknesses as parents, and the flaws within the world's school systems, I cannot convince myself that any other path would have produced the godly sons that we are so thankful for.
developed the idea of using a steel I-beam and a
\ trolley to move these heavy blocks.
Comments
Post a Comment