Homeschooling...
the right thing to do.
We believe God designed the family long before any man made 'institution' came about. We also believe that a Christ-centered education involving the family together is far superior to any other man-designed method. And that we cannot go wrong following His directives delineated in the Word.
Most of the family's activities should be family oriented to foster the closeness necessary to develop the abilities to have good relationships with others. This will become necessary as the children grow to adults, marry, have children, and even on to face aging parents and their needs.
Peer group separation should not be encouraged even in church as these situations are detrimental to forming strong long-lasting relationships with those outside their peer groups.
Children learn from those around them, therefore, the presence of reasonable and responsible adults is desirable rather than the typical playground setting with its problems. Children who are learning at home are much more likely to be exposed to real life situations and can be taught to properly deal with and work through these rather than just "working it out themselves" or by following their peers who also need to learn how to deal with the complexities of life's problems.
This is essential for the survival of families and also for our nation. Strong families with strong leadership results in an even stronger nation. And as you can plainly see, when the family unit is destroyed, so is the nation. National strength, unity, patriotism all begin to fall apart when the family unit is destroyed.
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Right here, I am going to give you something that can strengthen your relationship with your child(ren) no matter what you decide to do. Start this as young as possible but it can also help with older children. When your child gets up in the morning say to him/her in a very peaceful and calm voice, "Good morning". Allow the child a wake up period of a half hour or so before making requests for their time and energy. Don't give orders or demands for anything unless it is absolutely necessary, like the house being on fire! Ok, I'm just kidding with that but you get the idea.
The idea is to begin to cultivate a peaceful atmosphere in your home and between you and your children. An atmosphere where you, as a parent, are facing things calmly and rationally, and in a timely manner, which will earn trust from your child. It can help with a spouse, too.
Being a responsible parent leading by good example is going to do more for your child than all the preaching in the world. If you don't want your child to learn your bad habits, break them yourself. Show your child that you, too, are striving to be a better person. And ask his/her forgiveness for your failures in this.
A good relationship with your child(ren) will go much further than most want to admit when it comes to education. Trust is earned and your children need to be able to trust you to be in control of yourself so that the child can learn self control. If you have an out of control child or a child you cannot trust, you have much bigger problems than education. These problems need to be addressed first, then you can move on to education. Don't procrastinate, deal with these things. Your child needs you.
Mom: The Roaring Lion
by Chris Davis
Proverbs 31 for men & women
by D&J
10 Ways to Simplify Homeschooling
by Collette Longo
This is one of the most sensible pieces of advice I have ever seen! Very valuable to keep in mind as you search and carry out the task of homeschooling. Seriously worth reading and following!
Robinson Curriculum
For us, it was the right decision. I had several requirements in curriculum selection, 1: The curriculum must teach the child to think and reason on their own. No dependence on 'spoon-fed' teaching methods. And 2: The curriculum must be self-taught since I did NOT want my childrens' education limited to mine. They have surpassed me by far!
Excellence in Education. The intro from the RC homepage begins: "Teach your children to teach themselves and to acquire superior knowledge as did many of America's most outstanding citizens in the days before socialism in education."
The gentleman that compiled the curriculum, Dr. Arthur Robinson, is a research scientist , a widower, father of 6 who has had to finish raising his children without the benefit of their mother, and a fellow homesteader in SW Oregon.
Here is a Yahoo! group for RC users and their families along with those considering the curriculum: RU4C
More Homeschool Resources and Bible Studies
Arrival of the Fittest has all of Kent Hovind's seminars, debates and advanced studies on evolution and its affects on our culture. Available for download and viewing. Kent Hovind's homepage is here with lots more information on the subject, and his blog page is here
Northwest Creation has enormous amounts of educational downloadable books and videos, and more Bible resources for homeschoolers.
Donna Young has a lot of printable forms that are useful for record keeping, scheduling, planners, transcripts, and many other things.