What is Relaxed Homeschooling? Learning as a Lifestyle
It took me a hot minute to get from the classroom mentality, when I taught high school English, to the relaxed method of homeschooling we now embrace. But I’m so glad I did!
I wanted to post this article as an encouragement, certainly not as a “this is the best way” piece. Every family is different; some thrive and simply MUST have rigid school structure. But more often than not, I hear moms, dads, and children alike who are frustrated, discouraged and searching. They believe in homeschooling, but they never realized it would be so hard.
A friend of mine wisely pointed out to me,
“God gave us these children to raise, teach and train. It is hard; but it shouldn’t feel impossible.”
Then we went on to agree that basically, educating our children should include:
Anything else they need to know, they will be able to learn when the time comes!
So, I just wanted to encourage you to take your mind off of all the expectations (especially from your relatives! I know that one is hard!), and look to God. I broke down in tears at the very end of our church service last week, when one of our elders closed with the verse,
“Faithful is He Who called you, Who also will do it.”
Praise God! He does not leave us alone!
Read this remarkable excerpt from Mary Hood’s book The Enthusiastic Homeschooler:
“It [relaxed homeschooling] is really just a mindset. It’s the idea that you are a family, not a school. You’re a mom, not a teacher. You don’t have a classroom. You have individual relationships with your children. Your husband isn’t a principal, because there isn’t really a school. He is the head of your household, a dad, and your number one supporter.
God didn’t create schools. he created families, because that was his plan for the training and nurture of children. He gave the job for the raising and educating of children squarely to the parents, and those who have abrogated their authority and turned their responsibilities over to other “experts” are short-circuiting their own success. There is no other earthly expert who can possibly know your children as well as you do. No one else will ever care as deeply for them. That’s why you are totally capable of doing this job successfully.
You were made for this purpose! You were assigned this job! God wouldn’t have chosen you if he didn’t believe in you and know you were up to the task.
Having a “relaxed homeschooling mindset” will free you up from many responsibilities, and make the ones you do have clearer and easier to fulfill. If you aren’t a “teacher”, you don’t necessarily need to make lesson plans, purchase teacher’s manuals, test and grade your children, or teach them every subject known to man all by yourself.
You don’t have to select a particular curriculum, and have everything in place every year on September first, the way a classroom teacher does. You don’t need to begin each day with a pledge to the flag, and divide the morning up into fifty-minute segments, each devoted to a particular subject. You don’t have to go from room to room teaching fifth grade social studies, third grade science, and first grade phonics. You don’t need to make a bunch of reluctant children sit at the kitchen table for hours laboring over boring workbooks.
What you do need to do is to set up a lifestyle of learning in your household. You need to understand each of your children as individuals, and make decisions about curricula and methods that recognize their differences; their strengths and weaknesses; their learning styles and personalities. You need to learn to set priorities and goals, so you have some idea of where you are going. You need to pause occasionally to evaluate your progress towards those goals. You need to communicate effectively with your husband, so you become true partners in this whole process. You need to learn to shrug off the criticisms of others, even well-meaning relatives. The only opinions that should really count are those of God, your husband, your children, and yourself. (Prov. 31:28–31)”
