Getting Started Homeschooling Today

by Kara Murphy

Find a support group, attend a convention, study up on educational philosophies, pinpoint your child’s learning style, and choose a curriculum—many articles geared toward new homeschoolers give similar advice. But the regional convention is far away. Besides, we have at conventions witnessed the glazed eyes of the overwhelmed inexperienced mom—arms piled with books, wandering between vendor booths searching for “the one” curriculum that will be the perfect fit for her family. There are still areas of the country where support groups aren’t available or the philosophies differ. Early on, I spent hours reading about different philosophies and children’s learning styles, but at the end of the day, I still had no idea how to homeschool my children. And the labyrinth of choices available to this new niche market of Christian home educators is confusing at best and misleading at worst. It isn’t really bad advice, but as a new homeschooler it wasn’t very helpful for me.

At Homeschooling Today magazine, we desire to be a very practical help to our readers. There is no exact formula for homeschooling and home education will look very different in every family, but we have found that there are certain similarities, particular family habits, which both guide our choices and contribute to our success in training our children. These habits help you in getting started homeschooling…today.

Get Legal

First, make sure that you understand and are in compliance with the homeschool laws of your state. From the Homeschooling Today magazine homepage, www.homeschoolingtoday.com, choose “Resources”/ “Homeschooling Laws” and select the state in which you reside. If you have any concerns or questions we highly recommend that your family join the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Not only will your family have a lawyer standing at ready should your right to homeschool be challenged, but you will also be supporting the work in your state to maintain the rights of parents to educate their children, and contributing to families who are experiencing persecution for homeschooling. It is worth every penny.

Once you have rendered unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, turn your attention to rendering unto God the things that are God’s, namely, the children, made in His image, with whom He has blessed you. (Matthew 22:21; Genesis 1:27)

Start with the Bible

Scripture opens with “In the beginning God…” and our instruction of children should begin there, as well. R. C. Sproul Jr., a regular columnist for our Father’s Heart department, writes that Christians are required to teach only three subjects to their children. He nicknames them the three Gs: Who God is; What God has done; and What God requires.

Some Christians will object to this simplification of goals. After all, shouldn’t we be teaching our children how to get along in the society, how to be a hardworking employee, and how to be a good citizen? All that and more is included in the summary of the commandments—to love God and to love our neighbor.

To teach the three Gs, it should seem obvious that the first and most important resource is the Bible. And yet, it is so obvious that we often neglect it. Do you have a Bible? Read it together. Study it. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Apply it to everyday situations. Use it to teach and train your children. Use it to correct them. As you read it aloud together, investigate what you are reading. Dr. Ruth Beechick has written an excellent book entitled A Biblical Home Education: Building Your Homeschool on the Foundation of God’s Word (B & H, 2007). She includes many suggestions for enhancing your study of the Bible.

Family Worship

If your family has never enjoyed a regular, daily time in God’s Word together, you might consider The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions by Terry L. Johnson (Christian Focus, 2003). With practical suggestions, including how to order your worship time, there are resources for catechism and creeds, prayers, Psalms, and Bible reading schedules given in the book. Fathers, this is a particularly appropriate way for you to lead your family as you begin the adventure of home education. Perhaps you will lead a family time before or after breakfast, after dinner, in the evening, or before bed (or any or all of the above). The logistics are less important than that you actually do it. When you miss a day or two (as we all do) just get back to leading it again.

If your children are young, using a story Bible can be helpful. A Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos (Eerdmans, 1983) is our family favorite. Another great devotional for mothers to use with younger children is Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1995). (Watch for suggestions for utilizing this book in an upcoming Lessons for Little Ones in Homeschooling Today magazine.) This is the book I use to get my children in the habit of doing daily lessons with Mom. But even if you don’t use these particular resources, please do not neglect this most important, foundational, and overarching study.

A second enjoyable and educative habit that coincides with Bible reading is to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together as a family (Ephesians 5:19). Even if you are not musical, there are many resources for doing this such as the Genevan Foundation’s Hymns for Kith and Kin (www.genevanfoundation.com). This audio CD coordinates well with The Family Worship Book.

Read Aloud

After establishing a habit of daily coming before the Lord and looking into His Book, the next step is to think of other ways we can learn about Who God is, what He has done, and what He requires. Isn’t it amazing that God has chosen two primary means to communicate about Himself to us? He uses the Bible, the Holy Scriptures which makes up a book, and He uses His creation (Psalm 19:1). God’s use of literature suggests that we, too, should value it in our family life.

Establishing the habit of reading—reading aloud as a family and reading independently when they are ready—is the next priority. In what is becoming a modern homeschooling classic resource, Honey for a Child’s Heart, Gladys Hunt writes:

"That is what a book does. It introduces us to people and places we wouldn’t ordinarily know. A good book is a magic gateway into a wider world of wonder, beauty, delight, and adventure. Books are experiences that make us grow, that add something to our inner stature. Children and books go together in a special way. I can’t imagine any pleasure greater than bringing to the uncluttered, supple mind of a child the delight of knowing the many rich things God has given us to enjoy. Parents have this wonderful privilege, and books are their keenest tools.” (Zondervan, 2002, emphasis added)

We have used this book of books to lead us to some of our favorite works of literature. Our copy is well-marked. A check mark signifies that a book has been read. A highlighted title indicates that the book can be found in our family library. If you would like more description of individual books and a wider variety of reading levels and subject areas, try The Book Tree: A Christian Reference for Children’s Literature by Elizabeth McCallum and Jane Scott (Cannon, 2001). This mother/daughter team gives a good description of literature—including biographies—for children from preschool through high school.

Covering Content

These two resources suggest books from many content areas—literature, history, biography, science, poetry, and so on. In addition to learning directly from nature, we also like to include other books on God’s creation when we read. There are a multitude of books that teach science concepts in an enjoyable way. As we read, we also use the important method given to us in Scripture for teaching our children—we talk (Deuteronomy 6:6). Discussion is terribly simple, easily overlooked, and completely vital for biblical learning.

In our home, Mama reads aloud oodles of picture books on a variety of topics in the morning after breakfast and/or in the afternoon after lunch. Five in Row: Volumes 1, 2, and 3 by Jane Claire Lambert (Five in a Row Publishing, 1997ff) suggests many great titles to get started with this habit and how to utilize them to enhance your learning and relationship. I also usually have one longer book in progress, as well. In addition to reading the Bible, Dad reads aloud chapter books in the evening before bed. Our family also has a routine quiet reading time in the afternoon when the little ones are napping. This hour gives everyone an opportunity to read books of his choice from our family bookshelves. Much learning occurs during this unstructured time. The implementation of these habits will vary greatly from home to home, but the necessity it the same. Read aloud, read together, read individually, and read often and then discuss what you read.

Establishing habits of family Bible reading and family worship, reading aloud together and reading independently…this isn’t sounding like most “getting started homeschooling” articles, is it? Even families that don’t homeschool should incorporate these habits into daily life, as well. That’s right! Ultimately, homeschooling is simply a matter of parents discipling their children through life. The richer we make the family culture of our home, the richer our children’s educational experiences will be. And the more foundational God’s Word is to our day-to-day life, the better we will obey the Lord.

Choosing Curriculum

In A Biblical Home Education, Ruth Beechick writes:

“Teaching children at home does not have to be as difficult as people make it by trying to follow too much of the world’s schooling system that has developed layer upon layer over the years. We can peel away excess layers by the one great principle of viewing language learning as different from the content subjects. Language includes speaking, reading, writing, listening, and thinking. These are skills to use for learning Bible and all other content subjects. That is more effective and more efficient than adding layers of skill classes.” (B & H, 2007)

Most homeschoolers think that the how-to’s of homeschooling begin here—with choosing and using curriculum. No matter what your style or your preferences, there is probably a curriculum geared toward your family and—unless you wrote it—it won’t fit your family perfectly. How do you choose? That is the wrong initial question. Your first question should be, “What, if any, curriculum do we need?” We have already discussed reading as a way to learn in the content areas. Did you realize that as we read we teach skills to our children, as well?

Most language skills are easily integrated into our reading times. Learn more about something God created—say, dolphins. Read books about dolphins and copy from those books. Make a list of new words and write new stories about a dolphin. Each child can participate at his ability level. Young children copy one or two words and dictate a story to you. Older children do additional research in an encyclopedia and write a report. The littlest ones may learn the sound of d for dolphin. Better yet, read and copy from the Scripture you read as a family. Make a little booklet about how it applies to your home. Have the older children look up cross references and memorize verses. Make illustrated signs of Bible verses to post around the house as reminders.

Purchasing Wisely

If you decide to buy additional curricular materials, try to refrain from purchasing your entire set of materials for the year in one fell swoop. Spending your entire budget locks you into something that may or may not fit the needs of your family—needs which will most likely change throughout the year. The good news is there is absolutely no curriculum or set of materials that will make or break your homeschooling. If you and your children enjoy using it, it can be helpful. (On the other hand, don’t feel bound by a particular curriculum just because you spent money on it. Sell it on a used curriculum board on the internet—that is what they are for—and move onto something else. However, please be sure you are selling unused or reusable curriculum. See Tammy Cardwell’s article from Homeschooling Today magazine, Mar/Apr 2007, on copyright laws pertaining to homeschool curriculum.)

Consider the time you have to spend one-on-one with your children. Decide what skills you would like for your children to learn and then look for materials that will make up for any inabilities you may have. For example, since we are short on time, our family uses some self-teaching tools to teach arithmetic and mathematics so the children can learn independently, saving us teaching time. We are also purchasing a typing curriculum for our older children to use unaided. We use these products during our “table time” in the late morning. Your family will have different strengths and goals.

By What Standard?

One of the worst approaches we homeschoolers fall into is to simply look at what the government school is teaching and assume that as our standard. (In case you haven’t heard, they aren’t doing too well, academically.) Let’s make informed decisions that fit into our family’s values and circumstances. For example, just because the schools are teaching grammar every year for twelve years, that doesn’t mean that it is the best approach.

Many parents fear the great bugaboo of teaching a child to read. But think about it—you read. If you can do it, you can certainly teach someone else to. For children under the age of ten (and beyond), The Three R’s by Ruth Beechick (Mott Media, 2006) is a wonderful resource for parents to learn how to use natural methods for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Were you wondering where I came up with the language learning ideas above? Most of the ideas were found in this source. These and other family-friendly, home-centered, simple resources are usually best. If you decide you need a curriculum, find one that isn’t very expensive or time-consuming.

The Bottom Line on Curriculum

Curriculum materials should be used to supplement the healthy home habits you have already established. Some curricular materials can even enhance the habits you are striving to establish. After your family Bible and worship time, family and individual reading times, building a rich family culture, and working on skills in the context of life, if you have leftover time that you would like to fill using a curriculum for a subject that you enjoy, great! But if you would rather plant a garden or make homemade bread or deliver meals on wheels, feel free to do that instead. When the Murphys aren’t traipsing around the United States meeting homeschoolers, our family likes to fill our time with listening to music, looking at great works of art, tramping around outside, drawing, and making and playing games. Your family will have other interests and callings. Pursue them to the glory of God.

Homeschooling Today Magazine Can Help

Do you want more specific suggestions? Subscribe to Homeschooling Today magazine and read our Bookshelf and Beyond department where we review a variety of books and curriculum, old and new. We focus on family-friendly materials that we have seen at work. This is not shameless self-promotion. Long before we began publishing the magazine, it was a great source of help, encouragement, and information for our family. We believe that you will find Homeschooling Today magazine a rich source of help to your family, as well.

While we can’t tell you what the best math curriculum for your ten-year-old is and we can’t give you legal advice; we are not experts in family conflict resolution and we can’t diagnose your child’s learning disability; there are some questions we can answer and we want very much to help homeschoolers in the sacred calling of discipling their children. If you have one of those kinds of questions that you think we can answer, please contact us. From our homepage www.homeschoolingtoday.com go to “Contact us”/“Comments/Questions” and we will get back to you as quickly as we can. May God bless your family as you begin this exciting adventure.

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