“Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.”
Psalm 86:11-12
By: Sarah Booy, Homeschool Graduate
Here are my top reasons why I loved being homeschooled in Washington!
1. The amazing thing about homeschooling is that you don’t need to have everything figured out all of the time, because it is a journey. Standing face to face with the younger me involved finding out: who I am in Christ, what are my purposes in life, determining how to mold and train me to know and honor God, working through my weaknesses and mistakes, grooming my young minded thoughts, learning how to incorporate God in my decisions, relating with my family members, and not taking God out of schooling, but pursuing schooling with a drive to honor Him in it. This all happens every day when you homeschool. You see, homeschool is a way of life. I’ll still continue to see what God is asking of me, but I can trust that I’m fulfilling it, because He is at the center of my learning, who I am, and my purposes in life. I’m not trying to have all of the answers, but I’m called to follow Him down the narrow path that leads to life. He is bigger than any battle and His love is deeper than the ocean. When I reach a corner when my life’s a leap of faith, I’m taking that risky feeling, and I can simply trust that I know who holds my future.
2. My years of homeschooling helped me groom my heart. This world says to trust what you can see and follow your heart. You can be pulled every direction and become more confused. However, God has given us a safe place found in our homes and with the guidance of my family to work through the matters that tug at my heart and mind. As I strive to know what I believe and what I understand, by being home educated, I have the time to discuss my studies and seize moments to talk with my mom, who helps me better understand what has captured my attention at the moment. As a result, I have better understanding and have a ready answer for what I believe. To be armed with knowing God’s word and perspective helps me to avoid straying towards the reasoning’s that don’t honor God and distract me from the things of God. The years of schooling is not just school, but grooming the person who is doing the schooling is just as important.
3. School is not only just math, grammar, history, and other subjects that you are trying to complete each day, so that you can go out and play. Each day is filled with opportunities with my parents to learn with them and from them. They get excited about what I am learning and together, we can dig as deep as we want to learn about a topic. My parents are my mentors and I wouldn’t have such a close relationship where I love spending time with them and learning together, if it were someone else teaching me. If I had other teachers, I would show them more respect since they were the ones who took the time to teach me. I would value what they had to say more than the truthful answers from my parents. My parents sacrificed a great deal to help me become a grounded person. I relish in having a wonderful relationship with them, trusting them and seeking their godly council.
4.The relationship I am able to have with my siblings today is because we were homeschooled. Making the effort to foster a close relationship with my siblings and being encouraged by my mom to treat one another as best friends was only possible through being homeschooled. We were raised to care for one another, to respect each one another, and to have one another’s best interest before our own interest. These relationships have helped me learn how to relate with others.
5. By living in a learning environment with a family of various ages, I’ve learned the skill to work and understand the mindset of older and younger people. I’ve come to learn how to value others and not only preference people who are about my age. Living with whatever age has prepared me for whatever God may have for me in the future.
Continuing the post
6. Our parents have taught us to love learning, but to further that love as I go forth into my future. When we can’t figure something out, we have learned the ability to research and find the resources to teach ourselves. I’m not waiting for someone else to spoon feed me.
7. We are a student at home, but also a student of God and His word. This arrogant world will rise up against us, but God has delivered our soul from the depths and His loving-kindness is great. I strive to read and memorize God’s word, which allows me to have a word on the tip of my tongue to share with others. I want to let my life speak loud and clear for everyone to hear of the mercy of God. If people walk with me and talk with me, looking for the truth, I’m going to tell them about who is Christ and what He is asking of you and me.
8. Completing the many assignments assigned to me has taught me how to handle pressure. I keep learning how to watch my responses when the task is challenging. It is good to be challenged and being homeschooled is one way of experiencing how to handle it well.
9. When my mom requested of me to put these words down on paper, she and my dad were using this final assignment as a means to helping me determine what I understood clearly, but also to put my thoughts into words. I’m now better equipped to answer someone who asks about my homeschool experience. This preparation has helped me have a ready answer. This is a prime example of my parents intentionally equipping me with skills for life
