3. Friends and Influences
Public school was our main source of friends. We were put in a room with a bunch of kids our age and, naturally, we made friends. Because of all the pressures Travis and I were juggling, we didn't really have time for friends outside of school. When our neighbours were playing outside, we were doing homework. We still had a couple of friends that were outside of the school, but the public school was where our biggest source of friends came from.
Now Mom and Dad weren't exactly thrilled about this. They wanted us to be friends with non-Christians, of course, for the purpose of witnessing and evangelizing, but they weren't so sure if spending all our time with non-Christian friends was the best influence on us. I bet they were thinking about Proverbs 1, which talks about being wise and not letting non-Christians entice you to sin. My parents realized that if all day, all the time, Travis and I were associating with bad influences ... well, as Proverbs 13:20 says, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." My parents didn't want us to suffer harm. They still wanted us to be friends with non-Christians, but not at the expense of suffering harm. That's the third reason why I'm homeschooled.
4. Family and Flexibility
When we first started homeschooling, my dad was in seminary. If you've ever been in seminary (or college or university for that matter) you probably know that it can get pretty hectic. But as if regular craziness wasn't enough, my dad took his three year program in just over two years. Yeah, it was a crazy time. Because my dad had so many classes and essays and homework and tests, we didn't exactly have a scheduled family time. Back then, with Travis and I being in public school, we didn't get a lot of time to spend with Dad. Homeschooling opened up a whole new world. If Dad had a day off classes, we'd spend the day with him and make up our work later. We didn't base our entire year around him, but it sure gave us a chance to spend a lot more family time with each other.
The Lord seemed to be thinking when He led us to the decision to homeschool, because just two years after we had started homeschooling, we made the big move from Texas to Canada. The flexibility sure came in handy then! Now, living here in Nova Scotia, the flexibility works the same way as back in Texas. Though my dad's no longer in seminary, he is a pastor, which is pretty much just as crazy! Homeschooling has offered a flexibility we had never imagined.
Over the nearly four years we've homeschooled, homeschooling has offered us more family time, more growth, stronger relationships with each other, and, for me at least, an opportunity to know God better. With curriculums based on the Word, and subjects on topics such as church history and systematic theology (things we'd never get to study in public school) I'm very blessed to be homeschooled!
"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." Proverbs 24:3-4