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Homeschooling: Am I Qualified?

A question I hear quite often is, “Am I really qualified to homeschool?  Am I going to ruin my children by schooling them at home?”

Read This First: Animal School by George Reavis

Once upon a time the animals had a school. They had four subjects ~ running, climbing, flying, and swimming ~ and all animals took all subjects.

The duck was good at swimming, better than the teacher, in fact. He made passing grades in running and flying, but he was almost hopeless in climbing. So they made him drop swimming to practice more climbing. Soon he was only average in swimming. But average is okay, and nobody worried much about it ~ except the duck.

The eagle was considered a troublemaker. In his climbing class he beat everybody to the top of the tree, but he had his own way of getting there, which was against the rules. He always had to stay after school and write, “Cheating is wrong” five hundred times. This kept him from soaring, which he loved. But schoolwork comes first.

The bear flunked because they said he was lazy, especially in winter. His best time was summer, but school wasn’t open then.

The penguin never went to school because he couldn’t leave home, and they wouldn’t start a school out where he lived.

The zebra played hooky ~ a lot. The ponies made fun of his stripes, and this made him very sad.

The kangaroo started out at the top of the running class, but got discouraged trying to run on all fours like the other kids.

The fish quit school because he was bored. To him all four subjects were the same, but nobody understood that. They had never been a fish.

The squirrel got A’s in climbing, but his flying teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. His legs got so sore practicing take-offs that he began getting C’s and D’s in running.

But the bee was the biggest problem of all, so the teacher sent  him to Dr. Owl for testing. Dr. Owl said that the bee’s wings were just too small for  flying and besides they were in the wrong place. But the bee never saw Dr. Owl’s report, so he just went ahead and flew anyway.

So, Am I Qualified?

So many times in His Word, God gives us not only all the answers we need in order to homeschool, but the mandate that we are to teach our children.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

When God calls us to something, He will qualify us!  At that answer, I could end the devotion.  God called us to it, He equips us, therefore, we’re qualified!  But, I want to answer more thoroughly why and how we’re qualified.

Go back to the Animal School story above.  Who knows your children best?  Who can instinctively know what’s best for them?  Who loves them as much as you do?  Who did God give them to?  Knowing that “Mom and Dad” are the answers to each of those questions is further proof that YOU are qualified to teach them.

No one else knows them well enough to know what’s best for them.  For them particularly.  No one on this earth loves them like you do.  No one.  God gave them to you.  You.  You are the one who can make their education a perfect fit.  Not because you have a college degree in education or have loads of money to buy the best curriculum, but because God has already given you everything you need to teach the children He gave you.

If you’ve never watched the YouTube.com video called Home Where They Belong, I would encourage you to take a few minutes right now.   It’s a strong visual to get this point across.

You know the news headlines.  Christianity is being forced out of the public school system, only to be replaced with a religion of tolerance, evolution, relativism and worse.  Even Christian teachers in the public school system are forced to teach things that go against the Lord’s teaching.  At best, they can subtly mention God as long as other religious views are being expressed at the same time.  These facts alone qualify you to teach your children.

Jeremiah 10:2

Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

You have been given unique gifts in your children.  God has commanded that you teach them.  And, He has supplied you with all you need to do this successfully.  Homeschooling isn’t always easy.  It isn’t always fun.  But the rewards are great and the impact is eternal.

Go to the Word when you’re frustrated.  Go to your husband.  Go to an experienced and well-rooted friend.  Please don’t meet the yellow school bus at the end of the driveway.

Ephesians 6:4

Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

Isaiah 54:13

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.  

So, Are You Qualified?

You are! And I have a resource to help you rock this homeschooling thing! Homeschooling Gifted Kids will give you strategies to meet the perfect needs of your children.

Homeschooling Gifted Kids is a great book for all parents - whether your children are gifted or not!

Here are some other great resources to help you on your homeschooling journey!

This post has been linked to:

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Answering Homeschool Critics: Am I Qualified?

5 Comments

  1. Cindy, thanks so much for sharing this today! We are very different in many ways in our homeschooling styles (as are most people!) but we have THE BIGGEST piece in common – we treat our children as individuals and we humbly and with God’s grace believe we can create a world in which who they are thrives.

    Your reminder today lifted my heart. Thank you for sharing!

  2. I’ve always loved that animal school story! Great example of why all kids don’t fit into the same mold!

  3. Sara Starnes says:

    Thank you I needed this, we are going to pull the 10 year old of school within the next few days or so and I already home school the 17 year old and have 2 under 4 here at home as well. We always just thought Joshua needed to be in school with others, but he is having such a hard time and really struggling. His teacher said he will fail 4th grade, but really should be in 5th or 6th grade as he is so smart, but he just refuses to do work so she can’t grade him for work not completed. I am praying for our new journey with him for myself to be able to teach and him learn without it being power struggles. I am sure that God will lead us and that He will get us through. I needed the boost in thinking today and your words just really struck me so thank you so much.

  4. Sara, I’ve prayed for you and Joshua! I hope the journey is smooth and fruitful – and just what Joshua needs to thrive.

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