Reading is fun

Creative Commons License photo credit: John-Morgan

My friend Debbie Bailey gave me a book to read about homeschooling.  The book was Homegrown Kids: A Practical Handbook for Teaching Your Children at Home by Dorothy and Raymond Moore.  I was interested in homeschooling but I knew nothing about it.  Debbie had given me a book that was to change my life!

As I sat down to begin reading this book, Lane was an active 4 year old and Nathan, toddling around in diapers, was only 2. I opened the book and read,

“To mothers and fathers who are more concerned about principle than social pressures, who cherish their children more than their own freedoms, who are willing to study to provide them sound values, academic excellence, and a sense of self-worth.”

I was hooked from there on.  I found time to read chapters as I watched my little boys play outside, or while they were sleeping or even as they built a camp with the sofa cushions.  My heart was engaged.  God was drawing me to an untraveled path that would give Tim and me the opportunity to be with our children, to teach them the Truth, to create a family togetherness that would bless us for years to come.

The Moores showed me (through this book) how I could teach my children using everyday experiences and resources that were available in my home, how I could really enjoy my children, how I could give them a first class, wholesome education that encourages character development and promotes creativity.  Today, there are so many books, articles, and websites that can give you this precious information that I first read in this book, but at that time, there was little available. Our culture with its accepted belief that you need a school to teach your children was so prevalent that mothers like me felt uneasy just considering homeschooling.

When it comes to faith or when it comes to my children, God grants me His special strength. I may give up if I am pursuing something for myself, but if it is something for the Lord or for my children, perseverance is my friend through God’s grace. That is only the reason we have been able to homeschool our children all these years (from 1985 until today).