Jesus, Peace, Freedom & our Homeschool

The theme this week is Seeking Beauty: the Fine Arts, and Everything that Brings Beauty into our Homeschools.  Find other posts HERE, and visit the host Susan, HERE.

Jesus Peace & Freedom

 

I had no idea what I would title this post, often I have the title before the actual content comes to mind, it is how my brain works .. As I went through writing it I was still going back and forth on what to call it.

Then I saw it~

We began homeschooling for many reasons, and like most homeschoolers quickly found that what we fell in love with about homeschool was the building of relationships, the freedom to choose, and the peace.

Isn’t it funny how when you know and come to Jesus, peace and freedom follow?

OK, maybe not funny, but amazing and wonderful.

Our days are often not as ideal as I’d like, but for the most part, they are pretty enjoyable and peaceful.  Our mornings aren’t rushed, our relationships are strong and growing daily (praise the Lord), and we try to keep Jesus the center of our home and education.

Each morning I really do feel a peace about our day starting out (it may or may not stay that way depending on the 2 year old’s disposition =P) .. I wake up and I don’t dread it.  The absolute beauty in our homeschool is that we enjoy it.  It comes with Jesus, peace, and freedom.

What Brings Beauty to Our Homeschool

Jesus.

Truly, Jesus brings the most beauty in our home and homeschool.  From reminding me to give grace, to giving me grace, Jesus is why I am confident this homeschooling thing will work out.  I have no doubt in my mind that if we raise our 4 babies with Jesus and lead them by example that God will take care of the details.  He is going to make sure everything else falls into place; as long as we do our part we can sleep well at night.  I don’t need to worry or fret, and I especially don’t need to be concerned with what other people think of our decision.  We’ve got this, because He’s got this. His grace is enough.

The homestead.

I know people every where homeschool, and we would regardless on having the farm.  But the farm makes is so much fun.  There is so much beauty in going outside and being free of confinement.  No walls, no city streets, no city noises. Just freedom and peace.  Our family really enjoys that, and it enriches our homeschool day.

Books.

I would specifically say Sonlight here, but this year we took a break from SL for age purposes.  But I would definitely say Sonlight enriches and brings so much beauty to our homeschool.  And then books in general.  There are so many obvious reasons for this, but my favorite include the lessons, the imagination & creativity, and again, freedom, that books bring to our home and school.  I am very excited because my 2 year old is finally getting into the “I will sit still and be quiet long enough for everyone to enjoy a book,” which means we can get back to reading aloud more often.  I am already looking forward to next year when we redo Sonlight’s Core A with my then 7 and 5 year olds.  We also love the Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row books.

Freedom.

I keep mentioning this- maybe THAT should be my word for 2017 (ha).  One reason we homeschool is so we have time for what we love.  We school on a year round schedule, so we can take every other Friday off for co-op, and every other Wednesday off for cleaning day.  This also helps with catch up days.  I try to block off one week every 6 weeks for a week off.  So far this year they have been used when family came in town, when we went on vacation, or when we needed to catch up from a sick week.  But there is freedom in our weekly schedule.

There is also freedom in our daily routine- we can do as much or as little as needed, focus on what we want, do extra studies of interest, read any book we like (banned from public school or not), learn with books, the computer, create lapbooks.

We get to talk about Jesus, sin, death, life, babies being born, how to butcher a cow, what taxes really are (haha), what it means to serve others, and how anything works any time we want to.

We can stop what we’re doing for a video, a dance session, a board game; we can do school in our pajamas (or sans clothes if you are a certain 2year old), outside, read on the swing, under a tree, school in the morning, in the afternoon, take naps, eat nutritious home cooked meals and snacks, play in the mud before school starts, and of course have our chickens tag along.  Freedom.

And of course that freedom encompasses so much more, but I just touched on a few of the obvious choices.

Community.

We have recently found a comfortable community that is accepting and fun, loves Jesus, and is our own little comfy place.  We meet every other Friday for co-op classes that (for now at least) are fitting our schedule and needs.  The kids are doing fun things we don’t always have time for at home, and mama gets a brain break (though it is physically exhausting and takes a lot of prep on my end).
I have been craving a community & I feel like God took care of that.  I heard him telling me to just be still, and wait.  And once I finally let go, and let Him just hold us, he took care of it all.  Duh.

Then there is the online homeschool community, which mostly just rocks.  There is no limit to the questions I can ask and have help with in one of my favorite Sonlight groups.  There is also the homeschool opportunities we will get to be more involved in as my children get older.  Just 1-2 years will make a huge different in what they can participate in, in terms of activities and groups.  They are still little, and we don’t believe in a go-go-go lifestyle for our young family, but there will be a time and place to take advantage of those things.

So much goes into our homeschool, but mostly it is a lifestyle. And we really enjoy it.  Becoming lifelong learners that don’t stress over learning because it is just what we do makes this fun for all of us.

Putting Jesus front and center brings the peace and freedom that forms our homeschool.

Beauty in Our Homeschool VCF Week 5

What brings beauty to your homeschool?

 



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8 comments

  1. Homeschool Base says:

    Inspiring and motivating! I really wish I could fully appreciate your farm, or ‘the homestead.’

    We enjoy the outdoors as much (if not more) as any other family, but I bet the dynamic of having your own farm is just incredible!

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