Tag: school

How Do I Send My Kids to School on Monday?

In Gospel, PersonalTags Gospel, Jesus, John Piper, kids, Leadership, LORD, Parenting, schoolFebruary 15, 201810 Views6 Comments

samluce

I’ll be honest I was difficult sending my kids to school today. The events in South Florida are heartbreaking. There are no words to convey the pain so many parents feel today losing what is most precious in such horrific fashion. There are not words that make sense of what took place. There are no words that can be said that would help bring comfort. Our nation is overcome with a collective sense of grief. Any time a child dies it …

So God made a Farmer by Paul Harvey.

In Links I LikeTags Dodge, RAM, school, So God, Super Bowl, timeFebruary 4, 201310 Views5 Comments

samluce

Easily the best commercial of the Super Bowl. I hope the GoDaddy people were taking notes. Because some model making out with a nerd has nothing on this commercial. Bravo RAM you made me want to buy …

Everything that can be invented has been invented

In LeadershipTags invention, kids, school, timeJune 18, 20124 ViewsLeave a comment

samluce

Well I’m not sure that is true. I think lots more things will be invented. I would argue that much of what we now call invention is more innovation that invention. As we head into the …

4 reasons I WOULD send my kid to Christian School

In UncategorizedTags Christian, christian school, kids, schoolApril 25, 201152 Views9 Comments

samluce

Here are my reasons to send your kids to Christian School 1. Other Godly examples – One of the things I remember best from my years in Christian School was the teachers that taught me. Most …

4 Reasons to Homeschool your kids.

In UncategorizedTags children, kids, school, thingsApril 21, 201122 Views11 Comments

samluce

Here are my reasons to homeschool your kids. 1. No one can love your kids like you – There are few things on earth that exemplify the love God has for us like the love a …

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11 responses to “4 Reasons to Homeschool your kids.”

jonathan

April 21, 2011

So you really do love homeschoolers? Amazing!

Jen Galley

April 21, 2011

Hey Sam-
These posts about schooling have been great.
I just want to throw a couple of ideas out there. For our kids, we take it year by year and just are open to what God wants us to do. My oldest daughter was in a "brick and mortar" public school for 2 years and loved it. But, my husband and I felt that God was leading us bring her home for a number of reasons a few which were:
1. Our oldest and youngest are 6yrs apart in age. We want them to know each other. We want to guard our family relationships and not be like "ships passing in the night".
2. As a kids' pastor and mommy, I'm so lucky to get to work mostly from home w/ limited office hours, but I do a LOT of work in the evenings. Lots of meetings, prep at the church etc. So, when she was in school, I would see her for dinner and head off to the church. Not ideal for our family.
3. Having her home gives us freedom in our schedule and there's no homework b/c she has time to do everything in the morning. So, evenings are free for her to be present with family- or involved in other activities or play with kids in the neighborhood that do not know Jesus yet.
4. We struggled w/ the best way to go about it and we felt led to enroll her in Minnesota Virtual Academy. It's sort of the best of both worlds for us. <a href="http:// (www.k12.com)” target=”_blank”> <a href="http://(www.k12.com)” target=”_blank”>(www.k12.com).
5. There are a bunch of great things about it.
a. It's great curriculum that is paid for by our taxes! They gave us a free computer, scanner, etc. Really great books. Homeschool curriculum is expensive and I have friends that sometimes feel like they have to pick curriculum that is not "top-notch" b/c of the cost.
b. She has conference calls with classmates 2-3 times per week. Sounds a lot like my life 🙂 My 7yr old already knows how to network!
c. She also has another teacher, so I am accountable to "get it done" and I also have a resource to help me if we get stuck.
d. The virtual school tracks her achievement, sends report cards and takes care of testing dates, etc. SO I don't personally have keep records.
6. Depending on where you live, there can be a TON of opportunities for homeschoolers. So, being "unsocialized" is sort of a choice. I live in the mpls/ st paul area and there are tons of classes that she can do during the day for cheap- pottery, skiing, acting classes at the children's theater, co-ops, etc.

I know that virtual academies are not available everywhere. And I realize that part of the benefit of homeschooling is picking curriculum yourself, etc. However, this might be a good "middle of the road" option for some of your readers.

The biggest thing I enjoy is working through the secular curriculum with her and helping her to see how it compares to a Biblical worldview. We have done this a lot for history. "What does God say about Greek and Roman gods and goddesses? What do we think about the Crusades? Why was the Church important in the Middle Ages? What is the difference between being a Muslim and being a Christian?" etc.) It's the same info she'd be learning at school, I just get be there to help her process it the minute she learns it from a biblical perspective…

Cons- She does spend a couple hours at a computer everyday. But, we limit screen time in other areas to try to make sure that she's not staring at a screen all day. And we try to balance it with playing outside, etc.

It's worked for us this year and has helped us to achieve some of our goals. This is a big change, for the first 2 years, I just dropped her off at school and didn't really have goals for her b/c she was a great student, had lots of friends, etc. Having her home helps me to know what she needs to work on (organization, time management, etc)- stuff I would not see just by looking at her grades from school. We signed up for one more year.

That's how we'll take it. Year-by-year and considering what is best for each kid. When it doesn't work anymore, we'll stop. Or if God has something else for us to do, we'll do it.

It's just good to know that there are so many options and the Holy Spirit will guide us when we ask…
Thanks for covering this topic. It will be a blessing to many parents!

1. samluce
  
  April 22, 2011
  
  Jenn thanks for the comment and adding you wisdom to this convo.
  
jonathan

April 21, 2011

So you really do love homeschoolers? Amazing!

Jen Galley

April 21, 2011

Hey Sam-
These posts about schooling have been great.
I just want to throw a couple of ideas out there. For our kids, we take it year by year and just are open to what God wants us to do. My oldest daughter was in a "brick and mortar" public school for 2 years and loved it. But, my husband and I felt that God was leading us bring her home for a number of reasons a few which were:
1. Our oldest and youngest are 6yrs apart in age. We want them to know each other. We want to guard our family relationships and not be like "ships passing in the night".
2. As a kids' pastor and mommy, I'm so lucky to get to work mostly from home w/ limited office hours, but I do a LOT of work in the evenings. Lots of meetings, prep at the church etc. So, when she was in school, I would see her for dinner and head off to the church. Not ideal for our family.
3. Having her home gives us freedom in our schedule and there's no homework b/c she has time to do everything in the morning. So, evenings are free for her to be present with family- or involved in other activities or play with kids in the neighborhood that do not know Jesus yet.
4. We struggled w/ the best way to go about it and we felt led to enroll her in Minnesota Virtual Academy. It's sort of the best of both worlds for us. (www.k12.com).
5. There are a bunch of great things about it.
a. It's great curriculum that is paid for by our taxes! They gave us a free computer, scanner, etc. Really great books. Homeschool curriculum is expensive and I have friends that sometimes feel like they have to pick curriculum that is not "top-notch" b/c of the cost.
b. She has conference calls with classmates 2-3 times per week. Sounds a lot like my life 🙂 My 7yr old already knows how to network!
c. She also has another teacher, so I am accountable to "get it done" and I also have a resource to help me if we get stuck.
d. The virtual school tracks her achievement, sends report cards and takes care of testing dates, etc. SO I don't personally have keep records.
6. Depending on where you live, there can be a TON of opportunities for homeschoolers. So, being "unsocialized" is sort of a choice. I live in the mpls/ st paul area and there are tons of classes that she can do during the day for cheap- pottery, skiing, acting classes at the children's theater, co-ops, etc.

I know that virtual academies are not available everywhere. And I realize that part of the benefit of homeschooling is picking curriculum yourself, etc. However, this might be a good "middle of the road" option for some of your readers.

The biggest thing I enjoy is working through the secular curriculum with her and helping her to see how it compares to a Biblical worldview. We have done this a lot for history. "What does God say about Greek and Roman gods and goddesses? What do we think about the Crusades? Why was the Church important in the Middle Ages? What is the difference between being a Muslim and being a Christian?" etc.) It's the same info she'd be learning at school, I just get be there to help her process it the minute she learns it from a biblical perspective…

Cons- She does spend a couple hours at a computer everyday. But, we limit screen time in other areas to try to make sure that she's not staring at a screen all day. And we try to balance it with playing outside, etc.

It's worked for us this year and has helped us to achieve some of our goals. This is a big change, for the first 2 years, I just dropped her off at school and didn't really have goals for her b/c she was a great student, had lots of friends, etc. Having her home helps me to know what she needs to work on (organization, time management, etc)- stuff I would not see just by looking at her grades from school. We signed up for one more year.

That's how we'll take it. Year-by-year and considering what is best for each kid. When it doesn't work anymore, we'll stop. Or if God has something else for us to do, we'll do it.

It's just good to know that there are so many options and the Holy Spirit will guide us when we ask…
Thanks for covering this topic. It will be a blessing to many parents!

1. samluce
  
  April 22, 2011
  
  Jenn thanks for the comment and adding you wisdom to this convo.
  
Chris Spradlin

April 22, 2011

crazy man!! we definately are on the same page! sorry we didn't connect this week, ended up getting crazy! next week for sure.

Chris Spradlin

April 22, 2011

crazy man!! we definately are on the same page! sorry we didn't connect this week, ended up getting crazy! next week for sure.

Henry Zonio

April 25, 2011

I think 2 and 3 are good reasons to homeschool. I'm kinda weird that #1 wouldn't be a reason for me. I want people to experience my kids. I think they are so awesome, and I like to share them with everyone 🙂 When our first son was born, I kept handing him off to people because I wanted them to experience holding him… really 🙂

As for #4, I would caution flexibility as a reason. Depending on what you use for curriculum, you may end up having less flexibility than if you sent your kids to school. Also, you need to make sure that you read up on the educational requirements for your state when it comes to homeschooling. All states have some sort of required record keeping and even application to homeschool. It's easy enough to find all that info on Google, though.

If you've never homeschooled, I would recommend K12. That's what we've used… and most states have public charter schools that are virtual academies. And since they're public charters, everything is paid for!

Henry Zonio

April 25, 2011

I think 2 and 3 are good reasons to homeschool. I'm kinda weird that #1 wouldn't be a reason for me. I want people to experience my kids. I think they are so awesome, and I like to share them with everyone 🙂 When our first son was born, I kept handing him off to people because I wanted them to experience holding him… really 🙂

As for #4, I would caution flexibility as a reason. Depending on what you use for curriculum, you may end up having less flexibility than if you sent your kids to school. Also, you need to make sure that you read up on the educational requirements for your state when it comes to homeschooling. All states have some sort of required record keeping and even application to homeschool. It's easy enough to find all that info on Google, though.

If you've never homeschooled, I would recommend K12. That's what we've used… and most states have public charter schools that are virtual academies. And since they're public charters, everything is paid for!

4 reasons NOT to Homeschool your kids. - samluce.com

December 29, 2012

[…] In case you missed it here is the post I did on why you should homeschool your kids. […]

How Do I Send My Kids to School on Monday?

So God made a Farmer by Paul Harvey.

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