LIGHT OF JESUS

Christian Homeschool

By J. Craig & Mauri Gandy

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
And these things which I command you today shall be in your heart;
you shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way,
when you lie down,
and when you rise up."
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
(NKJV)

Our Journey to Homeschooling our three youngest children started four years ago. We had just left Killeen Texas to a smaller town Belton, Texas that was only 30 minutes away. we were starting a small Christian Bookstore and wanted a more peaceful town to live in. After the first new day of school for the kids our youngest son who was in Kindergarden said "The kids here do not beat me up during play time." After further discussion we discovered that each day during recess our son was being beaten on and kicked around because he was a small white child. The teacher, he told us, never would do anything about it. She was also a black teacher. We have never been prejudice, but this was an act of prejudice in small children because of our color. It really upset us that our child never told us about this happening to him. So we were glad that we were no longer living in that Military town.
The school year came to an end, and both our 3rd grade daughter and Kindergarden son ended the year behind the other children. We had moved mid term, and the schools in Belton were ahead of the Killeen schools. We did not feel that they should be held back, so we prayed about our decision that summer. Craig started talking to homeschool parents who played Baseball with our son. He was very encouraged, and felt he could homeschool the kids while he worked from the house. We had just opened our Christian bookstore so I had to go to the bookstore every day. The first year was great. Craig bought a desk for each of the three kids and set them up in his office in the large back room of the house. He bought Hooked On Phonics which was included in their work each day. I would come home to watch Biblical plays that they had practiced during the day. He was having lots of fun being their teacher/Dad. But we found that the homeschool association we belonged to was for the mothers, and he felt uneasy going.
We closed our store and moved in the summer to a small town in Central Texas, Marble Falls. I started our second year for their homeschooling, and my first year of being Teacher. I bought many books at the used bookstore, and mixed these texts with my own ideas and taught from my own curriculum. I found by the end of the year I was teaching fifth grade work to all of three. My youngest would be listening from the side, doing something else. The next day when I asked questions, she would usually answer before the other two.
The third year, I had begun working in the morning hours, and my husband worked weekends. So we decided to teach them jointly. I would come home from work and teach them in the afternoon. Craig would be in charge in the morning. Sometimes Craig worked during the week at the midnight shift. No matter what our schedule was we were always able to fit the schooling in around our schedule, since you do not have to get started at a certain hour. We have learned to teach more freely on issues that involve our life from day to day, instead of being as strict on following curriculum and certain guidelines. We are more at ease and confident in our teaching abilities. We believe that children learn more from their parents who will spend more one on one time with their children. We finished the year early, and started teaching the kids about the internet and they have each started their own websites, with mom's help of course. They have written and designed the pages. We are finding that there are excellent available teaching aids on the internet. You can find their website address on the bottom of this page.
The bus picks up school children in our area about 6:45 a.m. and they return around 4 p.m. And many of these parents still help with hours of school work that evening. It really makes me realize how fortunate our children are to be given the priviledge to homeschool.
One of the books I found in the used bookstore is called "Poison Drops In The Federal Senate" by Zach Montgomery. It was published in 1886. That is no typing error, this book raised the issue of concern with children being taught in schools rather than their homes over one hundred and twelve years ago.The book deals with the school question from a parental and non-sectarian standpoint, and is now on-line. Click on the title above to see the book.
OUR HOMESCHOOLED CHILDREN's WEB SITES Jennifer's HomePage. Be sure and click on her school page.
Jonathan's HomePage. He has worked on stats for his Baseball Team all season.
Jamie's HomePage. Read her stories on her Kittens.
Our Home Page
Jesus Christ International Ministries

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