Five Homeschool Essentials You Can’t Buy
What are homeschool essentials? These are things your students need to learn, and most of the time, money can’t buy!
We’ve all heard this before:
Adult: “How’s school going? What’s your favorite subject?”
Teen: “I dunno. I hate school!“
When Children “Hate School”
Does this bother you? Do you just accept it as normal? Is there anything you can do about
it? Is it even possible to instill a genuine love of learning in today’s world? As a homeschooling parent, I’m going to assume you want something better for your students.
What’s Taught in Homeschooling
Let’s start by talking about curriculum. What is curriculum? Most people would say it’s a list of subjects to study. Maybe your list would include science, math, Bible, history, and language arts (reading, writing, listening, and public speaking). Some would insist that an education is incomplete without studying philosophy, music, Latin, other foreign languages, and possibly sports, too. Others might say students need certain life skills, such as running a business, sales, marketing, operations, or accounting. Still others would lean towards the need for technical skills like carpentry, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical.
I’ve found that a good way to define curriculum is a course or path. When you educate your kids at home, you are actually selecting the journey your student will take, hopefully with a particular end in mind. Now the question becomes, what kind of end do you have in mind? More specifically, what kind of person do you want to develop?
If you had to pick between these three qualities, would you think it’s better to gain skills, knowledge, or wisdom? And where does virtue fit into the picture? I believe all three are important, nor are they mutually exclusive. So, how would you prioritize them? (My caution is not to omit or even skimp on wisdom training.) Most people have no idea of the goal once graduation day arrives. What is the end game? No one seems to have asked, “How do students develop into being good people?” This goes for parents, teachers, and administrators.
Value of Education
Unfortunately, students often think of assignments and the so-called curriculum as hoops to jump through before graduation. And it seems as though some educators see it that way, too. Education has become a product to be marketed and sold in many ways.
Whatever happened to the pursuit of truth and wisdom, along with the recognition of goodness and beauty?
In the classic essay “Men Without Chests,” published in The Abolition of Man, author C. S. Lewis saw the dangers of a world without virtue. Knowledge without wisdom and virtue, he notes, is a recipe for disaster.
Lewis wasn’t the only one concerned. Consider what Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death, observed about modern education:
Modern secular education is failing…because it has no moral, social, or intellectual center. The curriculum is not, in fact, a “course of study” at all but a meaningless hodgepodge of subjects. It does not even put forth a clear vision of what constitutes an educated person, unless it is a person who possesses…marketable skills.
In a keynote address I presented, I encouraged the audience to persevere and never give up on the homeschooling journey. You see, if you finish the course and graduate your students from your family homeschool, then they will hold in their hands the most valuable high school diploma on the planet. As you transfer knowledge and skills, if you focus on the right things — the most important things — then your kids can be on a path toward being wise and virtuous and prepared for the big and challenging chapters of life.
So, what are those most important lessons?
Five Things Your Students Need
Here’s my list of the top five homeschool essentials. As you assemble your student’s curriculum (i.e., the path or course of study), make sure you teach your kids to 1) love God with all their being, 2) love their neighbor as themselves, 3) love reading, 4) love learning, And finally, 5) teach your kids to know Jesus. Then, they will have everything they need for all of life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
1. Love God with All their Being
Why are these lessons on my top five list? Glad you asked. The first one is the greatest thing any of us can do with our life. It’s the answer Jesus gave when asked the question: “What is the greatest commandment?” If this is the greatest, then for heaven’s sake, teach this to your children. And no school on the planet can teach this to your kids as diligently as you can (when you rise up, when you lie down, when you sit at the table for meals, and when you go along the way driving in the family van – see Deut. 6:7).
2. Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
The second lesson to include in your curriculum is the second greatest thing anyone can do. When Jesus answered the question about the greatest commandment, He continued by saying, “And the second is like it. To love your neighbor as yourself.”
Are service projects part of your student’s curriculum? Have you encouraged your students to volunteer at church, a local pro-life ministry, a soup kitchen, or some other non-profit organization?
Shop Vol. 3 of our What We Believe Series, Who is My Neighbor?
3. Love Reading
Lesson number three requires some intentional work. One of the best ways to teach kids how to read and to love reading is to simply sit down and read lots of good books together. I like to say there are so many good books in the world; don’t waste time reading any of the bad ones. And when you homeschool, your kids can avoid being labeled a so-called “late reader.”
Not every kid reads when they are five years old. I hope that this news lightens your load. You see, it’s a bell curve. As a matter of fact, the average age at which kids read is eight years old, plus or minus three years. Yes, this means some kids read when they are five years old. And there are just as many who wait to read until they are eleven. There is no need to panic. Just keep reading lots of good books together, and once they start, there will be no stopping them. And the really good news is that by waiting until they are ready, your child will probably love reading, which opens up a world of learning and increases their chances of enjoying the whole learning process.
4. Love of Learning
You can now see how connected a love of reading is to lesson number four: instilling a love of learning. Your graduates can adopt the attitude of being lifelong learners, constantly exploring God’s creation, and never losing the awe and wonder when discovering new insights into the One who made it all.
5. Know Jesus
Finally, lesson number five is about knowing Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter states in 2 Peter 1:3 that as we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need to live a godly life. Here’s a question: Do we believe this? I mean, everything for life and godliness? Seriously? What if we skipped science, math, history, and grammar and only studied Jesus? Would that really be so bad?
I love the religious leaders’ reaction when they heard Peter and John speak with boldness and confidence. They were astonished because they knew Peter and John were uneducated, common men (Acts 4:13, 6:10). But they noted that they had been with Jesus. In other words, Peter and John knew Jesus, and that made all the difference. The same is true for you, me, and every child you are educating at home.
It’s Not Either/Or
Now, let me be clear. I’m not advocating you skip science, math, history, or language arts and only study the Bible. I believe it’s “both-and.” Yes, Peter and John were “uneducated” in the sense that they didn’t graduate from the top schools of the day. But look at the Apostle Paul. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. In other words, he was highly educated. And you probably know how effective he was in communicating the Gospel message. I believe the best education includes the study of many subjects: science, math, history, language, philosophy, music, art, sports, health, wisdom, and God’s Word. The common trait between Peter, John, and Paul was not their course of study (i.e., the curriculum) or their diplomas. It was that they all knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And that made all the difference.
Will you focus on the homeschool essentials?
So what path are you paving, what course are you charting, what curriculum are you developing? Will your graduates have “marketable skills,” or will they be wise, virtuous, and good people who are masters in their fields of study and also love God, know Jesus, and submit to the Holy Spirit?
Much like the opening line in this article, one good test can be to ask your students this question: How’s school? What’s your favorite subject? Their answer will probably shed some light on the curriculum, the course, and the path they are on.
My vision is that millions of families will educate their children at home from birth all the way through high school graduation. And my hope is that every homeschooled student can say that they genuinely enjoy learning.
Worldview Resources for Your Homeschool
Apologia’s award-winning What We Believe worldview curriculum is designed to engage your elementary or middle school student’s hearts and minds as they learn foundational truths about God, themselves, and the wonderful purpose He created them for.
What children believe is important – it shapes who they are and the choices they make. But it’s growing increasingly difficult for them to understand what is true and what isn’t. They are inundated with competing messages about truth and every song, show, book and game offers its own version of morality, identity and faith.
The What We Believe series is an incredible way to teach children the essential beliefs of the Christian faith, but it’s so much more! Using vivid illustrations and graphics and engaging lessons, this Bible-based curriculum will help you walk with your student as they develop a Biblical worldview and learn how to stand firm in the truth.
Homeschooling News of Note
Lately, there’s been some online chatter related to the question of whether or not Christians should send their kids to public schools.