Home Education vs School Education

I would love to be able to educate our children at home (this is holiday sentimentality talking.. heh heh). I enjoy teaching, and it's soo much more enjoyable to be teaching your own 4 children, rather than a class of 32!

However, I have found it definitely takes its toll on the little ones while focusing on the older school age children. When we did our short stint of having Ben and Charlotte doing school with me at home last year, I found that the little ones were sometimes left to play on their own, while we were up at the table working, when they really needed me there with them. I also found it very hard to keep the house nice and clean and tidy (I need it this way to stay sane!) and have dinner ready for when Michael got home.

Having done home education for a short time, and now having the children in a small, local Christian school, I know that there are heartbreaking difficulties with both home education and traditional schooling.

With Ben and Charlotte currently attending school, I love the time that I can now spend focusing on Jacob and Oliver... after all, Ben and Charlotte had my attention all day, every day when they were young, so I am glad that I am now able to do the same for the little ones.

I have really seen Jacob and Oliver come along in leaps and bounds now that I am free to spend more focused time with them each day. I was amazed at how quickly Oliver's speaking skills came along as soon as I was able to spend a lot more one-on-one time with him.

Also, with the older kids at school, I am now able to lead a ladies bible study one morning a week, visit people, host coffee mornings, grocery shop without 4 klingons, take the little ones to playgroup and keep up with the housework... so it definitely has its advantages!

However, at the same time, I am saddened by some of the things that my children come home with, that they have learnt "in the playground". I do often struggle with the feeling that they are too young and do not have enough grounding to be learning some of the things they are hearing from kids at school.

I do need to be more at peace with the knowledge that God is in control and he is taking care of our children every minute of the day. I know that I need to spend more time each day praying for each child individually and that I need to trust God more.

I also need to remember that although our kids might be able to get a "better" education at home, that God uses anyone and everyone who is willing to be used by him, regardless of their background or education level.

I have been reading a few books lately where God has used people from very poor, uneducated backgrounds to do mighty works for Him. I think we as a society (myself definitely included), often value education too highly, and I need to constantly tell myself not to be stressed out that my kids are not learning at the speed I know they are capable of, and not necessarily learning all the things I would like them to learn.

There is still all the before and after school time, and all weekend to do a lot of character training, and to equip our children for a lifetime of compassion and service. Family devotions around the table at night are a great opportunity to do some daily "schooling" with all the children at once, and it's lovely having both Michael and I there for this time, so that I can do crowd control, while Michael is able to focus on the teaching!

It is also lovely that school holidays are quite frequent and substantial, and there is definitely a lot you can teach them in that time... heh heh. My kids beg me to do "school" in the holidays because they love it so much.

I sometimes think it would be great to be able to do a lot of the teaching with my children at home while still sending them to school either a couple of days a week, or a couple of weeks a term for all the benefits that come with attending a "mass learning institution" (learning to get along with others who are "different" from us, learning how to make friends, developing independance etc).

I do think that "going to school" is great, and it should be there as a full time option for those who need it, but I think there should also be more options available to parents who are more than capable of teaching their own children, where there can be a mix of learning at home and school, without having to send them off for 5 out of 7 days a week when they are only 5 or 6 years old.

Anyway, just something I've been thinking about... I'd love to know other people's thoughts on the matter.