identity directed

Opening Doors

I want to be a happy mum. A spontaneous mum. A gentle mum. An encouraging mum. A loving mum. I want to open the door for my children.

It’s all too easy for me to say ‘no’. No, no, no! I don’t want my children to remember me as a ‘no mum’. “No” closes doors whereas “yes” opens the door, giving loads of opportunity! Opening the door is like igniting a flame… we never know where it will lead or brightly it will burn. I desire to create an environment that is conducive to pursuing delights, to shape and develop the character traits necessary for a lifelong habit of learning and provide the fuel or rich ideas to stimulate an interest.

Education is not the filling of a pail, rather the lighting of a fire.
~William Butler Yeats

I try to open doors for my children in the following ways:

Exposing my children to various subjects and exploring them together. The topic may not be an interest of mine, but I never know what might catch their interest. The library, wildlife parks, sport games, the theatre, musicals, art gallery, arts & craft activities, games (chess, etc.) movies and vacations are a few ways to provide a rich, interesting environment.

Teach perseverance. Some children tend to naturally be ‘dabblers’. That is they like to try their hand at everything but don’t stick with a topic or an activity long enough to master it or gain a decent understanding of it. Whilst I understand that this is a personality trait and it’s not all bad I do think it is important to learn stickability.

Give encouragement and support when their interest begins to wane. All of us experience frustration, tiredness or weariness and so do my children. This is a sign that I need to become a little more involved and help them regain their enthusiasm.

As much as I like to teach perseverance, there is also merit in learning to let go in order to move on. As children get older and their focus can begin to narrow in on selected activities or topics, it is helpful to reassess the necessity of their other activities. Sometimes an activity or subject will need to be let go so that the child can fully move forward in pursuit of their interests.

I constantly nag er, gently remind my children that their interests may very well be given to them by God and are to be used for His glory and for His purpose.

He is the God who made the world and everything in it.
Acts 17:24a

I want to ignite a fire in the hearts and lives of my children. The interest they have today could be their occupation, their area of expertise, their hobby, their lifelong passion or a ministry in the years to come!

Will you share how you open doors for your children.

Homeschooling Isn't About Education

I didn’t write this article, but it’s too good not to share. It was written by Chris Davis, formerly from Elijah Co.

If you have been a recipient of my eNewsletter or if you have heard me speak at a conference you know that I have a concern about the shift I have seen in the reasons families choose to homeschool. I would like to take this opportunity to bring us back to what I perceive to be the reason God began this movement over 20 years ago.

Our good friend Rob Shearer once told me something which I will paraphrase as follows:

About 20 years ago, a group of parents began to feel a deep desire to have their children grow up at home rather than in an institutional setting. Thus began what is now referred to as the Homeschooling Movement. These early “homeschoolers” my friend refers to as Pioneers: parents who knew God wanted them to take total responsibility for raising (including educating) their own children. These Pioneers were determined to have their children home during the day in spite of the difficulties (and sometimes the dangers) this decision created.

During this Pioneer stage, there was another group of parents who heard about the benefits of homeschooling, but who decided to wait to see if the Pioneers would be successful before becoming homeschoolers themselves. These my friend called Settlers. Once the Settlers were convinced of the benefits of homeschooling, they joined in. However, unlike the Pioneers, many Settlers weren’t sure they would homeschool for the long term so they simply copied the public schools’ curricula and sequencing methods just in case it turned out that homeschooling didn’t work for them. And, if it didn’t, their children could be mainstreamed back into “school.”

By the late 1990’s public schools were receiving such negative publicity, and homeschooling such positive publicity, many more parents began to consider homeschooling as a viable alternative. They knew little about homeschooling except that it had to be better than the public school. These families my friend called Refugees: parents who were escaping a negative situation, but with no real understanding of what they were doing or why; nor did many of them want to know. They simply wanted their children to be educated as if the children were “in school” but without the negative context they perceived existed in the public school setting.

As I have described the three kinds of homeschoolers above, you may have noticed a very subtle, yet most important, difference between the Pioneers’ main desire (to have their children grow up at home) and the main desire of the other two groups (to provide a better education, or a less negative context for their children).

The reason I entitled this article, Homeschooling Is Not About Education is because I think we have a tendency to lose sight of or, perhaps, we have never really understood why we were led to homeschool. I draw this conclusion because what I hear as most homeschooling parents’ primary concerns are issues such as, “Will this be the best curriculum for my child?” or “How do I know I’m going to cover it all?”

Let’s take another look at this thing called “Homeschooling.” We all know one or more families whose children would greatly benefit if their children were not in a public school setting. Yet, these families don’t bring their children home. We feel truly blessed to believe in homeschooling and we don’t understand why everyone doesn’t see the obvious benefits. Why do friends and relatives keep sending their children to “school”, anyway? Why do we seem to be among so few who are willing to do this?

I would like to offer my opinion as to why we have become “homeschoolers” and so many others have not: I have a conviction that a historical time is approaching for which a certain “kind” of person will be needed in this nation; indeed, in the world. When this time will come, I don’t know, but my sense is that it will come soon. What I do believe is that God has needed a very specific context within which He can grow up this particular kind of person. And, since a lot of these “persons” are needed, God has asked a lot of us to become homeschoolers. What is this context? It is simply a place where the hearts of the fathers have been turned toward their children and the hearts of the children have been turned toward their fathers. It is a place where children are raised to become proficient at the specific giftings, talents, and callings God has placed within them since their creation.

This is the context which every homeschooling family has the opportunity to create. Yet, what disturbs me is that homes-SCHOOLING has become the primary focus of so many of these families. Homeschooling parents are prioritizing something quite different than what was in the heart of God as expressed in the hearts of those early Pioneers when they brought (or kept) their children home during the day.

For those of you who have “brought the school home,” let me suggest that you rethink what you are really doing with your children. Do you ever consider what kind of person this little boy or girl is to become by the time he or she leaves your home? Have you ever wondered if God Himself, has placed some very specific talents, giftings and callings in this youngster that He expects you to discover and promote during the child’s stay with you? Do such things determine your family’s priorities, weekly schedule or the curricula you purchase?

Or as you look toward the “finish line” of your child’s time at home, do you simply buy a graded curricula and spend your days plowing through it, because you think the highest purpose of your parenting is to see that your child receives the best education you can provide so you can one day say, “My son has a good job.”

If the answers to these questions are something like, “I don’t know”, or, “I don’t want to think about it,” then you may be a “homeschooler”, but I think you’ve missed the point.

Even Pioneers can slowly become Refugees. The very word “homeschooling” can cause us all to forget that what we are doing is not about home-SCHOOLING but about creating that context in which we assist God in raising the little ones in our homes to become His men and women who are truly prepared for what is going to happen in their own generation. To be like King David whom God did not identify as a man “with a good job;” but as a man who “served his generation well.”

Putting it together

Well, so far in this series I’ve posted a little about us and the beginnings of our homeschooling journey, how I felt something was missing despite my planning and working so hard and how God pulled me up and put me on a clearer path, with Him as pilot. I wrote about developing a family mission statement and today I would like to share just a little of our lifestyle and how it looks, what sort of books we use in this pursuit of a Bible based, Cross-centric lifestyle of learning.

There is so much curricula available (and I have owned much of it) but we have prefer to study God’s word directly rather than reading commentaries and regurgitated thoughts of man- regardless of how good or noble those thoughts. We desire that our children go directly to God’s word on matters so this means that the primary curriculum on our shelf is the Bible…it’s our main textbook. We also have a good dictionary, Bible handbook and other reference books.

Many modern publications or Bible study books are good but they may have been watered down or they omit teachings on important biblical matters. Bible study is much more than a fill-in-the-blank approach. To be truly authentic and genuine we must teach by living it, modeling it. This is much more effective than any Bible curriculum one can purchase…but be careful, it’s not for the faint hearted- it’s life changing. I have come to see that this homeschooling journey is actually about me. Not in a modern worldly “me” kind of way but by nature of the fact that God wants me to desire Him, to hunger for Him. God does have an agenda behind all this homeschooling business – That it will lead not only the children, but me, to a closer walk with Him.

God’s initial goal for Christian homeschooling families is not the raising of godly children. Instead, God’s wonderful, but subtly hidden agenda is that the homeschooling experience be so challenging for the parents that they feel the need and hunger for a closer walk with their heavenly Father.”
~Wisdom’s Way of Learning by Marilyn Howshall

The Bible is a window into our own soul and heart so that we can understand ourselves, our needs. God spiritually feeds us through the word. The Bible instructs us as to salvation, forgiveness, how to live, how to please God. It isn’t just ‘history’ rather it is His Story! It [the Bible] does more than tell us facts and figures and stories…it tells us why we are here on earth and where we are going. Many other books can point to God but only this one book shows us what God is like. Other books are helpful and beneficial, encouraging, thrilling, informative, entertaining, comforting and beneficial in other ways but only God’s word is life! This book alone can give a glimpse into the mind of God…give us a perspective of eternity. Just as the body needs to be physically nourished by good food, so our heart and mind needs sustenance. It is not simply the words in this book that satisfy the hunger in our soul rather it is God Himself. Just as regular exercise is necessary for a healthy body, so is daily exercising of the mind. What better to nourish the mind on than the message of God?

Rather than start with a state curriculum or generalised outcome based objectives (that have been decided upon by someone else) and then attempt to use the Bible to fill in any gaps, or cover Bible study as though it is just another subject, we start with the Bible and move forward from there: to learn who God is, what He has done and what He requires. This becomes our world view…and our world view will teach more than any curriculum or textbook. Yes, every subject can be taught through the Bible. After all, what is history if not His Story? What is Science? All scientists must think critically and independently. Geography is really the study of God’s created earth and so on.

We use a variety of resources and methods and they’re all good (CM methods, Classical, notebook, natural-learning, etc) but this approach has been what we have found most successful and achievable in instilling vision, purpose, self motivation in all of us. We believe this will prepare us and our children for vocational, entrepreneurial, career or ministry vision.

I don’t believe it mattered that I’d been homeschooling for a few years already. God is King of New beginnings! I asked Him to give me a vision for our family. Through studying His word I’m learning how to hear Him, how to be guided by him and how to recognise and trust the voice of the Holy Spirit. God knows my teaching style! He knows my children’s learning styles! And He has a purpose for us! He is personally directing and guiding me, as I turn to Him and submit my all to Him. This has accomplished more godly fruit that I’d been able to by my own efforts.

Am I recognising God’s call for our family? Am I seeking Him for direction…for guidance in curriculum choices? Am I resting in Him, submitting everything (academic goals and dreams) to Him? Am I listening to Him and observing my family? Am I putting wholesome, literary books filled with rich ideas before the children? I want to do these things, watch for the spark …then allow the children room and time to dig further.

Write the gospel, a chapter each day…write it by what you say and what you do. Your children read that gospel, whether faithless or true. What is the gospel according to you?

Our Homeschool Journey

The Animal School – A Parable

An old story tells of the creation of a school for the animals. In this school, everybody took the same four courses: flying, swimming, climbing, and running. Among the students were a duck, a flying squirrel, a fox, and an elephant. These four were highly motivated, and wanted to get good grades, so they all tried very hard.

The duck did fantastically well in swimming and flying, but he lagged behind his classmates in climbing and running, so focused special attention on those two subjects. However, his feet became so sore from trying to run and his wings were so bedraggled from trying to climb that by the end of the year he not only failed both those subjects, but made C’s in swimming and flying, which had once been his two best subjects.

At the beginning of the school year, the squirrel was first in his class in climbing and running and was second only to the duck at flying. But as the months wore on, he missed so much school from catching pneumonia in his swimming class that he failed everything.

To make matters even worse, because the squirrel constantly squirmed and chattered in class, and had difficulty paying attention, he was diagnosed with a learning disorder. The squirrel eventually was placed in remedial classes and had to be medicated in order to continue with his school work.

The fox was a natural in his running class and scored well in climbing and swimming, but became so frustrated at his inability to get good Grades in flying that he began assaulting his classmates. He even tried to eat the duck. His behavior was so disruptive he was expelled from school. He fell in with a rough crowd and eventually wound up in a center for animal delinquents.

The elephant, meanwhile, developed low self-esteem because he couldn’t do well in any of the subjects. When he sank into clinical depression, his therapist persuaded him to try a different school that focused on subjects such as lifting and carrying. The elephant was disappointed, because careers in lifting and carrying were not as prestigious as careers in flying, swimming, climbing, or running. Even though he always felt inferior, he managed to make a decent living and support his family.

Our Children are Individuals

The point of this silly story about a school for the animals is that modern education sends every child through a program of study that is targeted toward a “generic” child. It expects every student to be able to follow the same course of study in the same sequence, without considering innate aptitudes or individual differences that are crucial to children’s abilities to learn. Schooling does not take into account differing personality types or temperaments.

Parents who understand learning differences can be more sympathetic with the frustrations their children face in school and more helpful in finding alternative approaches. The two major learning differences among children have to do with learning styles and learning readiness.

Article used with permission from Homeschool MarketPlace
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN7QfjIcVvA

Developing the Vision

Previously I wrote how I felt that I was in control of our homeschool and how I had planned everything out just perfectly, yet struggled under the weight of it all. God doesn’t want us to strive for cookie-cutter children, rather He would have us prepare our children for an individual, definable life purpose. We try to recognise and identify each children’s natural (God-given) strengths, weaknesses, abilities, talents, interests and passions. From there, we can lean on God for direction in devising a flexible plan for developing our children as whole individuals with a purpose, for His service.

Early on we realised the immense benefit of home education but it wasn’t until a little later on that we came to see that homeschooling is more than academics… that it is a natural extension of God’s purpose for the family.

Some points that we consider and discuss:

What is ‘family’?
What things are important to us, as a family?
What abilities and interests and concerns has the Lord given to us, as a family?
What are some skills that we want our strong, capable child to have as an adult?
What are the attitudes, character traits and information/knowledge that we want our children to have as adults?
What are our educational, moral, spiritual personal, ethical, goals for our family?
What direction has God shown us regarding us and our family’s ministry in His Kingdom?
Do our aims line up with the Bible?

Our responses to these points will look different to other families. Our thoughts and goals are based upon personal conviction, values and calling. Whilst we believe our aims (goals) should always line up with the Bible, the practical outworking of them will look different to that of other families. See this video for more information about individuality within homeschooling.

We then go on to ponder:

What is education? What does it mean to us?
What is the purpose of our child’s education?
What is wisdom?
What is more important to us: knowledge or wisdom?
How best can we meet the needs of our child?

This interesting exercise helps us to identify our family’s unique purpose. However, we’ve found that these questions really can’t be answered in quick, easy, mono syllabic words or sentences. They are rich ideas, encompassing our whole view of the world and everything in it. The ideas and thoughts meld together to form our family’s unique life purpose.

Now we focus upon each child:

Yesterday I shared how we observe each child’s:

Strengths and natural ability and aptitude, also called talents
Weaknesses
Interests; what sparks their curiosity or desire to know more
Their passions (things they would do if left to their own devices)

Now we have a big picture. We’ve identified our family’s goals and purpose. We can see what is most important for us and what is most worth our time and energy. Is it academics? Skills? Information or knowledge? Or relationships? Our family has a priority list of:

relationships (with God, others and self) first, then
skills and then knowledge.

One of our highest priority areas is to grow in wisdom, which only comes from God and falls under the category of ‘relationships’.

Now our Family Mission Statement is in place…the next step is writing it down. Have you developed your Family Mission Statement? I’d love to hear about it. Having your mission statement written down is one of the most important things I recommend. when times of hardship or difficulty come (and they do) we turn to our Mission Statement. This gives us direction, focus and motivation. We’ve also found it beneficial to include the children, especially once they are older. This in turn helps to shape their own view of the world, family and education. It’s important to be able to articulate why we do what what we do. Your family vision is part of that.

See more of Our Homeschool Journey

Getting the direction – as co-pilot

A Gospel-driven, Cross-centric, Discipleship approach simply means that we’re teaching each child what he needs to know, with a view to his/her God given strengths, weaknesses, interest, passions, and talents… their natural bents. Rather than just getting an education we can receive a balanced education through our lifestyle. We are free to seek God for each child’s purpose. This is how we can disciple our children…and prepare them for an individual, definable life purpose.

Recognising God’s Call

The first thing we had to do was recognise God’s call. This was pretty easy…to recognise that God has put me, the parent, as the responsible authority in the lives of our children. I often remind myself that when God calls, He also enables!

Prayer

Ah, I read it, thought it and said it so often that it went without saying but in reality it was at times, the most neglected facet of my homeschool and personal life. I had to acknowledge my weaknesses in order to lean on His strength. This is a walk of faith. But as I have looked to God, more and more He has taken care of all our homeschool needs. In other words, the less I have planned and struggled, the more He has been in control and provided for us.

Rest in Him, Listen to Him and Rely on Him

Listening is so important. I need to listen more to God. Once I’ve asked for His help and direction, I need to stop and listen so that I can hear.

Recognize and Identify

I watch and observe. I have sensed the prompting of the Holy Spirit (and gained help and direction) just by watching and observing the children. Recognising the individual make-up of each child and who he/she was created to be is an ongoing process. In fact, I’ve become a student…not only of the word but a student of my children!

It’s important to spend time identifying the following in each child:

Strengths and natural ability and aptitude, also called talents
Weaknesses
Interests; what sparks their curiosity or desire to know more
Their passions (things they would do if left to their own devices)

Once these things have been identified, I’ve prayed and asked God to help me as I’ve devised a plan to develop their strengths and to build up their weaknesses.

Identity

Part of a Biblical or Discipleship based education is based around the child’s identity. Identity Directed education is not child-led. It does not mean that the whim and fancy of each child is indulged. It doesn’t mean only doing what the child is good at and ignoring everything else. While we are free to explore a child’s delights and passions and interests, that isn’t all of it. I’d like to share an analogy with you. It’s my own analogy and so it will show how I think and process information.
An athlete must train the whole body. It would be detrimental to their being to only train the areas of the body that they use most in their sport. A softball pitcher must have strong core muscles, upper body and leg muscles but they risk severe injury if these are the only areas they develop. They must also develop agility and speed, combined with power and explosiveness. They are required to use the muscle which allows them to pitch underarm yet if they don’t develop the muscles that allow them to throw over arm, they risk injury. Athletes use their whole body in a natural way and they never isolate a single muscle group or joint in the competition. In training yes, in order to develop the area but, only with an aim of building a strong whole body, fit for competition. Training with balance in strengths and weaknesses is the key! Just as an athlete has a training routine, so must the education of a child have structure and routine. These things are [natural, God ordained] biblical principles just as day turns to night and autumn comes after summer.

An individual’s strengths and weaknesses and interests are part of their God given make up! By identifying and encouraging their natural bents we will be launching them toward their purpose.

Our Homeschool Journey

Delight Directed Learning

I’ve always pursued my delights. Pursuing homeschooling was a delight yet has ended up being our lifestyle. I think it’s really important for a mum to pursue a delight. It sets a living example of how we’d like to see our children live and it also keeps us in awe of God as Creator and Giver.

However, there have been times in my life, especially during periods of stress and busyness, where I’ve questioned whether or not I should continue to pursue my delight or interest. I mean, wouldn’t it be selfish of me to do so? But my husband disagrees! So do I, when I think about it sensibly. Of course for the believer, spending time in God’s word will come first but is it healthy for a mum to serve the family to the exclusion of her own needs? Some mums can develop a type of martyrdom complex which is really not healthy at all. Pursuing a delight, a passion, an interest, can give mum the refreshment she needs to continue on with her wifely, motherly and house managing duties with vigor. Working within your delight may also keep you feeling younger! Psalm 103:4-5 What a great living example to the whole family! A refreshing atmosphere of renewal, joy, satisfaction, vigor…

…who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:5

Sometimes, a mother’s passion or delight can be something that the Lord places on your heart…maybe it will grow to be something that will serve others and bring glory to the Father.

I have delights and interests…and my family knows all about it, as do regular readers of my blog. :laugh: Sometimes it is health and green smoothies, other times it is exercising and getting fit, but a lot of the time it is website development. Whenever I’m pursuing an interest I read, read, and read all about it. I make copious notes and I talk about it. I collect ingredients or equipment. I research! I unknowingly use the 4 step process. And yes, at times my learning becomes infectious- the whole family catches on! And yes, currently the family has ‘caught’ my current fitness/exercising interest! 😉 I unconsciously go through all the stages of learning about that interest and I tend to use varied means to express myself. This is true learning. This is the style of learning I want my children to pick up on, for it is lifelong learning- not relegated to one book, one subject or one grade level…rather it is life! Throughout, my mind is refreshed and renewed and nourished- what better than to give to my family from a full well?

Okay, let’s look at it this way. If you had 45 minutes for yourself, what would you like to do? Sew, knit, garden, paint, write, take photo’s, scrapbook, cook, decorate, do hair, make soap, make perfume, play an instrument, read, write poetry, exercise, embroider…pitch a softball, design a website…the list goes on- it’s endless. (However, catching up on housework or sleep is not what I’m talking about, okay?)

It doesn’t have to take hours per week. There’s no ‘delight directed police’ who will tell you you’re doing it wrong. The only criteria is that it is something that you are interested in…something that you would like to try. It doesn’t have to be bigger than Ben Hur…you just have to start.

Will you? Start today?

Will you then share it with me? I’d love to hear of your delight directed learning.

Worthwhile Pastimes – Discerning the Value in Hobbies

This post was originally a response to a question posted on a forum

On a delightful forum that I visit, another homeschool mum asked about her child’s pastime and questioned if it is worthwhile…should she encourage it, institute rules for it or discourage it. Having used a delight directed, relaxed, identity-directed, Spirit led, Bible-First approach for a few years I wrote in with my 2c worth, which I’ll copy and paste below.

I wonder if many relaxed or delight directed home schoolers face this…it strikes at the nature of homeschooling, doesn’t it? This is an issue that we have faced with at least 2 of our children so far…especially the two children who are the most intense in their personality. But this can be a good thing – as they mature, they can tend to approach all their work and efforts with passion, working hard at it, focusing on it and giving their best.

Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid. -Albert Einstein

Rather than try to look at the product of those activities, be it comic books, softball, computers, games or drawing…I’ve tried to focus on The Process. Now I still want it to be enjoyable for them. I don’t want to make it a school lesson and suck all the joy from it but as a Christian who also sees the value of natural learning I want them to live by Christian principles as well.

So I allow them to take after me!!! Eek, now that’s a scary thought! (Truly, the heart and soul of the learning at home lifestyle) I love web design and could easily spend 14 hours a day on my computer, building and designing as well as writing. I enjoy doing many things, which may or may not become productive one day. In fact, I’m quite sure it is productive but that still doesn’t mean that there are no guidelines. There are still chores, errands and duties that I must tend to first.

I also see the academic/spiritual/mental and /or physical nature in the activities I pursue. This helps me to focus on the process, not just the product.

I actually find it easier to parent the child who does have these interests – there is something to ‘work with’. For I can help this child to learn the value of self discipline, diligence, patience, sowing/reaping, etc within and throughout their journey with their ‘obsession’. An ‘obsession’ or interest gives me opportunity to teach many worthwhile life skills. Yahoo!

Teach them of the pitfalls of their interest. If the child is a boy, teach him of your concerns, so he may be educated about it. Teach him that a possible pitfall is that it can be an expensive hobby, addictive, take time away from family (and in the future his wife), contain anti Christian thought and other political/socio propaganda. As you go through each day, walking, sitting, reading, driving, talk to him about it .I tell my children everything – every thought that pops into my head! (Poor kids) I tell them of the possible pitfalls but also of the positives that they can learn throughout it all.

Who knows what skills can be learned throughout this interest? Talk to your husband about it. Who knows where it will lead? Even if it doesn’t lead anywhere, what valuable skills can be learned throughout it? Giving our children the freedom to pursue their interests is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

You could try and fit it into lessons- so he can earn credits for it. I have made up a few notebooks for our interests (softball and coffee). These allow the parent to ‘see’ productivity and maybe one day go toward a credit as it can go into their portfolio. How fantastic would this be for an employer- if a prospective employee turned in a huge notebook of his work, relating to his interest even in a vague way? It shows a lot about the person’s character.

My notebooks go into everything from the history, rules, types, skills, political, social, geographical information as well as reading biographies or doing biographical sketches of notable people with that field. I’d just say not to focus too heavily on this part. If you have a funday or a light day in your homeschool, you could ask him to do some work on this project on that day – once a week. Who knows where it will lead?

Lastly, I have taught my children about true education. if I think they are spending too much time on something I may ask them what they are learning or working on. Tehee, this usually gets them thinking- if they can’t think of anything useful, educational or productive then I suggest that maybe they need to devote the morning to something more worthwhile. This is important to me because I don’t just want to teach my children academics at home – I want them to learn about education, so they can truly know what is education and what is ‘busy work’. This is part of a life skill – learning to discern the root thought of an attitude and make a decision whether or not it is worthy to participate in.

Delight Directed Education wins 3rd place!

Oops! I had intended to pop back earlier with our exciting news but the days just seemed to skip ahead of me. Last week, we attended the local (State) Barista Championships where our 17yodd was competing in the Latte Art section.

She was up against two former Australian Champions and others who were veteran barista’s and competitors. She was the only female competing in that category and by far the youngest barista.

She placed 3rd! How absolutely exciting! 3rd in this state! We were so ridiculously excited and happy for her. Actually she finished equal 2nd but they went decided to count back and go into percentages (which is odd as they don’t do that for the general barista comp but who’s complaining?) and she ended up placing 3rd- one point behind the 2nd place-getter.

Well, hasn’t she just had a full-on week since? She has had various photo shoots (including a hair and make-up session) for the paper, and then centre where she works. She feels a little odd as they want to put her photo around various places in the mall- congratulations and a form of advertisement. She received a RB tamper worth over $100 so she is totally chuffed. She also won some prize money, a trophy and was presented with a sash. A tamp is a tool used in the making of espresso. She’s being interviewed for another paper and has also been contacted by Master Roasters (official name for those who roast beans) and CoffeeHouses. Whew, what a whirlwind week.

However, as parents, none of that has been as impressive as seeing our child work hard and apply themselves, focus on the process and not the outcome and then try something new that takes them out of their comfort zone. Miss17 was as nervous as anything for the week before the competition. She purchased all her own table setting and practiced on us for some time. However, she has never even been to a Barista Championship before let alone competed in one so didn’t have a clue what to do or expect. She has told me that she just kept her eyes and ears open to learn from those more experienced and that she kept learning right up and during her performance! She said she learnt from the barista’s who went before her and incorporated some new things into her routine. This is a sign of a lifestyle of learning- her [delight-directed education] homeschooling years have prepared her well. It wouldn’t have bothered us one bit had she not have placed, even if she had come last! What mattered to us was the whole process- the working, the attitude, the attempts, the learning, the failing, the trying again, the attitude, etc. Oh, did I mention attitude? 😉

Barista Championships

So the HUGE expensive espresso machine is now gone from our kitchen and I’m back to our small but trusty Sunbeam. But it’s so much easier to keep clean. The other $5000 (yes, five thousand dollars worth of coffee machine has been in our kitchen for the last month!) was so large it overtook the whole kitchen! It was also messier. But really, who’s complaining?

I wonder what’s next?

Identity Directed Approach

After viewing my profile, a reader sent me an email with the question, “What is an Identity Directed Approach” so I thought it was about time I tried to put my scattered thoughts into a more coherent form.

Identity Directed home-based learning goes hand in hand with a Bible Based, Christ Centred approach. It simply means to teach the child with a view to his/her God given strengths, weaknesses, interest, passions, and talents… their natural bents.

Recognise God’s Call

Firstly, it’s important to recognise that God has put you, the parent, as the responsible authority in the lives of your children. Remember also that when God calls, He also enables! If God has a plan and a purpose for you as well as your child (and He does!), the best way to find out about that plan is to learn more about Him and His ways. Look at Isaiah 55:8-11

Prayer

Pray! It almost goes without saying yet it’s often the most neglected facet of homeschooling. Acknowledge your weakness and lean on His strength and His ways. Yes, it is a walk of faith. For great information on homeschooling in faith I recommend Robin’s article at Heart of Wisdom. As I have looked to God, more and more He has taken care of all our homeschool needs. In other words, the less I have planned and struggled, the more He has been in control and provided for us.

Resting in Him

Listening is so important. We need to listen more to God. Once we’ve asked for His help and direction, we need to stop and listen so that we may hear.

Recognising and Identifying

We need to watch and observe. We will often sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit (and gain help and direction) just by watching and observing our children. But one caution; recognising the individual make-up of each child and who he/she was created to be is an ongoing process. We need to understand that we will become students; students who study our children!

It’s important to spend time identifying the following in each child:

Strengths and natural ability and aptitude, also called talents
Weaknesses
Interests; what sparks their curiosity or desire to know more
Their passions (things they would do if left to their own devices)

Once these things have been identified, pray and ask God to help you as you devise a plan to develop their strengths and to build up their weaknesses.

Balanced education

Identity Directed education is not child-led. It does not mean that the whim and fancy of each child is indulged. It doesn’t mean only doing what the child is good at and ignoring everything else. While it is part of Delight Directed education, it isn’t only about following delights. An athlete must train the whole body. It would be detrimental to their being to only train the areas of the body that they use most in their sport. A softball pitcher must have strong core muscles, upper body and leg muscles but they risk severe injury if these are the only areas they develop. They must also develop agility and speed, combined with power and explosiveness. They are required to use the muscle which allows them to pitch underarm yet if they don’t develop the muscles that allow them to throw over arm, they risk injury. Athletes use their whole body in a natural way and they never isolate a single muscle group or joint in the competition. In training yes, in order to develop the area but, only with an aim of building a strong whole body, fit for competition. Training with balance in strengths and weaknesses is the key! Just as an athlete has a training routine, so must the education of a child have structure and routine. These things are [natural, God ordained] biblical principles just as day turns to night and autumn comes after summer.

An individual’s strengths and weaknesses and interests are part of their God given make up! By identifying and encouraging their natural bents you will be launching them toward their purpose. Most of all, train in the ways of God and in wisdom!

Wisdom’s way of learning is about seeking God for His plan for our family.

Starting Out

Well, after you have recognised your God given responsibility, and prayed for wisdom, guidance and direction you will have been observing your children closely while leaning on God. So what comes next?

Mapping out a plan – start with the end in mind.

What are some skills that you want your strong, capable child to be have as an adult?
What are the attitudes, character traits and information/knowledge that you want your children to have as adults?
What are your educational, moral, spiritual personal, ethical, goals for my family?
What direction has God shown you regarding you and your family’s ministry in His Kingdom?
Do your aims line up with the Bible?

Each response to these points should look different based upon the personal convictions, values and calling of each family. (However, all should line up with #5 Do your aims line up with the Bible?)

Many people realise the immense benefit of home education but sometimes it isn’t until later on that parents come to see that homeschooling is more than academics… that it is a natural extension of God’s purpose for the family. This brings us to another set of points worth pondering:

What is ‘family’?
What things are important to us, as a family?
What abilities and interests and concerns has the Lord given to us, as a family?

The response to these points will also vary greatly. This is an interesting exercise to do with your spouse as it can help you identify your family’s unique purpose.

After identifying your family’s goals and purpose you should be able to see what is most important and worth your time. Is it academics? Skills? Information or knowledge? Or relationships? Our family has a priority list of relationships (with God, others and self) first, then skills and then knowledge. One of our highest priority areas is to grow in wisdom, which only comes from God and falls under the category of ‘relationships’.

“Academic education, as we know, should not be life’s goal for the Christian, rather, the goal should be discipleship to Jesus Christ.”

Marilyn Howshall ‘Wisdom’s Way of Learning

I’d like to encourage you to recognise God’s call, seek Him for direction, rest in Him yet all the while listening and observing. Put fine, rich books and ideas before your children. Watch for a spark and allow them to dig further. You will see the learning.

If you have any questions or would like me to clarify anything, please leave a comment or send an email.

Some recommended reading if this topic is of interest: