As summer comes to an end, it’s hard to miss the signals all around that it’s time to start thinking about getting “back to school!” From the mass marketing of school supplies, the notifications for fall activity sign-ups, and the shortening of the days, we feel the pressure to transition from the laid-back pace of summer to a more regimented time of scheduled activities.
Long before we ever became a homeschooling family, this was never our favorite time of year. We didn’t identify with the sentiments of other parents who couldn’t wait to get their kids out of the house for hours at a time. We resented the schedule that prevented us from having meaningful family time. Six hours of school, two to three hours of homework, and by the time you threw in a two-hour soccer practice a couple of times a week and games on the weekend, there was nothing left for us.
Added to that was the stress of realizing that our two sons were not thriving in school. We chose to send them to a small private Christian school in the hopes of avoiding the problems that we were concerned about in a public school setting. Christian education is very important to us.
After a couple of years, it became apparent that we were thinking about it all wrong. It wasn’t the debate over “private versus public” school that we needed to solve, but the fact that “school” itself was not working for our kids. We realized we needed to make a drastic change. We didn’t know any homeschoolers at that time, but we learned about it through various Christian media, including Focus on the Family broadcasts. The appeal of being able to customize our children’s education to fit their learning styles and interests, coupled with the desire for more family time, was what led us to make the leap of faith into homeschooling. We have never looked back.
Homeschooling fixed all of our problems – and solved a few we didn’t even know we had! Our first daughter was born in our fourth month of homeschooling (and our youngest four years later), and the incredible sibling bonds that were built have lasted even to this day. We definitely give the credit to the amount of family closeness that homeschooling provides. All these years later, we are confident that it’s the “home” part of homeschooling that has made all of the difference, not just in our family, but, certainly, in the legacy of families in the past forty plus years of homeschooling here in New York.
So, as you get ready for “back to school,” we encourage you to prioritize time at home and time together as a family. Co-ops, field trips, and sports all have their place, but they are not going to have the same impact on shaping the growth of your children’s minds, souls, and faith. Let homeschooling become more of a way of life rather than an alternative educational model. Your children do not need to be socialized every waking hour by being with other children their age. That is the world’s model. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 makes it very clear that families are supposed to be living life together, every day, all day.
Our desire for you is that you will start to realize that there is no going “back to school.” There are no first days and no last days, except for the one where God tells you, “Well done, good and faithful servant … Enter into the joy of your master!” (Matthew 25:21).
Amen. Come soon, Lord Jesus.
Peace in Christ,
Rob & Jen Snyder
President, Homeschool New York
