I distinctly remember our forecast that we would homeschool our children whenever the Good Lord decided we were ready for them. My wife and I were watching a TV program, though I do not remember the episode subject, and when it was over we said, “we are going to homeschool our kids.”
Until then, I had a pretty narrow view of what homeschoolers were like. I held many of the commonly held stereotypes of the time: odd, marginalized, socially “out-there.” So I really never considered the idea. It just never registered on my radar.
My wife and I married later in life. We had our first children at an age when many of our contemporaries’ kids were in middle school or high school. Our friends were traveling with their kids. We were also at an age wherein we liked to travel and hike. We wanted the flexibility to travel when and where we wanted to as a family, without worrying about a school schedule — not later, but now.
Another commonly heard expression was that “it goes so fast.” They were of course referring to how quickly children grow up. They grow from infant to high schooler in a blink. Trusting in this wisdom, we didn’t want to give a moment of their growing up to anyone else. We wanted to be there for all their “aha” moments. Knowing that we only get one shot at this, we wanted to spend all available time with our children before they were grown and on their own.
I worked as a Youth and Family Minister for the church for over 2 decades before our children were born. My wife was beginning a second career as a physician. I was ready to nest, she was ready to fly. It was the perfect combination for our family. She was the financial provider and I could use my experience as a flexible educator to administrate the home and educate the children. I went part-time with my ministry, and was able to flex my time at home with my wife for the first three years. Then our next set of twins were born and I went full-time at home. We had the tools in our educational and experiential backgrounds as well as security in her new job as a physician, that we knew we could make this work.
We began this lifestyle in 2007 and have learned that it is truly a calling and a blessing to be able to live our lives to the fullest as a homeschooling family. It is not a lifestyle that is for everyone, but for us it came at the right time and the right place in our lives. I guess God does know what He is doing.