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Why did you decide to homeschool? It’s probably a different reason than our reasons. Jody tells the story of when her son asked to be homeschooled when he was 12 years old. She didn’t see it coming, and she had no idea how to handle it … at first.
My daughter was way too wiggly for kindergarten, and the super stimulating classroom with all those kids was a recipe for failure. You should have seen the “work” she was bringing home. It looked like she slipped and fell with a red crayon in her hand.
Both of those kids are grown now, and super successful thanks to their tenacity and their drive, along with the freedom and the opportunities they had as homeschoolers. Jody’s son is an attorney, radio host, columnist, and adjunct law professor. My girl is entering her last year at a prestigious music school on full scholarship and CEO of music networking company.
But in both cases, Jody and I had some inside knowledge that gave our kiddos a big boost. Because they had the freedom to explore their interests, they both found things that they loved. Chase loved politics. Sky loved music. And during the middle school years (and into high school), they had opportunities to dive deeply into those interests and develop real passion.
Armed with an idea of where they were being called, Jody and I were able to make some really strategic decisions. For Chase, Jody figured out that a certain SAT score earned him a free undergrad education. Sky was able to do some really unique things to help her be among the 9% of applicants accepted into her specific program.
One of my sons was interested in animation, and when he was in 7th grade, we found an opportunity for him to apprentice with an animation studio. They helped him develop some drawing skills, gave him business books to study, and gave him meaningful work to do in the company. He worked with them for almost three years, but at the end of it, he realized that he was not passionate about animation. Without that experience, he may have followed the wrong path in life.
Homeschooling with the end result in mind (or from cradle to calling) means helping kids discover interests, develop those interests into passion, and creating a unique and powerful strategy to launch our kids into a purposeful adulthood.
And for what? So they can BECOME their best selves and carry the transformative message of Christ to the ends of the earth. That’s what education is all about -- it’s about BECOMING. What are our kids becoming? Who are they becoming? The answer will lie in the call of God on their lives, and with that vision for their future, we can homeschool with the end result in mind.
Where are you on this journey? Closer to the cradle or to the calling?
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Jenni Stahlmann and her husband Matthew have seven kids (ages 3 to 21), including one on the autism spectrum. They graduated their oldest two in 2017. In spite of significant cognitive challenges, their oldest is working full-time for a great company with great benefits. Their second child is entering her last year at the prestigious Berklee College of Music and is a Thrive Scholarship winner, honored as one of the students most likely to succeed! They are still homeschooling the remaining five with two high schoolers, one middle schooler, one elementary aged student and one preschooler. Jenni has been a journalist and professional writer for 25 years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for her local homeschool organization and will be teaching a study skills and an advanced writing class at the local homeschool co-op using C2C curriculum.