Schooling on Purpose

When our family began our homeschool journey, my husband and I spent time together, talking specifically about how we wanted to educate our children.  We researched styles of homeschooling and decided that a relaxed approach that focused upon teaching our children through life experiences best reflected our beliefs and goals.  This meant that education wasn’t designated as something that happened within a block of specific periods of time.  Instead, it was something that we kept in focus from the moment our children woke up each morning until they went to sleep at night.  Every life experience was an opportunity.  These opportunities did not pass by in a laissez faire manner.  Instead, we worked together to grasp onto teachable moments throughout the day.  In the early years, the teaching moments involved hours of reading, singing, exploring nature, and playing together.  As the children grew, they took on age appropriate responsibilities that taught them life skills.  Study of God’s Word through Bible stories and games emphasized the value of developing moral characters and inculcating Godly traits.  The children were immersed in a learning environment through books, discussion, opportunities, and experiences.  Unschooling was not the concept we grasped, but rather schooling on purpose throughout all the events of life was emphasized.  Teachable moments from dusk to dawn created the beginning days of homeschooling for our family.  Using opportunities to immerse the little ones in learning all day long created an environment where learning took place naturally and organically.  It just happened.  On purpose.