Your decision to home school should be based on your determination of God's will for your family.

Seek the Lord through His Word and pray for His promised wisdom, guidance, and strength. Then agree as husband and wife on this important decision.

Teaching and training your children at home can provide the optimum opportunity for your children's spiritual training and character development as well as their social and academic welfare.

As you look at your mission statement and goals, you will see the many ways that home schooling is a good, if not the best, way to achieve them, including:

 •  Spiritual.  Bible training and Christian worldview for all subjects.

 •  Academic.  Individual tutoring, independent thinking, and proven results.

 •  Social.  Family unity and closeness, and guided social skills.

 •  Character Development.  Discipline, training, and good habits.

Remembering why you are teaching your children at home will provide the conviction, confidence, and commitment that you will need in order to persevere during difficult times.

These reasons will also help you explain your home education choice to others, including your children.

Many home-school families have found it beneficial to write out their decision to home school (this could be in your mission statement) along with a list, or summary, of the reasons why they have made that decision.

Avoid potential problems by making the following arrangements.

 •  Know your state’s law.

 •  Contact your state home-school organization to learn how to comply with your state’s law.

 •  Consider joining Home School Legal Defense Association.  (Use discount group number 299142 for $20 off your membership fee.)

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Goals help keep your family focused on what is really important, rather than letting the immediate or otherwise good opportunities crowd out the best.

Start with a family mission statement, outlining your values, vision, and purpose (see Newsletter #80). This need not be a long, hard, or complicated procedure. You can start with God's mission statement for us (Love God and others, Mark 12:29-31.) and expand on that.

Goals form the detailed plan that will enable you to fulfill your mission statement (see Newsletter #81 for more information on goal setting).

You might start by asking, “When our children leave our home to begin their own families . . .”

Long-range goals for your children's education and training might include the following.

Now you can break down these general goals into objectives for each child to reach in the coming school year.

Take an inventory of each child's knowledge, skills, aptitudes, interests, learning style, and character in light of your goals for him.  You can do this in several ways.

 •  Informally. Simply write a few notes from your everyday observations of each child on a notebook page.

 •  Testing. Use results from standardized tests.

 •  Alpha Omega Publications' free online diagnostic and placement tests.

 •  Scope and sequence. Check off the skills or knowledge that your child has attained.  Free online: A Beka Books, Bob Jones University Press, World Book, or your state's testing preview site.

The specific objectives you set for each child will take him towards the long-range life goals you have set.

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Teaching several of your children together with the same material at the same time can be the most efficient use of your time and effort.

There are many possible variations and combinations of multilevel teaching techniques that can work for any home-school family. Consider the following.

 •  For basic skills such as reading, handwriting, and math during the early grades.

 •  For a student who needs individual attention.

 •  For an older student who can work independently.

 •  For geography, history, science, literature, and Bible.

 •  A large family, with a wide range of ages, could have two group classes, an older and a younger.

Present lessons in an amplified manner with explanations and extra resources that enable all children to understand.

 •  For most of your subjects, using unit studies that integrate literature, history, science, Bible, and other subjects around a theme.

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There truly is not only one right way to home school or one best curriculum for everyone.

One of the advantages of home education is its great flexibility.  There are many excellent educational methods and materials from which each family can choose to meet their needs and preferences.

Whatever your situation, there are multiple solutions that can make home schooling a blessing to your family.

How you use your curriculum can be as important as which curriculum you choose.  A wonderful curriculum that stays on your shelf will do your family no good.  On the other hand, a simple, basic curriculum used conscientiously along with reading, enriching experiences, and normal daily living can produce an excellent education.

 •  Consider using elements from a variety of approaches including traditional textbooks, worktexts, the classical approach, the principle approach, unit studies, books, and life experiences (see Newsletter #82).

 •  Consider using a variety of media to add interest and motivation for all your children and at the same time enhance each child’s learning according to his preferred learning style. Include books, printed materials, videos and DVDs, supervised Internet studies, computer software, educational games, tools and manipulatives.

 •  Buy or borrow any materials needed in addition to what you already have (see The Teaching Home's Resource Directory.)

Don’t worry about making a “huge mistake.”  You can give your children a good education with practically any curriculum, and you will learn what works for your family by experience.

Do not become overwhelmed by the many choices available to home educators.  Instead, approach them like a smorgasbord and choose what looks good to meet the goals of your family and rely on the Lord’s promised wisdom and strength.