This practical guide to Christian homeschooling addresses child development, education methods, and God’s Word on the subject. The prospect of taking on full responsibility for your child’s education can seem daunting. But with a little advice, some preparation, and knowledge of what God says in His Word about it, the rewards can vastly outweigh the challenges. God Schooling guides readers … Schooling guides readers through both secular and Christian thought on child development and education methods, as well as Bible references that show us how God wants our children to be raised and educated. Homeschooling parent Julie Polanco also shares her own stories and advice based on nearly fifteen years of homeschooling her own children.
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While reading God Schooling-How God Intended Children to Learn, I had many ah ha moments. The first ah ha moment was when the author, Julie Polanco explains about how children need intrinsic motivation instead of external reward systems. My two daughters attended public school for the first few years, then a private school, until I broke my leg and could not work for 6 months, so we decided to try homeschooling. I went ahead and ordered online classes and a full package curriculum, and things were not going all that well for us. What this book showed me was that children need to be motivated to learn, and when they are motivated to learn something, they will go out of their way to learn it. Then it hit me. I knew nothing about homeschooling. I knew nothing about unschooling, but here I was, trying to learn about it through blogs, books, etc. I had a reason to learn, so I could teach my children and make it better for them instead of them giving me fights about “doing school” everyday. So if my kids have a reason, they will excel in their learning and research as well. Out of all the blogs and websites I have visited, this book really brought everything together for me in how I should approach homeschool with my kids. The author points out how kids should have a say in what they learn, and then they will be more motivated to learn. I really liked how the author used her own experiences to show readers how homeschool/unschooling looked for her family as her own children grew up, from young children all the way through teens/high school. She gave her kids code names for safety, which I must admit confused me at times to keep the code names straight to remember which kid she was referring to since the names were Tiger, Hawk, Butterfly, and Mouse. I figured it out though by marking the first page where she lists the “oldest daughter” as Tiger, and so on.
I liked how the author made a section for organization and planning. She points out that even though you may not be using a traditional school approach, or traditional school books or curriculum, you should still have a plan and organization in place. Having blocks of time labeled for specific tasks and subjects can help. I’m glad she included this section in the book because that was an area that was also confusing to me as a new homeschooler.
Another ah ha for me with this book is that the author points out that our plan may be different from what God has planned for us and for our children. We need to listen to Him and trust in Him.
I received this book from the author. I did not receive any compensation for this review and I was not required to leave a review. I wanted to review this book to let other homeschooling families know about this wonderful book and how it might be able to help them in their journey and let God lead the way for their homeschool.
Jessica D. Adams, Author