Recently on the Deut 6v7 list an enquiry was made asking who has a blog, specifically a home-ed blog. I didn't post about 'Thoughts on Pumpkin' , apart from anything else there isn't a lot of home-ed on here!
We had a visit recently from some old friends and found myself( and Phil) talking about the benefits of home education. Which got me thinking about a good explanation for home education from a Christian perspective.
Here goes! If you think of your children as seeds or seedlings(there is a gardening theme here!), you can plant them directly into the soil and some will do very well but some will struggle or get eaten by slugs!(not literally in the case of children!). But if you want a better chance of a good crop you plant your seeds in a pot or tray, you put them somewhere warm, you water them and care for them and when they are big, and strong enough to survive in the garden you plant them out. You still look after them and protect them from the slugs(!) but they have had a good start in life. I think for me that is what I am doing with Julez and is what I did with Lydia. Not trying to isolate them from school or the world, but nurturing them and preparing them to go out into the world/sixth form when the time is right.
I don't want this to sound like a criticism of those who choose not to home educate but just a little insight into my thinking! ( I wish I knew what to do about those slugs and snails who ate my french beans last year!I will try and do better this year!)
