This guest post is offered by Tiajuana Stewart, MA Regent Law student and
recent Family Law student:
Parents who have inadvertently
found themselves in the role of teacher and parent probably realize the amount
of work that educators experience. Because of respiratory problems from
prematurity of birth, I homeschooled my children to decrease their emergency
room visits and to maintain a sense of normalcy. Out of necessity I learned some ins and outs
of homeschooling that made our lives easier, and more abundantly successful.
First, know the law. Homeschool
Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is valuable for parents who
want to claim the religious exemption status and need assistance with a
state-specific form. I did not claim the religious exemption and the school
district was extremely recalcitrant to grant my children their statutory rights,
but I worked with the lobbyist to help get legislation in Virginia that was more
family friendly especially for allowing homeschoolers to attend their public
schools to participate in homeschool athletics. My encouragement was 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don't
let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."
Second, set
guidelines. For Christian parents to
establish their own guidelines for their families, daily bible verses and
journaling can be beneficial. Set a high
expectation for your children and remind them to be a modern example for a
contemporary Jesus. Have an honest
discussion of strategies to deal with others who do not share your family’s
belief system.
Three, maintain normalcy. Maintaining the normal school day routine is
essential to success with homeschooling. Give your family and your children extra time
to deal with this COVID crisis. Teenagers especially miss the socialization of
their peers. Stay hydrated, stay in
prayer, and maintain the social distancing rules. Remind your children of God’s
love and that He is their protector, even throughout the COVID crisis.
Four, use great resources like
these:
1. Homeschool Legal
Defense Association—Also a great resource for helping Christian parents in meeting
the state requirements. Specifically, Virginia’s homeschool statute can be
found at https://heav.org/virginia-homeschool-laws/ .
2. Khan
Academy has grade level videos and assignments. They also have test
preparation for the SAT, the ACT, and AP exams.
3. Regent
University has dual enrollment for homeschool high school subjects so they can
earn college credit.
4. Kings
Dominion has standards of learning based home school activities for all age
groups. Teaching physics is so much easier using the roller coaster activities.
5. Mocha Moms is an
excellent resource for Mothers of color. Children of color may often
lower their academic potential in order to meet societal expectations of athletic
prowess. Mocha Moms has many resources for homeschooling and local chapters.
Being a homeschooling parent
changed my life and our family for the better – you might even say it was a
great way to grow a family toward family restoration - and that's what we really need in the midst of COVID-19.
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