The Dichotomy

Many of you know that my wife and I are homeschooling our 3 oldest children. We finished our first year, and have just this week started into our second year. Cahira (10) is starting grade 5, Trevan (8) is starting 3rd grade, and Eranae (7) is starting 2nd grade. They have enjoyed the change from public school, in varying levels and for various reasons. 
Everyone who we talked to about our decision was very supportive of it, and most of them encouraged us to stick with it for more than a year, saying that the first year is always the hardest. Going into our second year, Priscilla and I are realizing a few things which present a dichotomy. Allow me to explain.

Our decision to homeschool was based on 2 main factors. First, and probably 90% of the pie chart, was the fact that the school that the kids were attending, Ingels Advanced Elementary, held to a horrible standard of education. Some of you will already know that the Kansas City School District lost its accreditation last year. Honestly, we did enjoy the accolades that all 3 of our kids were awarded at the school, but we came to the point of realizing that we could offer a FAR superior learning experience at home. The second factor, much smaller in scope but still important, was the desire for some freedom in schedule. This is usually high up on the list of factors for most parents who homeschool because, face it. A trip to the zoo is a lot better on a Thursday morning than a Saturday. 

Last year was difficult, but we made it through. We had a hard time figuring out a balanced curriculum, we had a hard time organizing and maintaining a consistent schedule, we had a hard time figuring out what needed to be covered by the end of the school year. But there was also a lot of pluses, too. We were able to spend time focused on each child's strengths and weaknesses in their learning. We were able to make the learning experience a LOT more interactive, and we did have control (for better or worse) over the entire day's schedule. 


This year, I have come to a realization which leads (finally!!) to the dichotomy. Priscilla and I are not supposed to be homeschooling the kids. (GASP!) Why not? Well, there are several factors at play there, too. There are many people in the homeschooling community who would feel that doing anything other than homeschooling your kids is a drastic and negative step backwards. Let me be very clear here. I do not want to do anything which would compromise the quality of the kids' education. Having said that, I feel strongly that Priscilla and I are not the only people who should be responsible for our kids' education. That is not to say that we can't do it, or don't want to. 

Looking at the options we realize that, for the moment, our best solution this year will be to still homeschool the kiddos. But we are praying and trusting this year that Lord will open a door for us to give the kids a good solid education experience somewhere other than our home. Perhaps it will be a Christian school, or some other form of privatized schooling. The major block there is financial. Most schools in our area that we would consider pursuing are around $5000 per year PER CHILD. So $15K a year isn't do-able at all. Not to mention our dear 4th and 5th kiddos, who will be headed in that direction in the next few years. 

Perhaps it will be another public school system outside of the greater Kansas City district. This would require moving to another city, a prospect that seems very dim, given the current housing market, the condition of our house, and the condition of our credit. 

Whatever the case, there is one over-arching reason that has imbedded very deeply in my mind for us to not homeschool. That reason is this: I believe that, while God is asking us to be intimately involved in our childrens' lives, that is not the sole reason He has us here. I have to be very careful in saying that, because I do NOT want to devalue any of the other parents who homeschool in any way. But I feel very strongly that God is stirring something in both Priscilla and I which will place our focus on some other specific ministry, and not on homeschooling the kids. 


I have absolutely no idea what that will be, what it will look like, or how the Lord plans to facilitate our kids education. But the really cool thing is that He already has a plan for it. Maybe we'll be moving somewhere else next year, maybe some cool sponsorship opportunity will come open at a local Christian school, who knows. What I do know is that God is has been preparing Priscilla for something specific in the near future which will consume her time, her focus, and her heart to an extent that she will no longer be able to homeschool the kids. Likewise for me, there is something coming down the tracks which will require my focus as well. Maybe it will be playing a support role to Priscilla. Maybe it will be the band's ministry taking off. God knows what is coming, so I don't need to worry about the details. 

For this year, we will continue to homeschool our kiddos. And next year, if we need to, as well. But it is a transition period, and as God moves us towards this next new phase He will transition the kids into a much more ideal scenario for their learning experience. 

I hope I haven't offended any of the die-hard homeschoolers. I don't mean to at all. I truly respect what you do, and I certainly believe in your mandate from God to do it. Just because our mandate is morphing into something different doesn't mean that I, or anyone else, should view it as more important or more impactful somehow. That's nonsense. We will continue to homeschool our children as long as we feel that there are no better options available to us. When those options do arrive, please know that we don't look at our decision as placing us in a better, smarter, or holier place than your decision to continue with the home-based education of your family. I trust the Lord's guidance in your life as much as in ours. 

I will, of course, be keeping everyone up to date as we feel and hear new direction from the Lord. Please be praying for us. We want to make sure we're following God's Will in every step we take. Whatever our future holds, we want to move into God's plans for us in the right manner, and try not to misstep. 

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Cheers!

Bittersweet

So it's obviously been a while since I last blogged, and I know all of you (both of you) are waiting in anticipation. Well, your perseverance has paid off. Here we go. 

My family took a vacation up to Canada to visit my folks, and many friends. It was the first time in 4 years that we had been to Canada as a family. We left on the 25th of July, stopping in Columbus, OH to see our great friends the Vannattas, then went on to meet my folks up at a cottage in northern Ontario. 

We stayed at the cottage for a week, then went to Stayner Bible Conference Grounds, for a portion of the church family camp which my parents also attend each year. We camped in our tent, all 7 of us. After that, we went to Kitchener, which was my hometown in Canada from the time we returned from Nigeria until my move to the US. It is very much still home to me in many ways, partially because of friends still there, and partially because of so many memories of the formative time of my early 20s. While in Kitchener, we got the chance to connect with a few of our friends, as well as some of our extended family. 

So why bittersweet? Well, to be honest, the vacation itself was bittersweet. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting with my Mum and Dad (I call her Mum in Canada and Mom in the US). We really enjoyed all of the aspects of the stuff that we did, both with our kids, and while connecting with friends over late night drinks (polar bears!!!!). Our time at the cottage was very peaceful. Cilla and I chose to set our alarms for 5am 3 or 4 different mornings to get up and enjoy a cup of tea watching the sun rise over the lake. Truly beautiful. We swam with the kids, we went to an idyllic little church in Sundridge (where we completely overwhelmed the poor teacher of a Sunday school class of 5 by adding 4 of our own kids), we took a cruise on Lake Nipissing, and the kids got the chance to go to VBS at the same little church in Sundridge. We got out in the canoe a few times, and I even managed to take Cahira and Trevan fishing. 

At the family camp, the kids had a great time playing on the playground, and doing activities and crafts twice a day for 4 days. They even got to go see a brand new ultra high tech dairy farm in action that some second cousins of ours own. Really cool stuff. 

But when the time came for us to head back to KC, we felt very much unprepared. There was so much that we wanted to do that we didn't, but there was something more than that. It felt like in some ways we weren't supposed to go back. I know we were, because God has called us to KC, and we haven't felt that mandate and vision change, even though we've prayed about it so often. It was bittersweet for us to leave Canada because to be honest, we like it in Canada much better than we like it here in KC. We have a huge armada of great friends here in KC, no question. But that, we have realized, is the only thing keeping us here. We don't have as many friends in Kitchener, by a long stretch. Our last 11 years have been spent in KC, so of course that is where we've invested ourselves. But there is a sense of something very strong pulling us in Canada. I can't identify it, and I'm not even sure if it's Canada (or our specific situation) that is pulling us, or if it is some other intangible that hasn't revealed itself yet. Whatever it is, it's unsettling. Something is shaking us out of our comfort zone. Is it shaking us out of KC? I don't think so, at least not yet. 

Examining our situation from certain perspectives, I can see that God might be positioning us for some change, some new vision, new focus, new surroundings, whatever. The kids are homeschooled, which means mobility and freedom of schedule, my work is on a contract basis, so I answer only to myself regarding availability. So it could be that He's working us towards some sort of change. But from other perspectives, our work here in KC, our ministry, our church, the band, etc, all point towards us being here long-term. 

So I don't know what we felt in leaving Canada. Perhaps it was the disappointment of a much-too-rushed trip. We were gone on vacation for 20 days, and had it been 30 it would have still felt too short. Not to mention the strain on my folks of housing and feeding our small army. But we felt something that we can't ignore. Something of a check in our spirits which has raised our alertness to see what God is doing, and what He is saying. 

Our response at this point is to simply pray, and seek Him. If His Will is to move us on to some other thing, some other locale, then we are more than ready. If His desire is for us to remain here, continuing in this seemingly endless circle of waiting, then I'm trusting that He will be faithful to give us the grace, patience, and stamina for that. Whatever the case, we will continue to try and follow Him, no matter how unsettling the feeling.