What Does the Bible Say About Homeschooling?

Raising children in the admonition of the Lord is a truly monumental, yet glorious, responsibility. As parents, we want the best for our kids. But how can we know we are raising them to become spouses, parents, and workers who love, serve, and honor the Lord?

Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about raising and teaching our kids.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

God created each child uniquely and with individual talents and gifts. Unfortunately, the public school system is not set up to tailor education to match each student’s needs or preferences. It is set up like a factory. Children are pushed through, following the same timeline, using the same tools, and receiving the same productivity assessments. The problem with this is that children are not all the same. So one size does not fit all.

Students become discouraged and disinterested when told they’re behind or when they aren’t challenged enough by the learning material. Sometimes students just need the material taught in a different learning style, but their teachers do not know each child well enough to tailor their education. Because learning is a lifelong pursuit, students need to grow up in an environment that encourages a love of learning. When parents homeschool their kids, they have the freedom to allow their children to learn at their own pace and develop skills in the areas they find interesting.

Teach Them

Deuteronomy 6:7 is Apologia‘s theme Scripture. It calls parents to teach their children, not just some of the time, not just on weekends and evenings, but at all times. Imagine how much more your children could learn from you if they were home with you for another 35 hours each week!

The Scripture says we are to teach them when you sit, stand, lie down, and rise – that’s pretty much every moment of the day – and every one of those moments has the potential to be a teachable moment. Yes, traditional academics are important and hold an important place in your child’s education, but our children need to learn so much more than that from us. They probably aren’t going to learn how to see God moving in their lives, how to cook dinner for their family, change a tire, garden, be good stewards of their money, care for their pets, or get along with their siblings at school.

Discipline

In today’s society, many parents leave the disciplining up to the teachers and administration at their children’s schools. It’s impossible to see everything each child struggles with when there are 400 students in the school. Children need more individualized attention if their heart issues are to be addressed – and they need to be addressed. But even if our teachers could see everything, how can we entrust this job to those required to keep God out of school? One’s relationship with God and knowledge of scripture has everything to do with really learning right from wrong. Homeschooling allows parents to teach their children right and wrong as God defines it. It also provides a loving and forgiving environment for children to learn and grow from their mistakes.

Family Bible Time

We want our children to grow up prioritizing their time with the Lord and placing a high value on family. But we must first model these priorities in our homes. What better way to do this than by having daily time in the Word together as a family? But, when our children attend school outside the home, it is difficult to maintain a regular family bible time – between rushing out the door every morning, spending all day at work or school, coming home to make dinner, do homework and chores, and heading back out to various extracurricular activities.

Homeschooling allows families to slow down and spend more time doing things that are most important, like regular family bible time. This precious time creates a unique bonding experience where siblings and parents have the opportunity to learn from one another and pray for each other, as well as provide a space for your kids to ask questions.

Your Best

God calls us to do everything to the best of our ability, and that includes raising our kids. If we are following what He calls us to do, according to Scripture, we can rest in the knowledge that He will provide.