Your Anchor for Homeschooling

Homeschool Vision & Mission Statement

There are different ways of looking at vision, mission, objectives and goals. The way [we] see it, vision and mission are mostly interchangeable. When it boils down to it, Jesus is our vision with the mission of homeschooling for the glory of God, while aligning our efforts in that direction. 

What does it mean to have a vision for your homeschool? How can you define your mission?

Here are some questions to ponder:

• What do I want the end result of our homeschooling journey to be?

• What inspired our decision to homeschool?

• What is the purpose or value of homeschooling?

• What do I want my children to say about their homeschooling experience when they have graduated?

• What constitutes true homeschooling success when it’s all said and done?

• How do our family values and culture influence our homeschool vision?

Once you’ve really nailed down your homeschool vision, it’s the anchor that keeps you going on the hard days and persevering when you are just plain tired. It is your compass, helping you to navigate the homeschool waters, set good goals, and make balanced decisions.

Here is an example of a homeschool mission & vision:

Jesus is our vision. We purpose to educate our children in a way that brings glory to God.

• Raising them up to know and love the Lord

• Teaching them how to love their neighbors as themselves

• Equipping them for the work God will call them to do for His kingdom

• Providing the social, moral, and educational environment that will help them thrive most

• We believe homeschooling is the best choice to accomplish this vision.

  • Proper socialization

  • Parents as primary influencers and educators

  • A reverence and love for God and His Word

  • A Biblical worldview

  • Godly character training

  • A solid work ethic and family values

  • Strong relationships with siblings

  • Flexible education that is tailored to needs and interests

  • Serving others together in the name of Christ

Excerpted from: https://www.proverbialhomemaker.com/homeschool-vision-mission-statement.html

4 Approaches to Make Your Homeschool Worth it!

Homeschooling is a different education choice, and you know what? That’s absolutely fine! Sometimes, God calls us to do things that are out of the ordinary because he’s an extraordinary God! We can take a look at scripture and find many people who did things outside of the “norm”. One of those people is Daniel and he knew exactly what it felt like to live in a society where the people lived differently than the way he chose to live in an effort to honor God.

“5 The king assigned a daily ration for them from his finest food and from the wine which he drank. They were to be educated and nourished this way for three years so that at the end of that time they were [prepared] to enter the king’s service…8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile (taint, dishonor) himself with the king’s finest food or with the wine which the king drank; so he asked the commander of the officials that he might [be excused so that he would] not defile himself.” Daniel 1:5, 8

Daniel asked for a different diet because he was an Israelite and God had instructed Israelites to only eat certain foods. Wow! How brave is that?! To go against what the king mandated? We’re talking about the same king who later threw Daniel into the fiery furnace! So this guy wasn’t all that pleasant or easy going! Another vital piece to note is that Daniel surrounded himself with friends who would take the same stand with him.

“6 Among them...were...Daniel …, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.” Daniel 1:6, 11-13, 16

Obeying God is for our benefit and causes His favor and promises to manifest in our lives. Daniel and his friends experienced this first-hand too!

9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. 19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]…20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all…in his entire kingdom. Daniel 1:9, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20

So you’re probably wondering, what does Daniel, a Daniel Fast, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have to do with homeschooling?! Well a whole lot! We can make several parallels between Daniel’s lifestyle and the homeschool lifestyle:

#1: Homeschooling is countercultural, like Daniel’s choice of diet. There wasn’t anything necessarily bad about the King’s food choice, it just wasn’t something that Daniel wanted to eat and it went against what God asked. Just like there isn’t anything necessarily bad about people choosing to send their children to public or private school. Those are education options just like homeschooling. People may raise eyebrows and question your efforts and choice to homeschool. Some days you may even do the very same thing to yourself. But if God has touched your heart about homeschooling and asked you to do it, that’s greater and more important than your feelings or the opinion of others.

#2. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family, like Daniel did. It’s a challenge to  do this homeschool journey alone but it’s much easier when you have people stand with you, just like Daniel had. Ask your friends and family to help you with childcare or household responsibilities and errands. Also, you can find a local homeschool group, co-op or umbrella to support you. Community and support means everything!

#3. God will grace you for this, just like He did for Daniel! Isaiah 58:11 encourages us in the fact that “where God guides, He will provide.” Trust His leading and He WILL take care of the rest!

#4. Your children will be the GREATEST beneficiary of your sacrificial decision to homeschool. With homeschooling, you have the opportunity to filter them from things that could defile and distract them from who God has purposed them to be. Like Daniel stepped “out of the box” for God and reaped tremendous blessings, favor and accolades, the same can happen for your children and family.

It’s different, it’s counterculture…BUT it’s so worth it!

Needing support and confidence in your decision to homeschool?

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Shaping Season

I want to share this post by Jada Edwards, who is a wife, mom, and author. She is also an experienced speaker, Bible teacher, and mentor who serves alongside her husband who is a campus lead pastor.

Jada shared the following words of wisdom in a recent post that pertains to parenting:

“To all the parents in the shaping season:
[We are] shaping another person in God’s image. Not ours.”

— Jada Edwards

Mom Guilt

The very REAL emotion that no matter how much time you spend with your children or how much you’re able to provide for them that it’s never enough...

But here’s the antidote...it is enough and you are enough!

I know what you’re thinking..."yeah yeah, I hear you but I still feel it…”

The scriptures tell us that Satan is an accuser of the brethren (in this case, sistern LoL) and his sole purpose and ammo in this life is to do three things: Steal. Kill. Destroy. It’s who he is. It’s his character, his nature, and it's been his attack mechanism against humanity for lifetimes! 

Opening and stirring the emotion of Mom Guilt is one he likes to commonly use in motherhood.

He uses Mom Guilt to steal the enjoyment of motherhood. He suggests opportunities for us to compare ourselves to other moms to diminish our value.

He uses Mom Guilt to kill how we view our worth as a mother. He makes us feel as if our wholehearted efforts and sacrifices are not enough.

He uses Mom Guilt to destroy our purposes. As women, we are naturally designed to be caring and nurturing individuals. Through the avenue of motherhood, he tries to demolish the work we put into serving our children and family.

At the end of a long day of pouring out and sacrificing he’ll whisper “that wasn’t enough” and then you find yourself in a downward spiral of critical thoughts and lies.

Romans 8:1 (TPT) makes this declaration over our lives as believing mothers,

“So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One."

So you are enough! Why? Because in Jesus Christ, the anointed one, YOU are anointed as a mother. His anointing not only empowers you to accomplish everything you do with and for your children each and every day, but the anointing multiples that and transcends beyond what you can see or even imagine! 

So again, it is enough and you are enough Momma! Hold your head high and when Satan tries to drag you into the courtroom with accusations that cause Mom Guilt, declare “No Sir! Case closed!”

P.S. Moms who are handling business in motherhood tend to experience Mom Guilt more often than not. So if that’s you, know that you’re handling business and Satan isn’t too happy about it and wants you overworked and stressed entertaining his false and irrelevant accusations instead of resting in God’s anointing. 

Homeschooling ~ A Place of Learning

I came across this excerpt in my “The Woman’s Study Bible (NIV)” printed by Thomas Nelson. It touched my heart because it confirmed the pulse and heartbeat of Imagodei Academy and my family's personal choice to homeschool our kids. With the life-changing effects of COVID-19 and the uncertainty it brings to education, many families are considering homeschool. Maybe that’s you reading this or maybe you are a veteran homeschool family. Wherever you fall on the homeschooling spectrum, I pray you are encouraged by this except just as I was.

Doing it for the LORD,

Kamika <3

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God has given to his people commands that are to be passed along to their children so they “may fear the LORD” and keep his commandments that they “may enjoy long life” (Dt 6:2). 

As the children of Israel trekked from Egypt to the Promised Land, the teaching of children was not an activity isolated to a particular location or a limited time of day. Rather, it was instruction interwoven with all the activities of life. The teaching was to be while they were sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up (Dt. 6:1-7).

Homeschooling is one way many families are fulfilling this command to pass on godly values and to instruct their children about life from a godly, biblical perspective. Even though they want their children to be exposed to other people and other ideas, most homeschooling parents feel that they have the primary responsibility for influencing the lives of their children. Homeschooling allows them the opportunity to present information in the context of values.

Homeschooling families have many reasons for educating their children at home:

• Children are encouraged to grow in all areas at their own pace--emotionally, spiritually, socially, and mentally. This education accommodates the uniqueness of each child, including physiological and neurological differences.

• Many of the negative effects of peer pressure are minimized.

• An opportunity for children to pursue their respective interests in particular subjects is provided in a relaxed home atmosphere, the child’s natural curiosity can lead to learning experiences.

• A unique family bond is created since parents and children are together each day. Much of homeschooling involves a one-to-one teaching approach, considered the finest method ever devised for formal instruction.

• Domestic skills, hobbies, earning and managing money, responding to the needs of others, and other practical areas of life are included in the training.

Homeschooling is a big responsibility, but many parents are discovering the enriching rewards of teaching their own children, and they take it seriously enough to make the investment of time it requires. Homeschoolers have a great deal in common with not only the Israelites, as well as with the many parents who have instructed their children at home throughout history.

How Are You Raising Your “Arrows”?

Warriors are strategic in their combat. Before shooting an arrow, they already have a target in mind.

We need this same mindset as parents when it comes to raising our children. The values and principles that we do and don’t instill in our children matter. As believers, our ultimate target in raising them is to love God and submit to His authority in their lives above their desires and the influence of culture.

Model to them how God’s word is authority in your personal life. Be prayerful. Be strategic. Be diligent. Raise them to know how to stand and combat anything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God.

Like warriors have enemies, don’t forget we have one too. He’s crafty, cunning, and deceitful and loves to magnify the need to fulfill our sinful desires above what God has said. Just ask Eve.

So I ask again, how are you raising your “arrows”? It should be focused on the target of fighting for God’s kingdom and living according to His word.

My Homeschool Journey by Cori Culpepper

What an honor to shine this spotlight on a homeschool student who I have personally known for a few years and had the privilege of serving her as a ministry student leader! Her name is Cori Culpepper. She currently resides in Louisiana and is a member of an amazing homeschool family that has a deeply-rooted foundation in the Word of God. She actively serves with her local church, Life United - Shreveport and enjoys spending time with her friends and family. In this blog, Cori shares her personal story about homeschooling and how she transitioned from being a public school student to a homeschool student. It is necessary to know about the realities that come with homeschooling but more importantly it is vital to understand the benefits that are reaped in the long run. Here's Cori's story:

My Homeschool Journey

“There are multiple benefits and disadvantages of being a homeschooled student. One may enjoy the flexible scheduling that homeschool provides. While a student stays at home with his or her family members, the relationships grow and even have the potential to be challenged. There have been so many times when I have just reached the end of my patience. When I started homeschooling, there were six students in my household. On top of that, three others were living with us. To say things got hectic in my first year would be an understatement.

Eighth-grade year was when I began homeschooling. That year, I battled with internet issues, adjusting to a new learning environment and depression. The social life I had grown up with was shaken and church became my safe haven and a place of connections. The transition was a very slow process. My grades were poor, and so was my attitude. Going into my later teenage years was difficult emotionally and educational but I’m thankful I was no longer required to rush flights of stairs to get to classes.

I am now a junior homeschool high school student. Looking back, I don’t regret not attending a brick-and-mortar school because of what homeschool education offered me. There are less distractions (even though the remaining three siblings of mine tend to get rowdy at times). Having this shift in learning environments propelled my self-teaching habits and integrity forward. Not having someone looking over your shoulder all the time calls for extreme character - especially with the World Wide Web at your fingertips! Although I do not have homecoming nor attend sports games, I am still blessed with the privilege of prom and graduation (the highlights of high school).

It can be aggravating to juggle the responsibility of homeschooling life and all that God has called me to be, but what does not kill me can simply make me stronger! The struggle is real, but so is God!”

-Cori Culpepper

Cori, thank you for sharing your story. It is an encouragement to homeschool families. You blessed our readers & listeners!

Spiritual Gifts Guides

One of Imagodei Academy's values is to provide students with the educational tools they need to fulfill God's plans and purposes for their life.

We want to share these Spiritual Gifts Guides for kids & youth that a local church kid's ministry provided. It's a great tool to introduce kids to their spiritual giftings and to make them aware of what God placed inside of them.

The scripture references are Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

This would be a great Bible lesson to do with your kids at home. There are two versions, one for younger kids and another for older ones.

By knowing our gifts, we can better understand the purposes God has for us, which leads us to the success that matters the most. This success is doing what God asks of us and fulfilling his purposes for our life. Our responsibility as parents is to give our children the depth of character, faith, hope, love, and esteem they need in order to reach their fullest potentials and reach success in their God-given destiny.

We all have dreams and aspirations for our children and one of our roles as parents is to provide them with what they need in order to reach them. The main avenue for doing so is teaching them to know God and who He created them to be and to understand the special gifts He place inside of them.

Redeeming Education Through a Biblical Worldview,

Kamika Raby

Homeschooling: It’s different, it’s counterculture…BUT it’s so worth it!

Homeschooling is a different education choice, and you know what? That’s absolutely fine! Sometimes, God calls us to do things that are out of the ordinary because he’s an extraordinary God! We can take a look at scripture and find many people who did things outside of the “norm”. One of those people is Daniel and he knew exactly what it felt like to live in a society where the people lived differently than the way he chose to live in an effort to honor God.

“5 The king assigned a daily ration for them from his finest food and from the wine which he drank. They were to be educated and nourished this way for three years so that at the end of that time they were [prepared] to enter the king’s service…8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile (taint, dishonor) himself with the king’s finest food or with the wine which the king drank; so he asked the commander of the officials that he might [be excused so that he would] not defile himself.” Daniel 1:5, 8

Daniel asked for a different diet because he was an Israelite and God had instructed Israelites to only eat certain foods. Wow! How brave is that?! To go against what the king mandated? We’re talking about the same king who later threw Daniel into the fiery furnace! So this guy wasn’t all that pleasant or easy going! Another vital piece to note is that Daniel surrounded himself with friends who would take the same stand with him.

“6 Among them...were...Daniel …, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.” Daniel 1:6, 11-13, 16

Obeying God is for our benefit and causes His favor and promises to manifest in our lives. Daniel and his friends experienced this first-hand too!

9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. 19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]…20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all…in his entire kingdom. Daniel 1:9, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20

So you’re probably wondering, what does Daniel, a Daniel Fast, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have to do with homeschooling?! Well a whole lot! We can make several parallels between Daniel’s lifestyle and the homeschool lifestyle:

#1: Homeschooling is countercultural, like Daniel’s choice of diet. There wasn’t anything necessarily bad about the King’s food choice, it just wasn’t something that Daniel wanted to eat and it went against what God asked. Just like there isn’t anything necessarily bad about people choosing to send their children to public or private school. Those are education options just like homeschooling. People may raise eyebrows and question your efforts and choice to homeschool. Some days you may even do the very same thing to yourself. But if God has touched your heart about homeschooling and asked you to do it, that’s greater and more important than your feelings or the opinion of others.

#2. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family, like Daniel did. It’s a challenge to  do this homeschool journey alone but it’s much easier when you have people stand with you, just like Daniel had. Ask your friends and family to help you with childcare or household responsibilities and errands. Also, you can find a local homeschool group, co-op or umbrella to support you. Community and support means everything!

#3. God will grace you for this, just like He did for Daniel! Isaiah 58:11 encourages us in the fact that “where God guides, He will provide.” Trust His leading and He WILL take care of the rest!

#4. Your children will be the GREATEST beneficiary of your sacrificial decision to homeschool. With homeschooling, you have the opportunity to filter them from things that could defile and distract them from who God has purposed them to be. Like Daniel stepped “out of the box” for God and reaped tremendous blessings, favor and accolades, the same can happen for your children and family.

It’s different, it’s counterculture…BUT it’s so worth it!

Finding a Homeschool Balance

Many people ask me “how do you balance being a stay-at-home-wife/mom, working from home, AND homeschooling your kids?”  Honestly, I don’t have a straightforward answer. Some days, things run like a well-oiled machine; others are more like a train wreck. I’m learning how to balance every day.

I never envisioned myself as solely a stay-at-home-wife/mom. I have many educational career dreams and aspirations. BUT above what I desire, I have made God’s desire for my life in this season my own.  He never asked me to give up the dreams placed in my heart but He has instructed me to prioritize what’s important to him in my current season. Balance is at the core of my decision to be a stay-at-home-wife/mom, work from home, AND homeschool our kids.

Our oldest is 4 and our youngest is 1 going on 10. My husband’s and my desire is to raise them on a biblical foundation of faith. With all the negative influences out there, homeschooling is an avenue in which we can do this. We also want our kids to have a balanced life as well.  If you know my sons, they thrive from social interaction; they are social butterflies and love people (I’d like to attribute those characteristics to their great-great grandfather, great-grandmother, Papa, and Dad!). With the option of homeschooling, I have the flexibility of allowing them to have various learning experiences.  Some days they attend a part-time pre-school program at a local church and other days are spent in the comforts of their home, homeschooling with me. They enjoy learning and growing in close-knit environments where they are nurtured and cared for by their teachers, who are believers, and also in the safety of their home. I know once the boys reach “school-age”, the pre-school option will no longer be applicable. However, I know God will provide the healthy social outlets and local Christian homeschool co-ops and programs for them to be a part of when that season comes.

With our homeschool lifestyle, God has provided and shown his hand and favor upon our family and lives and I know He’ll do the same for you! Don’t allow the idea of homeschooling keep you in a “box” or make you feel as though you are hindering your children from a full life experience. Homeschooling is the perfect avenue for filtering the influences in their life, making your family stronger, setting the foundation for healthy relationships, and learning in a safe environment. Design your homeschool plan and choose options that produce balance and best fit the personalities of your kids and the heartbeat of your family.

Homeschool gives you the liberty and allows the balance to “school” YOUR way!

-Kamika Raby, M. Ed.

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Embarking on a new homeschool year!

It’s time for another successful homeschool year! As you embark, here are 3 tips: 

#1) Write a schedule

It’s one thing to “think” in your mind how your day should go. But a productive step in using the time in the day wisely is writing out a schedule. A schedule provides a daily vision. Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV) tell us to…

“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.”

A schedule will keep your time and mind focused on assignments and tasks that need to be completed each day.

#2) Prepare

Preparation is a vital key to the success of your homeschool. This includes multiple aspects such as preparing your heart and mind, your homeschool environment, and your students.

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)

Preparation sets the foundation for a desired outcome. So take time to prepare for your homeschool year. You’ll be glad you did!

#3) Give yourself grace

At times we tend to forget that we are human and can become our own worst critic. We compare ourselves to other homeschool parents and feel inadequate when we don’t quite “measure up”.  In God’s grace, there’s no need to strive to “measure up” because there isn’t a standard or expectation we are required to meet.  

Some days you may question why you decided to homeschool your child. You may even feel like giving up. Instead of responding in a natural way to your thoughts and feelings, rest and rely on the supernatural strength God gives you through his grace. Be encouraged by 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV) that declares…

“my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

My prayer for you is that God will continue to equip you for your homeschool journey as the power of Christ continues to rest upon you.

Discipline

“Now all discipline seems to be more pain than pleasure at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it.”

~‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:11‬ ‭TPT

Right?! Who enjoys being disciplined?! Don’t all raise your hand at once. 

Homeschooling takes discipline! On those tough days, you may be tempted to throw in the towel and enroll your kids in a public or private school. But don’t give up! Be encouraged in knowing that your sacrificial  choice to homeschool your children with a Biblical education will produce peace and righteousness in their life and your life. You are laying the foundation for them to be in right standing with God and to have a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose. What an inheritance!! So don’t become weary in well doing. Remain disciplined in having a daily routine, disciplined about your students’ academics, and disciplined with the vision and plan God has given you for your family!

[plant the] SEED...[cultivate with] TIME...[reap the] HARVEST!

~Kamika Raby, M. Ed.