The grooming and training of young children in the Christian Homeschool all have a long term purpose – to raise strong Godly young men and woman who will go into the world with confidence, abilities and highly honed skills in their field. This does not preclude the understanding that our first desire is that they know God and His plan for their life and seek to serve Him in all they do.
Whether our daughters seek to be doctors or moms, our sons to be plumbers or accountants…there is one overriding goal in our home – let them work within their passion and interests. To achieve this goal we need to stay close to them, from the time they are tiny tots until they move into their careers.
There are so many things that draw teens away from home…friends, activities, youth groups, part time jobs, yet when the home is a vibrant centre they will be attracted to their home and to the family relationships which were built from when they were young.
How do you create this centre for a teen?
First Step – Your attitude!
Moms, we have the ability to chase our children away with judgmental attitudes and statements. Dads, you can misunderstand your teen and leave them feeling emotionally disjointed. Parents, the teen years are when you need to be closer than ever to God so that you can lean on His wisdom as you parent your teen. See each interaction as an opportunity to build relationship, enjoy the changes and embrace the adult your child is becoming.
Second Step – Your growth
Make sure you grow with your teen. Be sure to keep up to date with what is going on in your many teen’s worlds. Do you know what MySpace is? How about YouTube? Be aware of the dangers that are out there that tempt and call to your teen. Be informed about the choices that they will have to make so that you can guide them through difficult territory. Make sure that you educate yourself about parenting teens through reading recommended books on homeschooling through the highschool years.
Third Step – Your home
This is the fun time! Besides for keeping family life interesting with outings and family fun night, be sure to get to know your teen’s friends. Get them to hang out at your home for pizza night, video night, darts, board games or barbecues. This enables your teen to have a safe place to be where you can supervise and enjoy the relationships that are growing.
Fourth Step – Education
As your child moves from their junior high years into the last 4 years of schooling make sure you know where you are headed. It will make your teen unsure if you wake up one day when they are 16 and then try and cram in the last 4 years of schoolwork so that they can achieve their needed credits for admission into college by 18 years. Some key issues around homeschooling your highschooler, is to make sure that if they want to go to college they have the right amount of credits for admission. Another key issue is that they know what they want for a future career and that you have spent time nurturing that interest from the time it began to grow. The junior high years are the time to research the best options for your children so that you are prepared to mentor them through their high school years.
Fifth Step – Communication
Keep the communication and dialogue going with your teen. Often this is the time that parents think that their child needs time to mull over things…more often than not this is a skewed idea and your teen actually needs to have a wise, patient mature adult – in one word – YOU – to talk things over. On the swing side – do not be the over fussy parent who feels the need to control and push for information.
Homeschooling, as a way of life, build relationships. As much as you enjoyed your children when they were newborns, toddlers, young children, preteens…you can now enjoy the presence of a blossoming Godly young adult as you place the relationships in your home as a high priority.
Wendy Young is a homeschooling mom to 4 children aged 12 - 5 years. They have always been at home with her. She has been married for 17 years.
Her homeschooling website http://www.homeschool-curriculum-for-life.com is dedicated to helping homeschooling moms get organized, enjoy the journey and live life to its fullest.
Tags: high school home school, homeschool, homeschool curriculum, homeschool highschool, homeschooling
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