Homemaking Harmony: Embracing Homeschooling – A Journey of Faith and Practical Tips for Families

My name is Erica Raynor. Please allow me to introduce myself and tell you a little about who I am. I currently live in the great state of Oklahoma, but my adolescent years and earlier years in marriage carried me to many other wonderful states, such as Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and Louisiana. I must admit that Florida is by far my favorite state. I absolutely love the white-sand beaches, refreshingly blue ocean water, and all the Vitamin D from the golden rays in the sky! I’m not trying to take away from the great qualities in other states, but let’s be honest. We all have our favorite places. So, how did I end up in Oklahoma?

My husband and I moved our family to Oklahoma about six years ago. Being a registered tribal citizen with the Cherokee Nation, there are numerous benefits available for tribal citizens within the state. We have a 15-year-old teenage daughter, a 9-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old boy. Yes, life is crazy during this season and includes plenty of doctor visits with the kids. It is a blessing to not have to worry about copays, deductibles, or other medical-related expenses. Still, shortly after moving here, I decided to work within the public school system.

This educational opportunity allowed me to have the same schedule as the children. I also enjoyed working with children, as I had previously volunteered as a Sunday school teacher and youth worker in your typical church settings. Even now, I volunteer as a Sunday school teacher for kids 9–11 years old. Nevertheless, I continued to work in the school system for 5 years and held various titles and positions. My least favorite job was working in the kitchen. There is a world of difference between working in your own kitchen, serving your own kids, and working in a commercial kitchen, serving hundreds of kids! My favorite position was as a kindergarten and 1st grade teacher’s aide. There is never a dull moment in these classes! Nevertheless, working in the public school system exposed both me and my family to the awful realities of the public school environment. The final “nail in the coffin” is when my husband and I came to the knowledge that our children were being compromised and their spiritual lives were at stake. This is when we decided to pursue other educational opportunities.

I have a friend within our church who homeschools, so I reached out to her for some guidance and advice. She was extremely helpful and shared pointers on what did or did not work best for her children. She pointed me to the curriculum that she found to be the most beneficial. One of her recommendations was called “The Good and the Beautiful.” I will admit that this has been my favorite curriculum so far. I am so impressed with this curriculum and love how it tries to instill good, practical values and a love of God in your children without any sort of doctrinal teachings. She also forwarded me a link to a homeschool seminar that had recently happened within our church organization for me to listen to. In the end, I decided to go with her recommendation for my soon-to-be third grader, and we ended up with “The Good and the Beautiful” for him. And after listening to the homeschool seminar, I went to Sister Szumanski’s page, http://theferventfamily.wordpress.com, and used her curriculum recommendations for my soon-to- be ninth grader. Those recommendations have worked out for our soon-to-be 10th grader as well. She didn’t personally enjoy the algebra she had this past year, so we are more than likely going to be trying to find something else for her for math.

This past year has been challenging but interesting at the same time. I have learned that I enjoy teaching, especially when you see that aha moment or a light bulb turns on. And as important as education is, and I am 100% for education and higher education, I know the main goal is to see my children one day make it to heaven. The Lord gave us our children, and it’s our responsibility to lead and teach them in the right path. Do we want them to be successful here on earth? Yes, of course, absolutely, but more importantly, we want their soul saved. Mark 8:36 says, “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”. I don’t want that to happen.

I want to help encourage mamas out there who are considering homeschooling but are on the fence about it. Or maybe you already homeschool your children and you’re really feeling the struggles.

We shall see what the next several years, God willing, may hold. Thank you for reading. God bless you.

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