Category Archives: Getting Started w/ L.E.D.

If you are new to our blog and Lifestyle Education through Discipleship, this post is for you!

As a Christian homeschooling mom of a large family, I want a method of education that meets several criteria. Perhaps you’re looking for some of the same things.

1. It has to be simple enough in structure and application that it works in a busy mommy of many schedule.
2. It has to be flexible and work with the lessons and flow of real life.
3. It has to use natural learning methods that are easily incorporated into all learning, not artificial constructs.
4. It has to teach my children to be Biblical thinkers, not just “get-it-done” but really learn and most of all learn how to learn and think.
5. It has to present a comprehensive integrated view of life, not fragmented unrelated pieces.
6. It has to be family friendly – which is really mom friendly – not taking my children (and therefore my mind) all different directions, but helping us to learn together as a family.
7. Most of all, it has to glorify God and present all learning as from Him and for His purposes.

Impossible?
NO!

Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ provides just what I need – and perhaps what you are looking for too. How do I know? Because I designed it to be that. I’ve spent the 23 years I’ve been home educating, developing and designing a philosophy and methodology to meet these needs, for my own children, and to help others and their children.

Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ is Freedom & Simplicity™ in Home Education LED by the Spirit and grounded in the Word. It is Real Books and Family-friendly Natural methods  + Biblical Foundations and Reasoning for Excellence. We incorporate the best of the same methods that Charlotte Mason and the Principle Approach utilize, but more importantly it is a Biblical philosophy and methodology.

Sound like something you’d like for your home education?

Browse our website to learn about about Lifestyle Education through Disicpleship™, through our articles and blog there.

Join our email list to get a FREE introduction workshop audio – in sidebar.

Then get started with your Freedom & Simplicity™ home education with our Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ Seminar audios and handouts,

and Freedom & Simplicity™ Learning Guide ebooks.

The Difference – in a Nutshell.

I’m often asked what the differences are between L.E.D./ biblically principled approaches to education and other Christian curricula.

Four primary differences, in a very simple explanation, are that biblically principled education is:

Reflection. It is based on looking deeply into the topic and ruminating on it, giving the student time to think about it before moving on or requiring output from him. We think through the context and connections, finding relationships and applications in our own lives.  It is not based on putting facts in then turning around and spitting them back out.

Biblical reasoning. It is based on looking at every topic studied through the light of the Scripture, reasoning from God’s Word to see His perspective of what is studied. It is not just attaching a verse to a page.

Biblical principles. It is based on finding principles from God’s Word applied or violated, choice -> consequence, cause -> effect, internal -> external. We want to take our studies back to the source and origin, to find their purpose and their principles. We want our studies to change us, to cause us to grow more Christ-like, and to grow in having the mind of Christ in all areas of life, not just Bible study or character classes.

Discipleship. It is based on building relationships, leading along the way of life, through the things of life, sharing “these words” that are in our heart, our passions and desires, and seeking God’s ways together.

Does that help? 🙂

Ever get tempted to go back to “Egypt”? Perhaps you were getting free to follow God and shake off the shackles of the world’s ways and ideas of education, but … you get scared. You wonder, “Can I really do this? I don’t know HOW to do this. Is God really going to get me through this? At least I knew what I was doing in the “old way”.”

This is my general advise for getting started – or restarted – with olders and youngers – when you don’t know what to do – or are tempted to go back. (Quoted as sent to a mom asking somewhat the above questions.)

Don’t despair. God has given your children to you and He knows best for them and will work it through YOU! Some curriculum company does not know your child, your family or where God has you or is leading you. They don’t know best. God does – and He will guide YOU. When you know you are weak and inadequate, He can work HIS way through you – then you know you must lean on Him and can’t do it in your own strength. HE does it through you! I’ve also found that all those pre-packaged curricula at various grade levels and schedules to keep creates MORE burn out and stress on Mom, than just working with the children together on your own timetable. I continually hear moms saying, “we’re behind” and feeling like a failure (in some way or another) because they can’t keep the schedule, or stressing their kids out trying to keep the schedule. And I know way too many hs-ers who have quit because of this.)

What’s my solution?
Take your children – all of them. Get out the Bible – and read to them. For the little ones sake, perhaps a familiar story will hold their attention better. Talk about it. Ask questions about it. Questions that make them think about it. (Questions that make MOM think about it!) Not just who did what, but why God told us this, how does it change my life, etc. Even a familiar story has more to dig out than what lays on the surface. Then go run and jump – or sweep a floor or do some dishes, whatever. Then draw a picture of the story, or copy a verse, or make some type of project or notebook page to remember what they learned. OR just play-act the story in the run and jump time!

Next head back to the couch and grab a living book that you know they will all enjoy (not so “school-y” that the little ones won’ think it’s fun.) Cuddle up on the couch and read together again. Don’t read so much that the little ones lose it. You want your older ones begging you to go on. But if the littles are getting restless, quit. And talk about it. Same routine – dig into it. Any words they didn’t understand? Look them up. Anything they/you want to know more about – look it up. (Same goes for Bible on these.) Go back to the table to draw, copy, chart, write – whatever. While olders are working on this, you can work/play with youngers, if they don’t want to do the activity at the table. Or they can act it out again. Run, jump and play again.

Are there things you really need to work on individually? Many times even the things we typically think of that way can be done together. Spelling and reading? How about dumping a tub of letters in the middle of the floor or table, giving the first word to your older ones (to spell with the letters) and your younger can find the letter that makes the beginning sound of the word. He doesn’t know it yet? Find it for him and teach him. I made a game called “Mailman” (that I need to get redone electronically, so I can sell it again.) The children roll dice and draw a card – they are color coded for difficulty, from letters to HARD words – if they can read/spell (id the letter/sound) they can move forward. The whole family can play!

Math you can do somewhat the same in learning math basics/facts. Roll dice, littles tell you how many, olders add or multiply, etc. You can even use different colored dice for place value. “Story/Word” problems can be given throughout the day – with real life things.

You just have to think outside the box, and realize if they are learning something new – or increasing understanding of something old – or personally applying something they’ve known “forever” – they are growing in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. And that is good and fine. It doesn’t have to be according to someone else’s scope, sequence, or time table. Things you really want them to do/learn? (think they “need” to) Include them. They will be YOUR book choices, activity choices.

If there really is more – work with big ones while little ones nap. Work with little ones while big ones work or read independently. Have one big one work with little ones while you work with other big one, and vice versa.

God always creates a way.

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. ~ Proverbs 4:26

Pondering, ruminating, renewing. This is where you begin. These are at the foundation of what L.E.D. is and key to understanding it. The first step on this path is renewing your own mind. This Path. Home education is truly a Journey. We never arrive at Wisdom, but we grow in Wisdom along the way. This applies to us, as well as our children. Our feet are all on the path of learning, growing in wisdom. We seek for our ways to be established in His Word, the solid Rock, our foundation. L.E.D. is education grounded in God’s Word. Ready to begin pondering this Path?

If you are ready to begin this L.E.D. Journey, this article will guide you through the steps and resources to get started.

Read In the Beginning … for ideas of what you can do with your children while you are doing this renewing of your mind as you start this L.E.D. Journey.

To begin studying Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ you will follow the same pattern you’ll follow for each of the “subject” studies you teach your children.

Begin by laying the Foundation, getting a Big Picture overview of what L.E.D. is. Take a look at the “puzzle box top”–you know, where you look at the whole completed picture before you begin piecing it together.  Freedom & Simplicity™ of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ – The Seminar is your best resource for seeing this Big Picture of L.E.D. It will give you an overview from principles to practical application of teaching and learning for Biblical Wisdom by reasoning through every topic to biblical principles.

Once you see the Big Picture, begin building the Framework. You will start building the frame of this puzzle, one piece at a time, connecting the pieces together. Learning the study method is your next step.  Freedom & Simplicity™ on R Road to Biblical Wisdom  will teach you the methods we use to teach and learn to think and apply this biblical method of education.

Next, begin filling in the inside of  the puzzle, adding the Furnishings. This is done by beginning to look at the areas of study themselves, applying the philosophy and methodology of L.E.D. that you have learned through The Seminar and R Road. Bible, as mentioned yesterday, is of course our first area to dig into. Freedom & Simplicity™ in Bible (when it is finished) will walk you through how to teach and learn the Bible. Next we recommend Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory.  These 2 will cover much of your studies. Add other Freedom & Simplicity™ learning guides to cover the remaining Pillars of Wisdom as you are able, clear down to such primary skills as Handwriting. Yes, we have a Learning Guide for teaching Freedom & Simplicity™ in Handwriting, from a biblically principled perspective. These guides will show you how the methods learned in R Road are applied in teaching and learning specific subjects.

Not all our learning guides are complete yet. But you don’t need to wait for an L.E.D. Learning Guide for each area you want to teach, to hold your hand and walk you through the study. They will do that, but you can step out on your own. Once you’ve got the idea down from R Road (and Freedom & Simplicity™ in HisStory, if you want to see an application) you have the tools you need to branch out and do your own studies.

Enjoy the Journey!