This article is part of a series for new home educators. In this, and several other articles, we cover What style of education is right for our family? And where do I get our curriculum?
We have come to the end of this series, which covers the broader categories of various approaches to home education. I hope through these articles you’ve been able to narrow down from the broad scope of styles to what may be most appropriate for your family. If you’ve come to some of the same biblical conclusions we have, we hope you’ll take a further look at Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™.
Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™ is primarily a Christian Discipleship/ Worldview philosophy, which has also incorporated several valuable aspects from other philosophies and methods that make home education in Freedom & Simplicity™ a reality. Reaching and training the heart is an important aspect of education, in many ways more important than just teaching the head. Learning should be a discipleship relationship of “you follow me as I follow Christ.” But education is not just an emotional journey, it also includes learning to recognize, live by and to articulate Truth–the Living Truth of Jesus Christ, that is the foundation for all other truth in this world. God and His Word are not isolated aspects of the Christian’s life, but the foundation that permeates every area of life, learning and thinking.
We also are strongly Living Books oriented, using excellent literature and no twaddle, boring textbooks, or busywork workbooks. Gentle, natural, “common sense” methods and the liberal arts are also important to us, making our connection to Ruth Beechick and Charlotte Mason methods strong.
We are not grade level oriented and we integrate the various subjects (as much as is natural), like Unit Studies do. However, we don’t believe in forcing every subject into every topical study just because it is “required”.
We recognize the importance of right reasoning, and reading the greats who have gone before us, like the Classical approach. But not every old book, even the ones highly esteemed by the world, are truly great and worth reading.
We believe that children’s styles and giftings should be taken into account in their education, as Delight-directed does. And that young children’s learning comes mostly from living life and play, and that formal academics should be delayed.
We believe these things all combine for the best of a Discipleship approach. Our goal is to help you apply this in Freedom & Simplicity™, teaching you some of the best methods to accomplish this in your home, without dictating to you exactly what you should be doing and reading on a day-by-day basis. Your home will look very different than our home–or anyone else’s.
We hope you will spend more time here on our website and in reading and listening to our resources we’ve written for you, as we come alongside you on your homeschool journey, as helpers of your joy, in Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™, as you develop the path of instruction that is right for your family. Click to read why you’d want to do that.
