Our first educational philosophy book was purchased at the Westminster Seminary bookstore in California where a friend of ours was shopkeeper. It was The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise Bauer, and I was convinced. And also a bit over-eager to get my hands on some precious little students.

Fortunately for Travis he was as eager as I was, so the fact that we gave him a phonics program for his fourth Christmas didn't leave a lasting scar. I didn't know to be afraid of teaching people to read, which would come in handy since there would be five more students to come after him (and ten consecutive years of blending letter sounds together and waiting for that first little spark of understanding to flash in their eyes).

In our eleven years of homeschooling, my thoughts and philosophies have grown and changed through my own education and the on-the-ground realities that have defined our days. We’ve gone from our “Circle Time” days, where most of my students were in diapers and school was finished in an hour, to our present bursting-at-the-seams days full of math blocks, cursive copywork, Anatomy and Physiology, and Geometry. The workload is so much heavier and our days are longer.

Where I used to be full of confidence and determination, I am now so much more aware of my frailty and inadequacy. Back then math and reading skills took priority in our day, whereas now I understand that they are only a small part of what makes a person truly educated. Then I was certain that with the right curriculum and a well-honed chore chart, we were sure to turn out brilliantly capable adults, and now I understand that our sweetest lessons often come in the form of a day busted by bad attitudes and redeemed with humble apologies (and then some hot chocolate and a good book).

 My confidence was in myself and my ability to perform, and I’ve entered this second decade of educating our children with a good and healthy dose of humility. And not because they’re proving to be less than brilliant and capable! It’s the opposite, really. They amaze me every day with their insight and growing wisdom and the development of their natural talents that they’ve been given by God. I look at them and who they are becoming and I know that this is the work of the Holy Spirit in them in spite of my enormous shortcomings and not because of my tiny successes.

When my friend Jane proposed the idea of coming to document a typical homeschool day my eyes filled with tears as I realized that even though we’ve grown up so much and have adapted to so many changes in our school, the biggest ones are just on the horizon. That first little eager reader will soon finish his time here, and even now has entered into a season of venturing out. Already Travis and Sam are gone for two full days a week, and next year will likely bring even more schedule changes and demands. The years of all of my students under one roof are already beginning to fade away, and once they start they will go so fast. I can’t put into words how ridiculously hard this task is and how often I feel like I’m failing everyone involved, and yet at the same time how gloriously beautiful it is and how incredibly grateful I am that I get to spend these years of my life like this. I know for certain that I am learning far more from these precious people than I could ever teach them.

Today all six of my children know how to read, and I’ll always consider that one of the greatest achievements of my life.

all photography by Jane Howard Photography