Mandy is a homeschooling mom in Texas. Her profile reads, “I’m a Texan gal with just the right mix of country and city. God has truly blessed me more than I ever thought possible.” We thought it would be fun to get to know more about her.

Tell us about your kids. How old are they and how long have you been homeschooling?
God has blessed us with three children so far.  Merikalyn will be six in May, Nolyn is four, and Keagan is about nineteen months old.  Before I even married, I knew I wanted to homeschool my children.  I was homeschooled my last year of highschool, and was able to graduate a year early.  My mom always wanted to homeschool us, but she left the choice up to us.  My brother and I thought homeschooling would be too restrictive.  We didn’t really understand what homeschooling was, and what we envisioned was being cooped up in the house all day and being deprived of our friends. When I made the switch, I was amazed by how awesome it was.  I wish I would have agreed to it sooner.

My husband and I decided we would homeschool our children from the start.  We believe that home education starts from birth, so I guess you could say we’ve been doing it for six years!

Why did you decide to homeschool?
There are many reasons why I decided to homeschool.  My own public school experienced are closely tied in to these reasons.  When I think about sending my children off to school, I think about losing my children. In a time when they should be bonding with their families, they will, instead, be bonding with teachers and peers.  Institutional schools are dealing with so many issues that I don’t want my little ones exposed to.  My parents had no idea of the issues and struggles I dealt with in school because I didn’t know how to talk to them about it.  Sexual harassment and assault, bullying, and drugs are issues that I want to shelter my children from.  One day, they may have to deal with it, but certainly not while they are young and unprepared.

Most of all, we believe in discipling our children, training them up in the way of the LORD, as the bible directs. God has given us, as parents, a command to raise them up, to teach them diligently, and to help them apply the Word of God to their lives.  I just don’t see how that is possible if we don’t spend much time with them.

School aged children are sponges.  They are easily influenced and soak up so much.  Some people act like sheltering and protecting children is wrong, but I feel it’s the best thing we can do for them.  You wouldn’t send a soldier out into war without preparing him for the battle.  Likewise, I’m not going to send my children out into the world without discipling them and arming them with the God’s Word.

Describe a typical day at your house.
We’re pretty easy going.  We usually get the day rolling at about nine in the morning.  We don’t have a strict schedule or routine, but the days usually take a similar shape, although rarely in the same order.

We talk about Scripture throughout the day.  We want our children to understand that the Bible can be applied to every day life and every day situations.  We usually discuss a bible story, followed by a relating project (maybe trying to build an “ark” out of popcicle sticks or creating a rainbow).

The kids love to help around the house, especially in the kitchen. I try to get them involved, especially on the “special” activities that come once a week, like making bread, cookies, or other yummies.  It’s a great time to show them how subjects like math, science, and reading fit into everyday tasks.  Plus, it provides moments of great conversation while we’re taste testing!

We usually read a book or two (or three), and then the kids draw a scene from the book.  This is a really neat thing to do when we read books without pictures, because I get to see what they imagine in those noggins!

My children love playing with our math manipulatives, and enjoy flipping through their workbooks, and you’ll probably find these things littering the floor at some point in the day.  Watch where you step!

Of course, they love to play pretend, and so do I, so sometimes we do projects, read books, or take naps in little hideouts made of blankets and chairs.  When the weather is nice, we get outdoors to do fun activities or just run off some of that energy.

We wind down while playing with puzzles or watching shows like Word World or movies.  (The kids really liked The Bee Movie, and it was a great lead in that the amazing life of a bee, and how important they are!)

Like I said, we’re not very structured; we just play it by ear.  Some days are lazy, some days are full of exhausting activities!

If you could boil your homeschool philosophy down to a couple of points, what would they be?
My main goal in homeschooling is to glorify God and prepare my children to be useful in His Kingdom. Home education is more than math and reading, it’s about discipleship, preparing hearts, and pointing children to God.

Have you ever had to defend your homeschooling style? What did you say?
Unschooling is widely misunderstood, so there are people who seem to attack the approach. There are some pretty opinionated radical unschoolers out there who make it sound like it’s all about letting children do what they want, whenever they want, but that’s not the case.  I’m not against structure.  I think it’s important to have biblical structure and authority in the home, but I don’t feel we should imitate institutional schools in our style.

What’s the most challenging part of homeschooling?
Hmm, that’s a toughy. I think it can be a struggle to keep the right focus.  Sometimes I start comparing my children to other children, and I have to align my focus again.

What do you like most about homeschooling?
In the process of teaching my children, I’ve learned so much as well, and not just in the “book-smarts” arena.  God has used my children to teach me many lessons.  Isn’t it interesting that, when teaching our children, we often find we are teaching ourselves?

Do you have a favorite verse or passage of the Bible that guides your homeschool?
The sixth chapter Deuteronomy is my “go to” chapter for focusing our homeschool, but more specifically the following verses:
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

It’s a reminder that our family’s goal, and how it can take in all of our senses and every area of our lives.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?
While homeschooling our children is a very serious and important task, there’s still room for fun and goofiness!

Thanks, Mandy! And be sure to visit her at her blog, MandyMom.

Jena is a homeschooling mom of three teenagers (one off to college and one checking out public school this year). She has been relaxed/unschooling for most of her home school career. She writes at www.yarnsoftheheart.com, runs http://www.dailylearners.com, and writes at http://lifewithoutschool.typepad.com/.