(Our "dramatic" introduction to home schooling)

"You mean your children have never been to school?" I said, my eyes widening with amazement. We were standing in Salmans school room and our hostess Martie, was explaining to me that this was the room in which their children received their education.The Salmans had invited our family to supper shortly after our arrival in Canada from Nigeria and Martie was showing us around her home.

Trying hard not to reveal my astonishment, I spent the rest of the evening watching her two sons, wondering how on earth they could be so well adjusted, able to read and write and be such lovely company, without having received instruction in a formal school.

Dele was granted a scholarship beginning in September 1990 to study at the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS). With great excitement we poured over maps and travel literature, after we received the letter of award, in preparation for the trip and subsequent culture shock. Nothing we read however prepared us for the shock of hearing that some people, actually taught their own children at home, in a country that had one of the world's best educational systems! We thought it was a little weird (to put it mildly)! Our oldest son,Tolu was only a year old at the time, so we were not even considering our educational options.

In time, we met other homeschool families at church and as we saw the testimony of their lives and the lovely relationships they had with their children, we decided, maybe they weren't so strange after all! Actually, we desired the same for our family. When the thought first crossed my mind that we could homeschool, I quickly dispelled it with a thousand excuses; I was not qualified, I did not know the first thing to do, we lived in a two bedroom apartment and did not have the space for a school room, we were barely making ends meet on Dele's stipend, so we definitely could not afford the related expenses, on and on I went. One day, one of the ladies at church asked me to pass some magazine articles on to a friend of mine who had been inquiring about home schooling. As I leafed through them, I found some very interesting information ,in one of the articles, "Protected yet exposed" by Albert B. Greene Jr., he compared our children to young plants, requiring the sunshine and fresh air of God's truth, for the growth of their minds to the full potential that He has placed in them. Through these articles the Lord began showing me why, our family needs to homeschool. It was not an easy decision to make! I had my plans, I desired to return to my career, but the Lord mercifully showed me the futility of doing things my own way. Dele was skeptical at first but gradually began to warm right up to the idea, and I am really thankful for his very active role and support in our school today.

And so the journey began...

I went to the public library and obtained every book I could on the subject, I borrowed tapes from friends and started collating all the information I was obtaining and sharing the highlights with him. Slowly all our excuses fizzled as the conviction strengthened that this was the Lord's will for us. I began attending a support group meeting for homeschool mums, even though my oldest child was only three years old. As I listened to the ladies sharing their joys and struggles, my excitement increased. Sometimes I felt out of place because I did not have anything to share, however I kept going because the meetings were a great source of encouragement to me.

This IS my story, this IS my song...

This is our fifth year of home schooling, we are currently teaching our three older children, Tolu and Joy and Grace. They are all eager learners and a joy to teach. Since we started, we have slowly moved from a very rigid schedule to a more relaxed though fairly structured one. I endeavor to begin my days with a time of personal fellowship with the Lord. I have learnt from experience that I am better prepared to cope with the challenges of the day after being strengthened in His presence. Our school day usually begins with Dele teaching Bible and Math before he leaves for school, we then work at other subjects until lunch time.

The Lord has taught me to try and include my children in my daily activities, so we try to do things together, I find it gives them a tremendous sense of accomplishment to say " I helped mummy bake bread today" or " I helped vacuum the floor." We have taught them to do household chores from a very early age hoping that the skills they acquire in the process will be an asset to them in future.

A few year ago we took an elective at church, a parenting course titled "Growing kids God’s way." by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo. This course has been a tremendous blessing to our family, the Lord used it to show us the loopholes in our parenting from a biblical perspective. As a result we began putting a lot more emphasis on training our children from the heart, with the goal of producing morally responsible and biblically responsive children. We are still far from the mark, but we are thankful that God has revealed this to us so that we can begin pressing toward it.

We are thankful to God for the privilege He has given us to homesehool. It has helped to build a strong sense of family identity in us all. We have seen the children develop a deep love, respect and appreciation for each other. It has also enabled us to watch our children grow and to know them better since their most active hours of the day are been spent at home. We have been able to share in the joy and excitement as their little eyes light up like light bulbs when they learn new concepts. For us, the biggest blessing is the opportunity to instruct them in the ways of the Lord as He commands us, to hide His word in their hearts, and help them to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, before the evil days come.

So.. is it really worth it?

My answer is a resounding YES even though we have those days.., when nothing seems to work, everybody is sick, the kids are not being considerate.. and the list goes on. However, the Lord’s grace has been sufficient for us. One night, after we prayed with the children at bedtime, Joy looked up at me, her big brown eyes tired and heavy with sleep and said "mummy, I am glad God made me a part of this family"." So am I, Joy", I replied with kiss on her forehead. For us, times like these make it all worthwhile.

Last Updated April 6,1998