Welcome to HomeLifeAcademy’s GET STARTED pages. In here you will find help getting your home education experience off to a great beginning. If you already have experience you’ll enjoy reading the articles and viewing the links below. The goal here is to give you CONFIDENCE. You CAN do this! It’s been said that home education is not for everybody. True: The most important thing is for YOU to hear from the Lord concerning your family and what He is leading you to do. This takes a great deal of prayer and personal study. Collect all the information about your options that you possible can before you make a decision. If the Lord leads you to home education, we believe with the right foundation of prayer, friends, philosophy and resources, you CAN lead your children into the wonderful world of lifelong education.

First, prayer is the most important factor in home education success. I said you CAN do this. But like the Apostle Paul said, we can only “do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me.” At HomeLifeAcademy we are committed to praying daily for your family. Talking with the Lord daily helps us understand more of WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST so we can share this new identity with our children. Lord, may you be glorified and honored through our children and in all that we do!

Second, make friends with experienced home educators. The scripture says, “Satan is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Well, a lion never rushes into the thick of a herd for his prey. Instead he tries to pick off those outside the group. Satan operates the same way. Be sure to keep yourself and your family in the church and among friends who will support and encourage you. Don’t let Satan isolate you. Visit TN SUPPORT GROUPS for leaders in Tennessee or US SUPPORT GROUPS for leaders in other states.

Third, you will start to develop your own philosophy of education. You’ve probably already asked yourself “What kind of books should I use?” and “What is the best way to teach my own kids?” The goal is not to pour knowledge into your student’s head but to give him or her “a heart for learning” (A HEART FOR LEARNING, by David Parkerson).

You may have noticed that we prefer the term home education over home school. That’s because there is a difference between education and school. School is an exercise in rote memory and disconnected ideas. “We must beware of ‘inert ideas,’ that is to say, ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilized, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations” (The Aims of Education, by Alfred North Whitehead). In other words, make your goal to teach from real life not to teach from “school books.” Let real life lead you to the books you need for understanding. Don’t get trapped by a set curriculum. If you do you may miss the spontaneous, teachable moments--ones that you had not planned--that will give your child a lifelong desire to learn and to become a self-learner. Your careful choice of real and interesting books can make your home education experience wonderful.

Fourth, at HomeLife we allow you to choose your own teaching materials because we believe that God gives every child a natural appetite to learn about the world around them (that’s why they ask so many questions when they are young). And God gives every parent a natural desire to answer those questions. With HomeLife Academy, you can customize an educational plan for your kids. And we can help you. Click here to see a list of suggested reading and resources, or call (901) 380-9220. Counselors are standing by to help.

Lean your plan toward the strengths of your child. And lean your child toward God.