How to make Homeschool Cool in 3 Easy Steps

Back when Julie and I were married we spent most of our time away from home, traveling from one church to another as I preached revivals, camps and conferences. We had every expectation that we would spend the rest of our lives fulfilling that call. One commitment we made early on was that we would travel together. We also wanted to have a fairly large family so we had to figure out how we would educate the kids. At the time homeschooling was just beginning to pick up steam in Alabama. There was still a stigma attached to it, but we saw the potential of a great opportunity since Julie had her elementary education degree . It seemed our problem was solved.

We began gathering information and attending homeschool conferences. By the way, if you are interested in homeschool – beware of the conferences. There are a few normal people, but you have to understand that there are guys and gals up in the woods that live for those things. The only come out of the woods a couple of times a year, one is for the homeschool conference. I’ll never forget standing in the buffet line at a homeschool conference and trying to think of a point of conversation with the guy in front of me. All I could think of was, “Hey man, nice camo”. To which he replied, “Yeah, I kill all my food”. Which explained a lot about why his boy was a little, well… different.

Perhaps I’m a little jaded from my experiences with the ultra-unique homeschool kids I’ve met, the kid that begins the conversation with, “I can recite the preamble to the constitution – want to hear it?”. Seriously? No, I don’t want to hear it. Just say, “Hi, how are you?”

Now we are no longer on the road, but we have decided to stick with homeschooling. Thus, I feel it is my job to do all in my power to make it ACAP – As cool as possible. Keep in mind, I’m not cool, but that’s doesn’t mean my kids can’t be. So there are a few things I do to try to step up the cool factor from time to time.

1. My kids can’t go out of the house looking ridiculous – Listen, homeschool people, if you don’t want to comb your boy’s hair, cut it so short it doesn’t need combing. Don’t buy clothes you don’t want your kids to wear (No, muscle shirts, jeans and flip flops don’t go together).

2. My kids must learn how to have a NORMAL conversation - Dialogue is not an opportunity to prove that you are smarter than public school kids…. although you probably are. You don’t have to prove it all the time. No one wants to hear you speak Latin.

3. My kids will have school in a cool environment - You don’t train a young man for life by letting him sit start his day at 10AM, in pajama’s, while cartoons are playing in the background. Unless he is called to worship ministry, that won’t fly (sorry couldn’t resist). Therefore, we have made a significant investment in our homeschool room. Check it out on my wife’s blog – julieterry.net. 

If you follow these steps, you aren’t guaranteed to have cool children, but at least they will have a fighting chance.

To Santa, or not to Santa?

Cover of Santa Knows

Every parent has to decide whether or not it is appropriate to teach their kids that an overweight foreign guy breaks into their home once a year and leaves presents under the tree. With the birth of our first daughter we decided to break with tradition and tell the truth.

First, let me explain what motivated our decision. Like most boys, I grew up believing that my behavior would have a direct effect on the quantity and quality of the gifts I would receive on Christmas morning. I believed that somehow Santa knew exactly who was naughty and who was nice. Frankly, I didn’t think very deeply about Santa’s implied omniscience or his other godlike qualities. I just accepted it as fact and behaved accordingly.

One particular Christmas I woke up and found that my every dream had come true and landed under a cedar tree in my living room. Every toy a boy could imagine as well as a brand new, AKC registered Lab puppy. The sum total of all the gifts had to be in excess of $2,000 – I was in eight year old heaven.

After a while I went outside and joined some of my friends who lived down the road, only to discover that Santa had only left a few gifts under their tree. I felt sorry for the other boys but in my mind, it’s only fair – I mean apparently they had been naughty. No one could argue with Santa. I was apparently very good and they were apparently extremely bad.

It was sometime around the age of nine that rumors were spreading like never before that it was all a hoax. Santa wasn’t real; not the one at the mall, not the one in the parade, they were all just chubby guys dressed up to fool kids. I couldn’t believe it – I wouldn’t believe it. I decided to prove once and for all that Santa was legitimate.

My plan was simple. I would tell my parents that all I wanted for Christmas was an assortment of “He-Man” toys. It was the main action figure that year for nine-year old boys. But then I would tell Santa that all I wanted was G.I. Joe action figures and all of the cool vehicles that went with them.

Then it happened. Christmas morning, just before the sun came up, I awoke – I bolted into the living room to see the best assortment of He-Man action figures a boy could imagine. Not so much as a single G.I. Joe. Obviously, I was disappointed. I was glad to have the toys, but I wanted to believe Santa was real.

Sometime around 10AM it hit me. My new found knowledge had implications beyond my personal experience. If Santa wasn’t real – then my friends down the street weren’t naughty after all (or at least that wasn’t why Christmas was better for me). I began to realize that I had a massive Christmas because I was the only child of a successful businessman. My friends belonged to a much larger family where their dad worked a plant job and barely made ends meet.

I’ll never forget the conversation when I told my friends the truth about Santa. They looked at Christmas differently after that, they looked at me differently and they looked at themselves differently.

Perhaps that was why we decided not to follow tradition, but rather to tell our kids that Santa was a myth. On top of that we wanted to communicate to our children that mom and dad would always tell them the truth – no matter what.

We tell our kids the story of the historic person of St. Nicholas. We showed them the Veggie tale movie about St. Nicholas. We even add a few gifts under the tree on Christmas morning as a surprise. But we let them know that they are from mom and dad.

We also give our kids specific instruction that they are not to talk to other kids about the myth of Santa. That it would only cause them to mistrust their parents. The parents meant no harm in telling their kids that Santa was real and we don’t want to undermine their authority.

Each couple has to decided how they are going to tackle the issue and what traditions they will develop. But let me tell you, the truth will not warp your kids nor will it rob Christmas of any joy. The joy of Christmas is found in Christ not Santa.

Holiday Planning

If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to grab your significant other, go to a coffee shop, break out the calendars and plan the last month of the year. Remember as Zig Ziglar said, “to fail to plan is to plan to fail”. I have found that if I am unwilling to take the time to plan my month that others will be glad to plan it for me. So be proactive, take initiative and end the year with purpose.

Last night, Julie and I sat down at the local Starbucks. opened our laptops and began to compare calendars. Here are a few things we learned.

 

1. DATE NIGHTS – Date nights during the holiday season are some of the most difficult but perhaps some of the most rewarding. There are so many events that take precedence on the calendar that couples tend to let their focused time together slip to the wayside. You may only be able to find a couple of nights free, but take them. Holiday dates are some of the best all year. You have time to reflect on the year, celebrate, rehearse what you are thankful for and ultimately enjoy a relationship that you have worked hard on all year.
2. EVENTS - Make certain that you plan to attend all the of the kid’s recitals, the office Christmas party, sure up plans with the in-laws.
3. WORSHIP -  Allow intentional time for worship and reflection in your plans. This year we will take part in our Church’s Christmas Eve service and since Christmas falls on a Sunday we will also be with our Church family on Christmas morning. We also have traditions that we like to incorporate into our plans. Each year we watch, “The Nativity” together.
4. TRADITIONS – Traditions serve to remind us of the past as we engage in the present. In 2004 our family live in Lancaster, Kentucky while our extended family remained in Alabama. As a Pastor my duties required me to preach the Sunday morning Christmas service that year as well as the Christmas Eve service the night before. Once we were free to hang out on Christmas Eve, we realized that we had forgotten to plan a meal. Everything in the nearest town was closed except one Chinese restaurant. So that year our Christmas Eve meal was the Chinese buffet. And it has been every year since. Since moving back to Alabama and serving at a Church where many people a long way from their families, we invite the entire Church family to join us, around 70 did so last year. We were quite a hit with the restaurant owners.
5. PICTURES – Don’t forget to schedule a family portrait for Christmas. You need to plan this early so you will have time to order cards.

 

Planning is half the fun, it enables you to borrow from the fun of the future and enjoy it now. Plan to make this your best holiday season yet.