Homeschooling and the domestic church

What began as a tiny spark of interest has become a full-blown vocation within my vocation of marriage. I am a homeschooling mom. The call to begin teaching my own children began over 30 years ago when our oldest daughter was six years old. Although I did not recognize it at the time, God was using this means of education to help our family realize our potential as a “little church,” the domestic church.

When I first asked my husband in early 1988 about the possibility of teaching our daughter at home, it wasn’t even legal! Fortunately, the law changed in North Dakota, so in the fall our family began what felt like an adventure and an experiment all rolled into one. We had so much to learn! Yet, we quickly discovered that having different ages working together seemed akin to the one-room schoolhouses we read about during our story-time sessions.  

In the early years, I spent countless hours on the couch reading Bible stories, living history books, and great children’s literature with the oldest seated beside me and the youngest in my lap or playing on the floor nearby. The great outdoors, which included a few hobby farm animals, provided a beneficial start in the life sciences. Accomplishing reading, writing, and math at the kitchen table, my students were able to be in the presence of one another while schooling. Growing older, each child received a list of chores, including animal care, meal preparation, and laundry, which needed to be done at some point during the day. This gave me the needed time to teach, as well as equipping my students with a top-notch skill set. In due time, a beautiful integration of faith, book-learning, and home life-skills was realized as a natural result of the homeschool lifestyle.   

The official name of our school is St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Home School. A few years into our venture, we read about several interesting saints who were dedicated to education. We then voted to pick a patron saint. Annually, on January 28, we celebrate Thomas Aquinas’ feast day with a recap of his life and a special meal. We also celebrate Catholic Schools Week with “crazy hat day” and “crazy teacher day” (my favorite). Like other parochial school students, we attend daily Mass at least once a week, and our children are strongly encouraged to be active in assisting at Sunday Mass through ministry participation roles such as altar serving and music ministry. 

To my surprise, my own faith life received a remarkable jumpstart as I began the daily teaching of religion and virtue. While learning right along with my children, I probably benefited the most because I was the one in most need of conversion at the time. I doubt that I would be the person I am today if God had not called me to teach my kids at home.

To be sure, the decision to homeschool requires discernment, often on a yearly basis. Constant prayer is needed: prayer about curriculum choices, prayer about time management, prayer about learning struggles and strong-willed children, prayer about seeking assistance from others… the list is truly endless. Our Catholic support group and the North Dakota Home School Association have been invaluable in providing a means for us to connect and receive encouragement from others in the same walk of life. Active participation in our parish and diocese gives us many opportunities to support, serve, and socialize. 

Our adventurous experiment has been by no means perfect. There have been years of plentiful grace and years of great testing. Real life happened along with school, substantial things like the flood of ’97, two adoptions from China, ill health, and human weakness. Through it all, we have walked with Christ at our side. He has immensely blessed our home school efforts and our little domestic church. Thus far, five have graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Home School, have gone on to higher education of various kinds, and have followed vocations to married life or the priesthood. With two children left to go, the end of my treasured homeschooling vocation will come to an end in a few years. But wait! All our grandchildren are being homeschooled, so perhaps the adventure will take a new direction. 
 
Laurie and her husband Phil live in Grand Forks. They have 7 children and 7 grandchildren. Laurie enjoys mentoring others interested in Catholic homeschooling and can be reached at motherkraemer@gmail.com.