Living and Teaching Authentic Faith

Chers Amis,

I should preface this by saying that this is not a how-to post full of great ideas, rather it is my honest musings on Catholic Homeschooling. I have seen, witnessed and read about so many exquisite manifestations of Catholic homeschooling especially by the ladies at the Real Learning Forums. But as I sit here, I have to ask, what does that really mean for me personally as a mother and educator? Am I a Catholic who happens to homeschool, or is our faith truly integrated with our learning.

Before we started on this homeschooling journey, a wise woman told me that homeschooling is not just an alternative way to educate your children, it is a way of life. I have found this to be the best advice anyone has given me and this holds true for Faith as well. Being Catholic is not a totem, a moniker, a club, a form of identification, or something to do on Sunday mornings or holidays. It is a way to know God, to to experience and encounter God, to live with and for Him in all things and at all times, and to do his will. We strive a a family to do just that, to live authentically with and for God according to his will, however confusing it may be at times :-)

Do I want my children to receive an excellent education academically? Yes, and we do our best to teach them well. I know Caddie wants to be a biologist and Scarlet, a writer and artist. We want them to be able to do and go anywhere, but most of all we want them to live lives of authentic faith. A faith that is not a rote list or dry piety, but alive and real and written in their hears in the brilliant colors of liturgy, tradition, Eucharist, sacraments, service and love. I think that is Catholic Homeschooling a notre moulin, or at least that is my goal.

So often though, I get caught up in comma rules and explaining atomic mass or square roots and opportunities to live our faith more richly get pushed to the side. I need to remember that book learning and memorization is crucial, but that hands-on living stays with you much longer. Catholic Homeschooling is learning and faith in action. I need to get my nose out of the books and move more.

-- Marjorie