Tell us a little bit about your family dynamics. Our family is a people-serving, community-loving, on-the-go pastor’s family. We work hard so that we can play hard together, giving special prominence to weekly family pizza movie nights and Sabbath rest. Angelo’s flexible schedule allows them to share the teaching load while also allowing Marie to do some counseling work. Music has a special place in the heart of our family so it’s not uncommon to hear a piano, guitar, drum, or singing throughout the house at any given time.
How long have you been homeschooling? What was one of the main reasons you chose to homeschool? We started homeschooling in 2016 when Jonathan had just turned 3 and told us “It’s about time you teach me to read.” Marie was homeschooled herself as a child and didn’t have the greatest experience, so she was hesitant to say that she would continue. As more children were added to the family, Marie came to love being the primary educator of the children and learning alongside of them. Both Angelo & Marie are lifelong learners (both are currently working on doctoral degrees) and have loved the opportunities that homeschool has afforded us to instill this love of learning in our children.
In what activities does your family participate? In addition to helping the many activities that come with being a pastor’s family, we are heavily involved in the community in which we live. All the kids play soccer and Angelo & Marie even help to coach multiple sports for their kids.
What have been your most helpful resources? Helpful resources have varied child to child because each of our children are so immensely different. In terms of curriculum, we love the Mystery of History and Classical Academic Press. Also, we use YouTube frequently for supplemental videos and as memory songs.
What educational philosophy/curriculum do you follow? We follow a classical philosophy of education that focuses on memorization in the younger ages and dialogue in the older ages. Although we started our homeschool journey with Classical Conversations, we departed from that institution and have cultivated our own memory work system that works for us. Angelo & Marie try to cultivate a family culture that allows for hard questions and learning together about every subject and topic.
What has been one of the highlights for you in homeschooling your children? One of the greatest highlights for us in the homeschooling process has been learning alongside the children. Filling in the holes in our own education, Angelo & Marie glean so much from the materials we teach to the kids.
What was your favorite field trip(s)? Twice a year, we travel as a family to Grand Rapids, Michigan. While this is primarily for Angelo & Marie’s doctoral classes, we enjoy going to the Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park to see all the flowers and play in the children’s center. Back in Pennsylvania, we visited historic Philadelphia and loved being able to sing the Preamble to the Constitution while in Independence Hall.
What was one of the funniest things to happen during a homeschool day? One of the funniest memories of homeschooling happened a few years ago when our youngest, Riley, was about two-and-a-half years old. We focus heavily on memorization, including the Scriptures, and all the kids love to participate in “memory work time” even before formal schooling has begun. This particular year, we were working to memorize an entire chapter of Philippians, and I was quizzing our oldest, Jon, who was nearly 10 at the time. Jon is highly gifted and has memorized with ease since he started speaking. But these particular verses seemed to be stumping him. He began but quickly started stuttering. Riley jumped in to prompt him and correct him all the way through the twenty or so versus we had been working on. She had been in the room with us many days, but we had no idea how much she had actually retained. I pulled out a camera to record her reciting the passages and in her squeaky little voice, she said “No, I won’t perform like that.” Now at age five, she has the majority of the book of Philippians committed to memory but still does not like showing off her memorization skills.
What have you found to be a challenge in homeschooling? Any tips in dealing with that challenge? The Lord has seen fit to bless us with a variety of special learning needs in our children. One of the biggest challenges has been learning to see each child for who they are as an individual and adjust both curriculum and expectations to their personal needs. What works for one kid might not work at all for the next or might have to be at a totally different pace. Being willing to change plans when we can see it is not working has been so helpful in allowing each kid to flourish in what they love and work diligently where they struggle. This difference in personality can also mean that hearing a lesson from mom is hard, but dad stepping in to teach the exact same thing may work much better. Being humble enough to change teachers, curriculums, settings, etc. allows us as parents to celebrate who each child is.
What advice would you give to someone who has just begun homeschooling? We would tell them that it’s okay that it’s hard. Homeschooling is without a doubt the hardest, most taxing, pull-your-hair out frustration in my world. It can feel fruitless and overwhelming and demanding with what feels like little return on investment. But that’s okay. Homeschooling is the vehicle that we use to teach character and that eternal perspective keeps us focused on the prize when the days are hard. Our goal is not ivy league graduates or millionaire adults; our ultimate goal is godly offspring, and that spiritual war is fought daily over math sheets and history lessons. Keep on toward the goal to win the prize of the upward calling of Christ (Phil. 3:14).
