Have you heard of lifeschooling and do you know why it is so revolutionary in our current homeschooling environment? Do you long for more time and less stress in your homeschool? Do you feel that school must be done, regardless of anything else that goes on in the home? Do you feel you must complete what the curriculum dictates you do each day? Is something missing from your homeschool, but you can’t quite figure out what?

As homeschooling has become much more popular, we see more and more families (not just moms!) suffering from homeschool burnout. As a movement, we have slowly lost the wisdom of some of the early pioneers and have returned to the “leeks and garlic” that we, as a movement, left many years ago. It is time for a revolution in our thinking. This philosophy that we like to call lifeschooling is really just a fresh label for a returning to the “ancient paths” (Jeremiah 6:16) and homeschooling the way in which God called many of the early pioneers to. It is God-focused and relationship-driven.

The definition of lifeschooling is “the individualized process of discovering your child’s God-given gifts and talents, through real-life experiences that happen within the context of your family’s unique situations and missions.” At the core of lifeschooling is the simple belief that each child has a unique calling given by God; that all of life can be used for education; that God is ultimately in control of each day; and that relationships are always paramount to and foundational for a good education — relationships not only to each other, but also to God. In this blog post, we will take this definition and break it down into its elemental parts to examine exactly what each phrase means. You will be challenged to rethink education in a way you may never have before. There is freedom in allowing God, who knows us each intimately, to direct the homeschool, rather than an anonymous curriculum author who has never even met us or our children. God desires us to live as free people. And lifeschooling is a wonderful answer to homeschool burnout and “setting the captives free”!