calling

Ripple Effect: How to Inspire Your Kids

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

A messy dining room, a dozen unfinished projects, soggy boots, muddy footprints, a broken telescope, a lost library book, a forgotten passion, a new hobby, and wonder in the eyes of a child.

This is the homeschool life.

Simple moments, like pebbles in quiet pond, the work you do today will ripple through generations.

Yes, what you do today will make a difference for years to come!

Homeschooling isn’t glamorous, and the day to day activities may seem a lot like pushing a rock up a mountain. But through it all I’ve seen how embracing the role of both mom and teacher has unseen power and influence that you wouldn’t believe though it’s right in front of you. And the work you do and example you set will influence your future generations.

Rewind–what’s your story? Who you are today has a lot to do with the path of past generations.

Here’s a glimpse into my story and the beautiful tapestry of learning, passion, and love that has woven itself through my family’s history.

My grandmother was a mother of four and a civil engineer—a woman ahead of her time. She somehow balanced her professional life with the demands of motherhood, and through her, I learned the value of determination and perseverance. She showed me how to think outside the box. When the world said, “You can’t do it all!” my grandma said, “Oh yes you can!” And when I’m facing a struggle I often hear her voice in my ear whispering, “Where there’s a will there’s a way!”

My mother, an artist, educational strategist, Bible scholar and homeschool mom, carried a quiet passion into our home. She made learning an adventure, and always helped us kids find the answers to even the most outlandish of questions. She had a way of filling our days with creativity and the belief that anything was possible, with Jesus. Her art wasn’t just on canvas—it was in the way she taught us to see beauty in the world, and faith in the One who is GOOD, WISE and ALL Powerful!

Because of her faith and example I will never forget that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

And now, as a homeschooling mom of my own children, I see how this legacy continues to unfold.

Homeschooling has given me the chance to watch my own children discover their unique passions and explore them in their own time.

Not just growing in skills and knowledge, but in faith and determination!

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Untangling from Mediocrity

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Was there a time when you understood what really mattered, and then you looked at your life?

Was there a moment when you understood the truth about all the things that were irrelevant to the precious, meaningless in light of the meaningful, and futile when side by side with the greatest?

When your eyes were open to the purpose of your life, did you find your calling there?

And when you found your calling, did you listen?

And when you listened, did you surrender?

Did you learn to obey the voice calling you to surrender everything, break the chains, and unload the burdens so that you could be free to run your race? Or are you still entangled with the everyday pressures and demands of mediocrity?

Here’s some inspiration for those of you who need to get to that place of throwing off the entanglements.

If you are not free to run your race, it really is time to stop everything and change direction.

Look ten years down the road. If you change nothing, you will be exactly where you are now, just older and with more debt. Every day like the last, striving, struggling, climbing a ladder to nowhere, or digging some hole ever deeper.

But don’t mistake faithfulness in the little things for a meaningless life. If you are being faithful where you are, doing the hard daily work of your calling, you must persevere! For example, your faithfulness as a mother with young children. Your days are long, your work gives you little rest, but the influence of your sacrifice for others is precious, meaningful and great.

Perhaps you heard the call to missions, and you work in the dirt and spend your days feeding dozens of hungry children, cleaning bathrooms in an orphanage, serving in gardens, villages, churches, and schools–but there is nothing romantic about your missionary life. It is hard work and you have dirt under your fingernails. But you are storing up treasures in heaven, and adding many smiles to earth. This hard work may seem thankless, and it’s lonely at times, but your love brings hope, and that’s enough.

Maybe you are a dad, looking for another income stream, putting a roof over dozens of other homes so you can keep a roof over the one home that matters most. It’s hot. It’s long days. It’s thankless work, and you come home to smiling kids and a weary wife. It’s a season where nothing seems romantic; but in a world where so many families are falling apart, your family is sticking together. You look around and what might not seem like much, is actually everything. When it comes to the value of family, you are rich, proud, and looking forward to the day when He says, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”

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Super Simple Homeschooling

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

When it comes to homeschooling, I’ve always taken an approach centered on creativity and real-world preparation. I begin to teach my children when they’re very little that you can create something with what’s around you that people will pay money for.

Take one of my daughters, for example. She had a passion for dogs and horses her entire childhood. Instead of forcing her into a generalized curriculum, we built her education around her love for animals, helping her explore how she could turn that passion into a meaningful career.

Of course, many parents worry, “Well, what if my kid’s not interested in something?” To me, that’s not a roadblock — it’s an opportunity. I don’t focus only on a career. What it comes down to is your child’s innate calling. One of my sons needed to be the kind of person who does a diverse number of different things. He needed to try a variety of experiences and be encouraged to explore, and this helped his calling to surface!

I tell my kids this: “When you’re 13 or 14, if you’re ready to start a business, we’re going to invest in your business.” When I was young, kids used to be excited to be 16 and get a driver’s license. Now you see 13-year-olds excited for their first phone. In our family, instead of focusing on getting a phone, my kids look forward to that moment where we’re going to invest in their business. They know to think toward that and plan toward that leading up to their 13th birthday.

Instead of spending $100,000 for them to get a degree for who-knows-what, I’d rather invest early in something that’s meaningful to them. We start by investing one to three thousand dollars in their interests, and then we spend the next 4 or 5 years immersing them in the careers they want to have. They get one-on-one lessons, equipment, and a high-quality learning experience in their fields as teenagers. It’s about letting them major in the thing they want to do.

I really believe that as I encourage that child to follow that path and their calling, the doors are going to open for them. As that calling begins to develop, I look for an opportunity to find a mentor or a Masterclass to continue their knowledge beyond what I can provide. It’s not about following a rigid path but is instead about trusting the process and nurturing their growth along the way.

My approach isn’t about perfection or endless resources. There are a variety of ways to homeschool your children in a career-based fashion when limited budgets come into play. That’s where creativity comes in! In 2014, we were living with 9 kids, on $80 a day. Our home was in Croatia, and it had no running water. We had one electrical outlet, and we got our water out of a cistern. Even then, I found ways to support my kids’ dreams.

For example, my first son had dreams of becoming a chef. For his 13th birthday, we made an Amazon wish list for friends and family, and every item was related to his dream of being a chef. Within a year, he ended up being a personal chef for a woman with celiac disease. When given resources and support, I truly believe a child with a calling can achieve their wildest imaginings!

Another way I help support my children is by letting them be a part of the Fun-Schooling journals. When my kids are ready to jump into a career, I make a Fun-Schooling book with them that they can sell as a way to help fund their goals.

Ultimately, when parents worry about how their kids will make a career out of niche interests, I tell them to just trust. If your child loves dinosaurs, don’t worry that he loves dinosaurs. A lot of times we worry about how our child is going to make a career out of their interests, but it ends up coming down to the same thing. Just trust.

A Mother’s Calling

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

I’m at a cafe today

Flipping through the pages

Of a journal I filled

When Anna was seven

I read the prayers

Of a discouraged mother

Who had hope

That someday

This little girl would read and write

But most of all,

I poured out my heart

That I could be devoted

to preparing Anna

To serve and follow God

In the calling He had for her

Not my plan

But His.

March 2, 2008 (Anna age seven)

Oh Lord I come to you and pray that Anna’s heart would be so fervent for you. Open her eyes to see you, give her ears to hear. Let her be hungry for your word and thirsty for more of your presence.

Help me to be full of wisdom to show her your path. Help me to teach her what YOU want her to know.

Help her to read very well soon.

I will trust you to show me how to help her. Give her a strong desire to learn. Let her mind be strong to grasp the things that will help her to be fluent in her reading. Let her develop a great love for reading even now.

Help me to devote myself to prepare her to serve and follow you in the calling that you have for her.

In Jesus name, Amen.

————-

As I read my prayer from 15 years ago I remember feeling God impressing upon me to NOT raise her to reflect the teaching of the current culture or the standardized path that so many were pressuring me to take. I saw an anointing upon her, and I felt so strongly not to try to conform to the ways of the world in raising her, to block out the well-meaning voices of concerned relatives and friends because this child was chosen to do things in this world that a person with a standardized education could never have the time or creativity to do. “Let her be an artist,” God spoke to my heart. “Let her major in the Arts now”, my heart demanded.

If there were two things I knew about my call to raise Anna, they were: Empower her in creativity and plant the most beautiful seeds of Art and God’s word into the garden of her heart. It was obvious that she was an artist and a storyteller and she assured me that she didn’t need to learn to read to become an artist. I assured her that God would not have put the Bible in written form if He wasn’t going to give her the power to read it.

The Arts, Travel, History of Fashion, and the Bible became her entire curriculum throughout her homeschooling years from age 6 to 15. At 15 she wanted to add singing and songwriting to the plan and I hired Christine Dente to be her coach. At age 17 she completed the writing of an audio musical about the life of Jesus. It was her senior project, bringing forth all of her learning from her childhood. That year I didn’t require any other schoolwork — “Just write your musical” — and she did!

Learn what has become of her talents, her hunger for God’s word, her thirst for His presence and her devotion to serve Jesus and follow His calling to reveal His heart to this world… see how He answered the prayers of a discouraged mother who sought God’s will and not the world’s for one little girl. Anna’s faith is beautiful, free, passionate, and alive. She is a bright light in the darkness and brings me so much joy.

HisStoryTheMusical.com

Anna today.

Why Do We Homeschool?

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment
homeschool learning requires no desk

We love homeschooling because it gives us the freedom to customize each child’s education according to their strengths, weaknesses, interests, talents, needs, aspirations, hobbies, individual life callings, disabilities & careers plans. Not only that, it gives the family freedom to travel, see the world and put our family first. We can spend our days learning and living as a family.

Education is not the highest priority in the life of our family–love is. We don’t want school to be the main focus of the child’s life during these precious years of childhood. We want each child to have time to experience all the joys of growing up with freedom to play, explore, and learn through real life.

Because we homeschool, learning happens naturally in real life. In normal school kids learn how to live on paper, or on a computer, before applying that knowledge to real life.

Much of what kids learn in school is now irrelevant to real life. With homeschooling we allow learning to happen first in real life, and if needed we apply that learning to paper so the child can master the knowledge and research it further. When a child discovers their dreams, their callings or their desires to start a career, the training can begin…NOW.

Our children learn through Thinking Tree Books, YouTube, books they choose on Amazon, the library, and so much more. They spend lots of time traveling, volunteering, playing, creating, and engaging in music projects, art projects, animal care and research.

Thinking Tree Journals allow us to create beautiful portfolios of each child’s work and research to document their eclectic learning journeys.

Fun-Schooling for High School Credit

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 7 Comments

Parents often feel overwhelmed homeschooling high school and assigning credits. Remember, homeschoolers have a lot of flexibility. You don’t have to “school at home.” Your teen is preparing to launch into the world and doesn’t need to sit in a classroom with boring textbooks to thrive! Below is guidance on credits and some options for planning the high school years.

Remember-

Each country and state has different legal requirements. These suggestions should meet the requirements of most places. Please verify requirements where you live.

The HSLDA or your local homeschool support organization are good resources. Check to see if your area requires detailed record-keeping, transcripts, portfolios, testing, evaluation by a certified teacher, or any other records. Some states require in-depth and detailed transcripts while others are very laid back.

HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS

Most states require 15-25 credits for High School Graduation. For example:

Language Arts/English: 4 credits
Math: 3 credits
Science: 3 credits
Social Studies (U..S History): 1 credit
Social Studies (Any other Social Studies): 1 credit
Electives (physical education, home economics, foreign language, music, etc): 9 credits

Total: 21 credits

College-bound students will need a more specific record of courses based on their desired University requirements. The University admissions department will provide those details.

For example, specific science credits needed might be: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, & a Science Elective.
Social Studies might be: U.S. History, World History, American Government .5/Economics .5, Social Studies elective.

College-bound students will also need grades assigned to each completed credit.
Some areas require a more detailed description of courses taken. This can be anything from a short sentence to an entire portfolio of completed work. This is why it’s important to understand your regional laws.

How much work equals one credit?

In most places is 120 hours = 1 credit.
This is time working on journals as well as projects, field trips, interviews, etc. An easy way to track time is for your teen to write the start and end times when they work in a journal. This will also give you an idea of how much time is spent on that subject.

If you don’t have to track time, Fun-Schoolers usually give shorter single-subject journals ½ credit, longer single-subject journals 1 credit, and completed core journals 3-5 credits depending on their size. (click Page 2 to learn about selecting journals and assigning credits with Fun-Schooling)

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