Since its legalization in South Africa in 1996, homeschooling has experienced a resurgence, offering families a powerful alternative to public education. In this evolving landscape, one mother’s search for a meaningful education for her children led her down an extraordinary path. Chantelle Miles, a South African parent of ten, shares her journey from initial skepticism about homeschooling to becoming a passionate advocate for classical Christian education. Her story bridges continents, challenging cultural expectations and redefining what it means to educate in the 21st century.

Join us for Chantelle’s inspiring narrative, which not only changed the course of her family’s life but also introduced a new educational paradigm to her community. This blog post offers valuable insights for parents worldwide who are considering their educational options and seeking to instill a love for learning in their children. Discover how embracing the unknown can lead to unexpected treasures in both teaching and personal growth.

The Unexpected Journey: From Germany to Homeschooling

Boarding a flight to Europe, headed for Germany, I had no idea where I was going!

Once I saw the map on the inflight entertainment system, I noticed the little plane travelling to Munich in the south of Germany. I was heading to an unfamiliar destination. Albeit a very common one. The country, nestled between Italy, Austria, and France, was merely a vague figure in the primary school history books I had never read. The business of wars, the people involved and the places affected went right over my head.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference. —Robert Frost.

When the road veers off the main track, do you turn off, or do you stay where it’s familiar?

Confronting Educational Doubts: A Mother’s Dilemma

The homeschool journey began with a nagging question: “What reasons would I give my firstborn child when she came home from school, and some kids were doing the things we didn’t want her to do?” If she were anything like me, my explanations would be insufficient. I needed more than a rule; I needed the why, and time was running out—she was set to start first grade. My bankruptcy was not just in the lack of understanding and knowledge but, more importantly, in grasping my purpose.

Why do we do what we do? What do I believe about the world and our place in it?

The unknown was beckoning in answer to many anxious prayers. One day, while driving to work, I heard a woman speaking on Focus on the Family about homeschooling. This was as foreign to me as the idea of having soup for breakfast; it had simply never occurred to me. I had never met anyone who homeschooled; I felt like an unreached people group.

Analysis Paralysis!

If we homeschool, how will we teach our children, and what will we teach them? I am intelligent and love learning, but my experience abroad testified against me. As soon as I started considering the possibility, every conceivable reminder of my inadequacies came to mind, confirming that it wasn’t an option for someone like me. Only trained teachers were qualified to educate our children.

Public school felt like being lost in a crowd, unsure of the direction we were headed, pressured to perform, and trapped on a never-ending hamster wheel. I had a loving family, attended a thriving church, and was in a great school—the best in our city. Yet, as we closed that chapter and headed into the next, I was, as far as preparation goes, unprepared, unqualified, and unequipped. My education had the depth of a puddle!

I could only expect a similar outcome using the same ingredients as were used with me.

Discovering Classical Conversations: A New Educational Frontier

I was introduced to Classical Conversations by a missionary friend from the States.

She had a whiteboard with subject segments written on it in her sitting room: Latin, Science, History, Geography, English, and Math. She spoke of a community she wanted to start and how everyone used the same curriculum. This fascinated me. I didn’t need more; I had been battling the implementation of home education despite my enthusiasm for it.

She brought the gospel to areas in our country, but to me, she also carried something else. Her culture is different from mine. I recognized it much later, after reading about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. In the US, there is an inborn sense of freedom, a challenge to tyranny, and an openness to self-determination and inalienable rights. We had lived under a totalitarian regime for many years; apartheid ended when I was getting ready for middle school. We did not challenge authority, nor did we doubt the experts. I’m not saying that as a people we are compliant and docile, but we are certainly not as free to consider alternatives as our friends in the States are—more like the elephant held with twine.

Even so, the hope within spurred me on. I wanted the golden goose: a love for learning, a passion for freedom, and a commitment to the pursuit of truth for my children. Determined to see a different outcome for them, I began exploring this strange concept of home education, wholly unprepared for the personal benefits that awaited me.

We tried a couple of programs, from boxed curricula filled with rich literature and checkboxes to more eclectic approaches involving lap books and unit studies. My poor mother-in-law, trained as a special needs educator and passionate about children thriving, must have prayed nonstop for her offspring to survive their mother’s experiments.

The opportunity to start a Classical Conversations community in South Africa was at hand, and we leapt at it.

The Classical Christian Curriculum: Wisdom from the Past

A classical Christian curriculum offers wisdom from our elders!

I have ten children, and whenever I try something new, from sourdough to soap making, I imagine my forebears enduring too much fluff in addition to merely staying alive, which becomes my guardrail against becoming overly delicate or pernickety.

When I realised how simple yet profound this education system is, I was convinced of its value. Stick in the sand is a saving grace. Suddenly, I could offer a robust education to all my children without losing some along the way. This method trained my mind in simplicity and efficiency. I have always prioritised relationships over other aims, but learning how to utilise this method has truly equipped me to have the best of both worlds.

Building Community: The Power of Collaborative Learning

Community is the ground in which character and love are cultivated.

When we homeschool alone, we can still do a fine job, but it is life-giving to do it with others. We trade with others because they possess something of value that we don’t. God made us unique, with varied gifts, especially not to all be alike.

This diversity enriches us and provides for us. People can be messy—parents and their progeny alike—and nothing is quite as inhospitable as a mother guarding her own. It creates the perfect terrain for cultivating love. We need each other, both to encourage and to settle ruffled feathers. I’ve had my fair share of those. In the economics reader; I saw the theory put into practice. In each individual He hand-picked for me, I was being equipped, if I chose to receive the good with the bad. We were made for fellowship and to share; God’s economy is brilliant.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Discovering new things, making connections, and growing in my understanding has become an unexpected personal treasure. Where learning was a chore during my youth, it is now an adventure. Like Vespucci venturing into uncharted seas, it is a delight to discover new horizons, to embrace failure, and persevere in trying again.

My dad always said, “Darling, you don’t know what you don’t know.”

When we started a family, we didn’t realise it would lead us to take responsibility for the education of our children. We didn’t understand we would serve the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul, and in doing so, He would reward us with communion with each other and with Himself in the discovery of all He has made. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to search out a matter (Prov. 25:2); in seeking to know God and make Him known, I have travelled another route, and it has made all the difference.

The post From Homeschool Hesitation to Classical Education: A South African Mother’s Journey appeared first on Classical Conversations.

The post Nurturing Growth in Homeschooling: Lessons from South Africa appeared first on Classical Conversations.

The word classical always painted a picture of classical music in my head—Mozart, to be specific—because in high school, I was part of the choir and sang classical songs, and this was the only encounter that I had ever had with the word. When I began to question what education should look like for my young family, my husband and I attended a homeschooling conference: the East African Community of Homeschoolers (EACH) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Coincidentally, or rather God-incidentally (as God would have it), this particular conference had Greg Stockton from Classical Conversations, USA, as a guest speaker, and he spoke of the timeline song and played it for us—and we were hooked by this new approach that felt familiar.

Ancient Paths

This is what I have come to learn about the old new way: although it is new, it is also familiar because it resonates with the foundational paths that God already built into existence.

Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” I believe that by questioning education and praying about the right fit for our family, we were asking God for the good way and for rest, and He led us to the ancient paths.

He who is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9) led us to find this new old way.

How Do We Start?

Our joy in learning about homeschooling and hearing about Classical Conversations from a parent who had seen the rewards of this resource was quickly clouded by the next hurdle, which was figuring out how to start.

Now, this was in 2012. We lived in Nairobi, Kenya, and Classical Conversations, at that time, had not set up support or infrastructure in Africa. All the materials and books were only available in the U.S., and beyond the timeline song, everything else felt daunting. Latin was a strange concept; so were memory work and the grammar terminology for our four-year-old son.

And so, after Greg went back to the U.S., we thought we would forget the impact of that encounter. But like the memory of an unforgettable, delicious meal or the excitement of discovering a hidden treasure, we just could not shake off that encounter.

We found the timeline song on YouTube (it is no longer there) and would begin every morning with this song in our home. This simple start of a song was itself memory work.

That is how to start learning in the old new way. This is my encouragement to anyone who does not know where or how to start: begin with the simplicity of memory work.

I then sent several emails to Greg, who was gracious enough to respond and set up a Zoom call, walk me through the classical model, and show me how to access CC Connected. I was alone, yet not alone. This online platform was my next step in how to start.

Just like a baby learning to walk, I did not need all the answers, I just needed the next step, and this online resource center made a world of difference in my homeschool journey because I received resources, equipping, and information, and got connected with other CC families several miles away.

Find a Community Near You

Journeying Together

There’s an African proverb: If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together.

If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together.

This has been proven true in my homeschooling journey. As I learnt more about CC and embarked on this journey, like the woman in the parable who found the lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), I could not keep this to myself and shared it with close friends around me. They seemed to resonate with this joy, and we started meeting once a week in my home.

We had no idea what we were doing and for how long we will do it, but we did it together, and this enabled us to go far, to keep at it, to grow together, to watch our children develop public speaking skills, learn the phases of the moon, identify classical music in cartoons, point out art by Rembrandt or Monet, point out when the moon is gibbous, and classify plants and clouds.

This growing community gave us the courage to finish our first cycle of twenty-four weeks. We weren’t perfect. We missed several details and forgot a lot of the structure, but because we were together, we became family. We held each other accountable and grew in courage to try another cycle.

As our children grew, we grew in numbers and in programs, and we found that we were a bit better at Foundations and willing to attempt Essentials and then Challenge.

Finishing Strong

Looking back at the unplanned journey, I can say that it is indeed true that God has a plan for our good and prosperity.

This small community that commenced with me and my four-year-old son has now multiplied into three communities across the country, with over fifty children and twenty families learning classically. We used the tools of learning and applied the concept as lead learners to create an African and Kenyan timeline, history sentences, and geographic locations, which were published on CC Connected with the amazing support of CC and our Local Representative and AR.

We have graduated our first CC high school graduates who have been accepted into universities here in Kenya, and this is a big feat not just for CC but for all homeschoolers in Kenya. The ancient path, with a solid foundation, based on the truth of God’s word, plus the journey with like-hearted families, fueled by the encouragement of a great support system, prayers, and the Holy Spirit, has enabled us—who would have felt far removed, unqualified, and unreachable, all the way in Nairobi, Kenya—to finish strong.

Only by His Grace.

The post The Old New Way: Classical Education in Kenya appeared first on Classical Conversations.

God is on the move. What is my role in His mission?

I am called to be faithful. What has He entrusted to my care?

My memory isn’t always as crisp as I would like it to be, so I don’t truly recollect all the details of the beginning of my journey to serve with Classical Conversations in Canada, but what I can rely on is the witness of my husband and my friend. They remind me that, despite my doubt and misgivings, they had the confidence that I was equipped to take on a new role of serving and encouraged me to step forward. They had the eyes to see what I could not recognize or acknowledge and they spoke life into me in my circumstance. And so this disengaged mom with health challenges and a fear of inadequacy timidly agreed to embark on a journey into a world of service.

The Rewards of Service

I remember being ecstatic at the end of a long day in community. My cup was filled up and overflowing with blessings after an exhausting but invigorating day of tutoring and I would call to update my husband on the highlights. The richness of fellowship within community is as marrow; our digital age culture is starved for incarnate connection.

As I have increased in my own knowledge and enlarged my capacity, I have rediscovered past passions and delved into uncharted territories previously undiscovered. His glorious riches have blessed me abundantly. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over—into my life and beyond. Into my family’s life and the lives of others. Into my community’s lives and pouring into those whose paths intersect mine in this journey of life.

Luke 12:48 speaks of the wise and faithful servant, managing the resources entrusted to him with great diligence and selflessness.

The fruit of service demonstrates itself in my life through the refining work that the Good Shepherd is accomplishing in and through me for His purposes and glory.

Refinement

I have the great privilege of partnering with our God and an incredible team of believers in this work. Firstly, He has granted us the honour of raising our children to walk confidently with Him. Through this homeschooling opportunity, we are entrusted with refinement—sanctification for each of us as we journey through our days.

Purpose

And then, in serving the greater community, He reveals to me glimpses into the Kingdom work He is accomplishing—through the testimonies of other leaders, through the encounters with other homeschooling mamas, through the conversations with others in our country—be they co-workers, store clerks, politicians, or neighbours. What an incredible opportunity—that He would choose to use this cracked-vessel for His purposes humbles and astounds me!

Hope

To see families being strengthened in who they are in Christ. To see children thrilled in community. To see teens being gently shepherded in their most holy faith as they wrestle with truth. To witness others equipped to winsomely and persuasively speak into the lives of others. To know that the legacy of our Saviour and His gift of salvation will remain on this orb beyond our last breath, by His grace.

This is the hope that inspires me.

The Qualities that Enable Effective Service

As my roles have shifted over the years and my hats have changed and morphed, there are some constants that have remained. These are the qualities that I found served me well in serving others:

Adaptability

It has been most helpful to remind myself to be flexible—to easily bend in changing circumstances and adapt to the shifts or sudden changes. Holding loosely and remaining sensitive to His leading and guiding ensures that I am not seeking my own agenda. Remaining adaptable is another helpful quality that determines that I will continue to be able to roll-with-the-(unexpected)-punches.

Just as our GPS devices are able to ‘recalibrate’, we are blessed (and a blessing) when we also can adjust our expectations and continue on, sensitive to the leading of the Spirit.

Teachability

Being teachable is part of the package, isn’t it? As we desire to redeem our own education alongside our children, we model being humble learners ourselves.

What better gift can we give our kids but the example of desiring to learn differently and grow in our capacity? Through all these things, we can choose to demonstrate perseverance—to keep on keeping on even when there are disappointments, missed connections, moves, unmet expectations.

Prayerfulness and Steadfastness

Prayerfully choose your mentor(s) and confidant(s)—by His grace and for His glory, these saints will continue to faithfully uphold you in prayer and encourage you to press on. Choose joy. The journey is a relay, not a race. Stay on the path. Even when others bail. He who has called you is faithful; there is good work He is accomplishing in His time and for His glory. (Galatians 6:9)

The Price of Service

“Jesus is not the example of a balanced life . . . but He is the example of a focused life.” —Pastor Glen Nudd

This comment struck me on Sunday. It is such an assault to our society’s standard. I have been ruminating on this truth and reflecting on how this demonstrates itself in my own life.

And this faithful walk on the path before me has born much fruit. Showing up when I have committed yields opportunities to speak blessing into lives or be blessed through an encounter orchestrated by our Heavenly Father. Persisting through the adversity brings satisfaction and grows endurance. Consistency to remain faithful with what he has entrusted will bear much fruit in His timing, for His purposes, and for His glory.

What will our response be when the Master returns and desires to settle our account? We are entrusted with talents for the days we walk this globe. What are those talents in your hands today? Where do your talents lie? Are you about your Father’s business?

God is on the move. What is your role in His mission?

You are called to be faithful. What has He entrusted to your care?

The post Homeschooling as Service: Blessed to Be a Blessing appeared first on Classical Conversations.

In the following post, homeschool dad Eugene Huang discusses the state of homeschooling in Taiwan and explores how the concepts of coram Deo, Christian paideia, and the Great Commission can yield fruit for classical, Christian education.

Numbers about Taiwan

In celebration of the upcoming launch of The Math Map: Complex, I would like to begin with a few numbers from Taiwan:

• The total population of Taiwan is around 23.4 million.
• Approximately 1.1 million (4.7%) identify as Christians.
• In Taiwan, there are three types of non-school-based experimental education: individual, group, and institutional. The first two types are usually referred to as homeschooling.
• In the 2017–18 academic year, the total number of students enrolled in non-school-based experimental education was 5,598, of which homeschoolers accounted for 3,733 students.
• In the 2022-23 academic year, the numbers above jumped to 10,609 and 5,254, respectively.¹
• The first officially licensed CC community in Taiwan was established in 2017.
• In the 2023–24 academic year, there were 143 students in 6 Classical Conversations communities around the island.

What Do These Numbers Tell Us?

First of all, Christians do not exist in great numbers compared to the total population. Second, from 2017 to 2023, more and more parents in Taiwan chose non-school-based education. Students enrolled in institutes increased by 5,011 while the number of homeschoolers grew by 1,521. Last, Classical Conversations has been taking root and sprouting over the last seven years on this island. At the same time, Classical Conversations’ growth rate has been noticeably mild.

The causes for this are complex.

Where are the children of Christian families? Who is educating them? What kind of education are they receiving?

I’m neither a mathematician nor a statistician, but I am nevertheless unashamedly a curious everyday educator practicing classical tools of learning. On that note, I would say the possible causes of this slow growth may include insufficient outreach, lack of awareness, language barriers, fear of being incapable of homeschooling, worries about college preparation, concerns that CC is not a good fit for them, etc.

Or, perhaps the God-centered, parent-led classical Christian education offered by CC simply takes more time to brew.

Regardless of the circumstances, I maintain that growing deeper roots by finding coherence in the concepts of coram Deo, Christian paideia, and the Great Commission will yield fruit for earnest Christian parents and their children.

Let the exploration begin!

Coram Deo: The Essence of the Christian Life

Christians are followers and imitators of Christ. How, then, should Christians live?

Live like Christ. To put it simply, the Latin phrase “coram Deo” means “before the face of God.” In an article titled “What Does ‘Coram Deo’ Mean?”, R. C. Sproul explained: “To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God.”

Life in the Presence of God

God is omnipresent. In and out of church, in the marketplace or in the home school, we need to understand there is no escaping from God.

Life under the Authority of God

This calls for an awareness of God’s sovereignty over all and involves voluntary submission rather than subjection out of fear of being punished. The sovereignty of God means God is in control of everything all the time.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).

There is no separating from God’s love.

Life to the Glory of God

The first question-and-answer of the Westminster Larger Catechism (1648) succinctly claims:

1. What is the chief and highest end of man?

Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.

A self-denying and God-honoring life finds imperishable joy in the presence of God. Any other goal and ambition will seem unimportant in the light of His glory.

More to the point, as R. C. Sproul wrote: “To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration. It is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction, and chaos.”

However, quite a few Christian parents and students approach life with compartmentalism, leaving God at church and keeping Him out of education. The aftermath is evident as reflected in the widespread lack of love of learning and disinterest in seeking truth, goodness, and beauty.

And so a genuine Christian life calls for a Christian paideia. 

Christian Paideia: The Enculturation of the Kingdom Citizen

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph 6:4, ESV)

To better understand this statement, let’s define our terms first. The Greek word for “discipline” is “paideia.” According to Douglas Wilson, to the Greeks, “the paideia was all-encompassing and involved nothing less than the enculturation of the future citizen.”²

And Merriam-Webster defines “enculturation” as “the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values.”

How should Christians make sense of these ideas? 

Enculturation Is All-Encompassing

Douglas Wilson explained that Christian paideia is much more than taking children to church, having family time for devotions, and providing a classical Christian curriculum. Paideia involves bringing an ideal culture about so that the task of shaping an ideal man can be maintained. Besides academics, Christians should also be mindful of the whole of the surrounding cultures (the people, books, songs, movies, etc.) that instruct and influence our children.

Enculturation Is Intentional

What Robert Bortins, the CEO of Classical Conversations, wrote in the 2024 catalog echoed the importance of Christian paideia and resonated with me:

“Now more than ever, we cannot be neutral. It is time to intentionally weave a Christ-centered worldview into every aspect of our children’s lives. We begin with a Christian curriculum that glorifies the Creator and not the creation, one with God in the center and not our students. In the communities of Classical Conversations, we explore what the Bible says about math, science, history, and more. Your views will be strengthened, not undermined.”³

We have to be conscious, determined, and purposeful. We must enculturate our children with a Christian worldview through a God-centered education in the hope of equipping them to go into the world but not conform to the world.

With an intentionally established culture as manifested in classical Christian communities, Christian paideia is possible even in Taiwan.

Enculturation Is Integral

As exhorted by Paul in Ephesians 6:4, it is required of Christian fathers to nurture, train, and teach the bodies, minds, and souls of their children. This way, they may see everything through the lens of Christianity and “come into their own personhood before God.”⁴

These will be the generations of those who seek to obey Him in everything they do, whose point of view is holistic and eternal.

This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes:

My classmate was bitten by a ‘hundred-pace viper.’ It’s said that, having been bitten by such a viper, one is sure to die after walking a hundred paces. He insisted on walking down the mountain to the hospital . . . but when he was about ninety-something steps in, I saw that something wasn’t quite right, and I was certain he only had one step left to live. So, I caught a few more hundred-pace snakes to bite him dozens of times. I figured that should add up to a few thousand steps, right?!

This is a joke, but this is also no joke.

It is a joke because the math is correct, but the result is fatal. It is no joke because of how true it is that so many parents approach education this way.

Without an integrated perspective, whatever seems logical and pragmatic right here and right now may eventually do us a substantial disservice.

The Great Commission: The Evangelization of One’s Own Children

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-21, ESV)

Christians are familiar with this command from Jesus Christ, and a multitude of believers are faithfully fulfilling the commission. Christian parents, may I suggest we go home and make disciples of our children first? Parents are entrusted with children, and it is our responsibility to lead these precious souls to Jesus.

How do we lead the children?

Lead by Learning

As the disciples learned from their Teacher Jesus, so should parents first become disciples of Jesus and learn to be faithful stewards of the Word of God. Leigh Bortins wrote, “I believe children learn best when their parents and teachers are their heroes.”⁵. When parents take the lead in learning, children will follow suit.

Lead by Teaching

After learning comes teaching. Teach the whole counsel of God, all the essential things as God revealed concerning our salvation and service to Him. Sin, repentance, faith redemption, regeneration, resurrection, salvation, God’s judgment. Teach children in the way they should go, so that they will not depart from it even when they are old.

Lead by the Power of the Holy Spirit

Finally, we can do nothing apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to follow the lead of the Spirit so we can obey the Word of God that we learn and teach. When children see a submissive life combined with persistent prayer, we lead them not by might nor power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. (Zech 4:6)

Lead Learners, Assemble!

It is my humble hope and prayer that when Christian parents in Taiwan earnestly seek a deeper understanding of the coherence of coram Deo, Christian paideia, and the Great Commission, they will find the sublime value of the God-centered, parent-led Classical Christian communities.

All in all, this great and glorious task is calling for serious Christian parents who are willing to be lead learners in all aspects of the Christian life and yearning for intentional whole-person training together with like-minded believers.

Raising our children, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ is fulfilling the Great Commission. I believe it is truly a good endeavor worth doing that is beautiful in the sight of our Father in Heaven.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor 15:58, ESV)

May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you all!

The post Homeschooling in Taiwan: Coram Deo, Christian Paideia, and the Great Commission appeared first on Classical Conversations.

In this blog post, homeschool mom Joyce Pierce shares her incredible journey from hesitant educator to leader in the global homeschooling movement. Driven by faith and a whispered calling, she has embarked on an adventure that transcends borders and transforms lives—not just her own family but countless others in Brazil.

Through laughter, challenges, and moments of grace, Joyce reveals the power of homeschooling to cultivate faith, ignite passion, and empower the next generation of “Light Warriors” in a world yearning for change.

Classical Conversations Brazil

Homeschooling: It’s Bigger than Your Family

“It’s bigger than your family.”

I often heard this small voice in the early months when I felt the pull towards homeschooling. We were pretty certain God was calling us to homeschool, but I needed confirmation. I knew it was a God-sized task, and this tiny human was intimidated. Our family makeup at the time was three precious kiddos. My first son was five, and his brother was born a short fourteen months later. They had a baby sister who was one.

As we assessed our school options, we agreed that homeschooling had always been on the table since my husband and I had previously met on the mission field. We spent our first two years of marriage serving in Fortaleza, Brazil. By the time our eldest son was ready for school, we were living in Texas, but we longed to be back in ministry overseas.

The idea that school would be based in the home would bring a sense of stability no matter what transitions lay ahead and no matter where we lived. But as kindergarten was knocking on our door, I wanted to reconsider homeschooling and do what seemed like the easier option. After all, our son had gotten into the charter school we visited and loved.

So, all was going well.

The Miracle: Feeding the Multitude

Except it wasn’t! Neither my husband nor I felt at peace sending our son to school.

I felt like Moses arguing with the Lord upon his call. I told the Lord I didn’t have what it took. I wasn’t a college-educated schoolteacher. I wasn’t confident that my bachelor’s in social work would help much in the education of my children.

How would my degree in social work help with high school chemistry and trigonometry?

The Lord took me to His miracle in Matthew 14, where He fed the 5,000.

Jesus told the disciples not to send the crowd away but to feed them. The disciples responded with a convincing argument that the provision on hand wasn’t sufficient for the problem. It was a simple supply/demand issue.

Jesus told the disciples to bring them to Him The miracle that follows is simply fantastic. The disciples brought the sparse resources they had, putting them in Jesus’s hand, and He miraculously multiplied them. The result was abundance. The hungry were fed. They were satisfied. And there were twelve baskets of leftovers.

In the coming years, I would see this miracle play out in the life of my family. I identified with the disciples’ desperation to get those hungry people fed. I had my son’s big blue eyes looking at me, hungry to learn, and found myself echoing the sentiment of the disciples, “I don’t have the resources to school him.” Yet, like the disciples, I didn’t have the right resources to meet the need at hand.

And the solution was the same: Bring your son, the Lord said. Bring your talents to Me.

The Journey Begins

We began homeschooling in the fall of 2014.

The days were incredibly sweet. My firstborn sat ready and eager to learn. My second born, to my surprise, also happily joined and learned alongside his brother. Their baby sister would take her morning nap while we studied. I loved snuggling on the couch and experiencing classic stories together as I read aloud. Watching my son learn to read and fall in love with books felt like such a privilege. I got to be there for each breakthrough moment.

The investment of my time and energy came back with rich blessings.

The First Years

That first year, we used a literature-based curriculum. It was a great choice for a kindergarten curriculum. I was uncertain about the second year, as I would start kindergarten with my second son. There was also a new addition arriving in the fall of that year. Our fourth child would be born around the start of the school year.

I was still a new homeschool mom. I was only confident in the fact that I had a lot to learn. Year two of homeschooling meant schooling two kiddos, having a two-year-old who brought lots of color to our days, and bringing a newborn into the mix.

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed.

It was my custom to attend a local homeschool conference each Spring. So there I was, in May 2015, at a homeschool conference, researching, seeking out options, and praying the Lord would continue to guide us.

I had chosen my curriculum. We would remain with the literature-based curriculum we’d used the first year. The books were at the booth, waiting for me to swipe my credit card.

It was the end of the day. I was six months pregnant with my fourth baby and desperately needed a chair to sit in. I found my chair in a Classical Conversations breakout session.

Embracing Classical Conversations

And I was completely captivated by the things I heard.

The vision of CC was to know God and Make Him known. The aim was that each subject would point back to God. The foundation was a biblical worldview. Each subject was examined through the lens of scripture.

This was my heartbeat. This was the goal of our home for our children.

Was this the curriculum we needed to adopt for year two?

After talking with my husband and attending an information meeting, we confirmed the decision to do Classical Conversations.

We immediately fell in love.

Both of my boys—the first grader and kindergartener—and I adored CC. The joy of a community day filled our cups to overflowing. My babies enjoyed the nursery. Doing life with other families with more experience provided insight and encouragement this new homeschool momma needed.

Becoming a Tutor

A couple of years in, our Director approached us, asking me to consider being a Foundations Tutor. I was reluctant. I wasn’t sure I could juggle all the demands.

But I sensed the Lord’s nudge again. Our community had a need, and perhaps I was called to help fill it. I attended Tutor training.  I found my inner Mary Poppins that year. Engaging little minds each week proved to be a great source of fun.

What a privilege it was to join other families in helping nurture the love of learning.

“It’s Bigger Than Your Family” Comes to Fruition

In December 2018, I learned of Classical Conversations beginning in Brazil.

Through a series of God-ordained events, I was invited to go down to Atibaia, Brazil’s first Practicum, and give the first Foundations Tutor Training.

The opportunity excited me. I am Brazilian. My family moved to the US when I was five years old, and my husband and I had already served in Brazil as missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ. I have a huge heart for God’s work in Brazil. I was sure the Lord was moving in that culture to further His Kingdom through education.

My sweet husband agreed to hold down the fort with our four kids while I spent a few days with these new homeschooled families.

The First Practicum

The first Practicum in Brazil was an extremely emotional experience—not just for me but for all families who participated. I heard testimony after testimony of mommas who were looking for education options for their kids and had come across CC online.

Though their stories varied and their residences spanned the entire country of Brazil, a common thread was interwoven in each account. They had dreamed of Classical Conversations for their children. Their dream was literally coming true.

There is a moment from that Practicum that is etched in stone in my mind.

I stood up to begin the training and froze in time before all those families. It was a big Practicum, and the Foundations training mirrored the size. That faint whisper of our call to homeschool had suddenly become a voice that was almost audible.

It’s bigger than your family.

The Lord moved miraculously during that Practicum. These families gathered in Atibaia, Brazil, for three days, then scattered to all corners of the country to implement what they’d learned. Classical Conversations communities sprang up all over Brazil.

It was beautiful.

Classical Conversations Practicum

Kingdom Work in Brazil

As for me, I returned to the States with a burning desire to remain connected to what the Lord was doing through homeschooling—and specifically through CC —in Brazil. We’d actually been praying for God to open doors for us to return to Brazil. We’d asked Him to show us a ministry where we could serve and pursue His Kingdom in Brazil. That first Practicum was where the Lord began to reveal to us His plans for our return to Brazil.

In 2019, my family and I had the privilege to move to Brazil.

My husband was helping to launch a Christ-centered education movement called Christian Halls in the US and Brazil. This program partners with Christian Universities to provide high-quality, affordable, locally-tutored formation.

In Brazil, it also includes Classical Conversations.

It has been an immense privilege to watch the Lord’s hand in furthering His Kingdom through education here in Brazil. We get to homeschool alongside families that are intentional, committed, and passionate. These families have to be incredibly brave as the current Brazilian government does not look favorably on homeschooling and is increasingly posing a threat to their call to homeschool. Getting to do life alongside these families has been sharpening and inspiring.

Classical Education and My Family

Since moving to Brazil, the Lord has gifted us with two more baby boys to shepherd. We are now a family of eight. We have five boys and one little lady! My oldest son is in Challenge II, my second son is in Challenge B, my daughter is in Foundations and Essentials, and my fourth son is in Foundations. Then we’ve got a one-year-old and a three-year-old to add color and laughter to our days!

The process of classical education is astonishingly rich.

It has been so fun watching the seeds of Foundations and Essentials bloom and flourish in the lives of my two older sons. Now, having two Challenge students, I am able to deepen the studies with my Foundations and Essentials students with a more thorough understanding of how to better prepare them.

In some ways, I feel as though my life is a classical cycle. I get two kids to the next level and circle back with more tools to apply to my middle two. When my middle two get to the Challenge years, I have the babies to nurture in Foundations and Essentials with certainly even more nuggets of wisdom to apply.

What an honor!

In a world that is upside down and backward, I count it an enormous privilege to journey alongside this little tribe that God has entrusted to me and my husband. How beautiful that we get to teach them to see the world through the Lord’s eyes and in His design! May they be well-trained to be Light Warriors in this dark world.

And, as if getting to homeschool six amazing kids weren’t enough, He’s placed us in my home country as He launches His plan to change culture through education and allows us— the Pierce Clan—to labor alongside Him as He brings the ultimate plans to fruition.

Though my family is, by modern standards, quite large, the call to homeschool is truly way bigger than my family!

The post The Call: Homeschooling in Brazil appeared first on Classical Conversations.

In the following blog post, Naara Urrea—homeschool mom, Foundations/Essentials Director, Local Representative, community manager, and missionary—shares her journey through motherhood and her experience homeschooling around the world and in her own home in Chile.

Education and Provision in Malawi

It was a long wait until I became a mom—fifteen years, to be more precise. During those years of longing to embrace my own children, I decided to love as many kids as possible. Nephews, nieces, cousins, my friend’s kids . . . well, you get the picture.

It was a long journey—sometimes painful—but God had promised my husband and me that we would be parents of hundreds of children, and we believed him.

Years went by, and we moved to live in Malawi, East Africa, to become missionaries. Over a four-year period, we met people from all over the globe. We made new friends who were also serving, and all of them were homeschooling.

Mulungu Apatsa: “God Provides”

They introduced us to a new way of education that we were not familiar with.

In Chile, in those years, we never met anyone homeschooling. We loved seeing their kids learning not only the common topics but also building their lives with a strong foundation in Scripture and giving them life skills. Under those lenses, my husband and I were committed to home education. They inspired me even though I was childless.

Looking back now, I realized that meeting them made me open my home in Malawi to all the children in my village. Hundreds of them started to come and see the “nzungu” (“white” or foreigner) reading English books to them, handing over some broken pencils, some toys, and pieces of fabric to show them how to sew, and loving them as my own.

Oh my, those busy days! They bring tears of joy as I remember their happy faces. From that small beginning, we started a project in 2012 after we returned home, which is still running today: a school in the middle of nowhere by a remote area in Lake Malawi.

The name is Mulungu Apatsa, which means “God Provides.”

Motherhood and Homeschooling in Chile

 You might wonder what that has to do with homeschooling.

Well, after 15 years of marriage, I was expecting my first baby!

God did it! Our miracle was in the making. My daughter was born in May in Chile, and we called her Mary Grace. She’s the one who officially inaugurated our home school.

The Fear of Failure

Yet, despite my unmeasurable joy for having her, I was full of fear, not knowing how I would homeschool her without failing. As a mom, everything looked much harder now than I’d pictured seeing my friends doing with their kids in Africa! And all of my friends and relatives here had their kids in school.

I felt as if I was swimming against the current until, one day, the Lord reminded me of his promise of provision found always in everything in Him. He was going to be with me all the way.

I started homeschooling my child boldly, though underneath it all, I experienced the fear of not being good enough to teach her.

Unexpectedly, three years later, my second miracle arrived! The doctors told me that I was never going to be able to have any children . . . and here I was laughing just as Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth did and praising God once again.

I became a mom of a three-year-old girl and a newborn baby girl by the mercies of our faithful God.

Now, I was determined to do my best to teach these precious girls. I put on a brave face, but honestly, I was battling the fear of failing most of the time. I tried to connect with some friends here and there, but everyone was using a different curriculum or homeschooling method.

Mission and Connection in Peru

Then, we moved to serve as missionaries in Lima, Peru.

No one I knew was homeschooling there, and I had to start all over again, building some new friendships and preparing myself with any tools I could find. It felt very lonely having just them at home and no one else to share their advances. Most of our new friends were so busy with long school hours that it was so hard to have playdates or simple trips to a museum. While we loved being there, homeschooling became a great challenge to me, and I wondered if I should carry on or maybe enroll them in a school like everyone else I knew.

Classical Conversations: God Provides

Two years later, we came back to Chile.

We had to leave our dear new friends and routines again and start all over. I must say that I was anxious about homeschooling, and I started searching for schools in the area we were moving.

I knew God had called me to teach my children, but I wasn’t very excited to continue. I felt lost, and most of my materials were packed in suitcases while we were traveling for about two months, ministering to churches in southern Chile.

Thankfully, I saw some light ahead of me when we found a home after tirelessly searching during the several months of lockdown due to the pandemic. The Lord helped us to find a nice place in the countryside of Santiago in 2020, which enabled us to learn out in nature despite the COVID-19 restrictions.

And it so happened that one of my neighbors was an old friend and colleague from our former church who was not only homeschooling her three kids but also directing a homeschool community with Classical Conversations!

God always provides!

Connection, Community, and Classical Conversations

It was the first time I’d ever heard of Classical Conversations. I was curious about the program, but I didn’t understand much, as classical education was new to me.

At the end of 2020, we went to an Open House. My girls were eight and five years old at that time, and I saw them thriving and having so much fun! I made some new friends too and found old ones in the same community! Bonus!

At last, I’d come across something I didn’t know my family needed: connection.

One can homeschool with passion and a whole heart, but having a friend who is there with you and knows exactly how you feel, either cheering you up or crying with you, gives the experience meaning and accountability. Someone you can learn from and to whom you can offer your support in turn.

I’m beyond grateful to have found just that in these last three years of homeschooling together with such beautiful families. Some of them have moved away, but new ones have been added, which is such a gift to us.

Overcoming Fear and Becoming a Parent-Leader

I was invited to be a Tutor for Foundations in 2021, and from 2022 until the present, I’ve had the privilege of becoming a Foundations/Essentials Director. I’ve loved serving these beautiful families and seeing my girls as my best advocates anytime we shared our homeschool journey with friends.

One of the reasons I decided to continue was that I am sure God called me to teach my kids. Now I know for sure what He is able to equip the ones he calls. He’s always faithful, and He is not surprised when he sees me going a few steps back in my mind, thinking if what I teach is good enough for them or not. 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing . . . he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23, NIV

As if my story wouldn’t have enough flavor (ha ha), last year, I was invited to be part of the International Leader Team to oversee the North of Chile and north of Santiago. That role has expanded my mind as I’ve embraced Directors and families beyond my circle. It’s such an honor to get to know them and cheer them up as they start their own communities. My heart is so grateful to God for sending Classical Conversations my way and for the resources shared that make my life so much easier and enrich the way I teach at home.

I’ve had so many opportunities to grow personally, and my girls have too. They learned to love learning, and they still love their mom-teacher. I’m looking forward to serving anywhere God puts me and to celebrating the lives of my two girls (eleven and eight years old today) as I witness firsthand how they know God and make him known.

Laying Down My Fears at the Feet of Jesus

Maybe more fears will arise as the Challenge years approach, but I’m laying down my fear at the feet of Jesus. I know he will be with me all the way, and I’ll share about his goodness.

He doesn’t want my perfection(ism); He wants my heart surrendered to him and totally dependent on him. I do my part—I study, read, and plan—but at the end of the day, my fear is silenced when I recall his Word and lean on him: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5–6, NLT).

I invite you to lay down your fear, too, for God is faithful!

Speaking of missionaries and homeschools, learn more about how the Classical Conversations Foundation supports homeschool families on missions, and join the John 1:1 Mission Partner Campaign!

The post From Fear to Faith: A Global Journey through Motherhood and Homeschooling appeared first on Classical Conversations.

Classical Conversations International had a wonderful year of growth and firsts.

About the Classical Conversations International Team

My name is Keith Denton, VP of International Business for Classical Conversations, and I would like to share with you what CC International is doing around the world.

The CC International team consists of myself; Jennifer Martin, Sales Manager; Shelly Stockton, Academic Liaison; and Marlene Bos, Project Manager/Administration. The entire Classical Conversations home office supports us, and we are truly blessed to have them helping us grow.

We thoroughly enjoy serving the international CC community and love helping our leadership and Christian Families in fifty-nine countries and on every continent (except Antarctica, of course!).

The CC International Team also supports many CC Communities with United States military families who are serving overseas.

A Brief Overview of CC International

Classical Conversations began investing in translating its core curriculum into additional languages in 2018. We lead the market in providing classical Christian homeschool curricula in Russia (Russian) and Brazil (Portuguese.) Many families are joining CC communities in countries across Central and South America with our Spanish translation of our curriculum. In CC Connected, we currently translate assets for business and parent support.

To grow our communities worldwide, we support many strong country leaders whom we call Country Coordinators, who manage all the activities in their country. We also continue to look for Christian homeschool leaders in additional countries worldwide.

Our Country Coordinators set up their own country bookstores outside the United States to support countries with CC resources.

There are also 22 Academic Advisors worldwide supporting our Team Leaders and Directors with translation interpretations and curriculum questions to maintain the quality and integrity of the curriculum.

CC International in 2023

Because CC International supports CC Communities worldwide, we manage two different Academic Calendars with our curriculum.

The United States is in the world’s Northern Hemisphere (above the equator) and operates in an academic year that is usually August to May, bridging two calendar years.

The Southern Hemisphere academic year, which countries like Brazil, Australia, and South Africa use, usually meets from February to November in the same calendar year.

Growth across the Globe

CC International follows the same cycle-specific curriculum and has surpassed over 11,000 seats for student enrollments and 1750 programs this year.

The number of Foundations programs increased by 387 alone, with Brazil leading the way in percentage of growth.

CC Connected Launches

The new CC Connected was launched for community management and information in international countries.

CC Connected has been well received internationally, and many countries that do not have the ability to receive print materials have been able to receive digital files through CC Connected.

The Learning Forum Draws Multitudes

CC International participated in the Learning Forum in Orlando in October this year and hosted its first Learning Forum in Asia in November. Leaders represented nine countries and four continents.

The commitment level for helping parents and learning their leadership role with Classical Conversations is amazing. Three attendees had never been away from their families before and made the trip to the CC Learning Forum to learn and share together.

The feedback from the event affirmed that we achieved our goals and became a closer CC International Team with our Asia region. International leaders from Canada, Chile, and the United Kingdom participated in the Orlando Forum.

The Global Representative Initiative Kicks Off

Another first this year, we began our Global Representative Initiative, in which we are able to support mission-based persons going abroad. We support parents supporting many mission initiatives away from the United States.

Please email international@classicalconversations.com to learn more about this opportunity.

A New Community Takes Root in Ethiopia

Our Africa region had its very first practicum for its first Ethiopian community this year. The family and community commitment is outstanding.

Here is a story of the mom who led worship, Simone Billson, Country Coordinator, Africa:

The momma leading worship in Ethiopia began her day traveling by horse and cart to a hired motorbike, then walked for a while, where she met another hired taxi to get her to the practicum 1.5 hours away. She arrived . . . on time . . . with joy in her heart . . . and led worship for the practicum! What a testimony to how far some travel, in adventurous ways, to attend these encouraging events!

New Training with Classical Tools

Academically, we had two groups of international leaders successfully go through our International Classical Tools Training led by Shelly Stockton and Jody Battley, UK Academic Advisor, where we dug deeper into developing the skills of using the classical tools of learning.

We are also now referring to the International Classical Cohort or ICC, which is only available in International Regions.

Here is one of the testimonials from attending the ICTT sessions:

This was going to be my exodus year. 2023 was going to be the end of my short journey of 6 years directing the Challenge program in Singapore. But somehow, when ICTT came up, I said yes without a second thought and just rolled along with all the meeting times. And like the ice cube in the palm that Janine spoke about—God was changing my mind.

He was changing my mind about my role in Classical Conversations, changing my mind about all the toxic conversations and feedback that I have received about CC in Singapore, and opened my mind to behold truly the gift that CC has been to me and my family.

And something clicked in me. It took three semesters of reading, discussing, and listening . . . and more listening. I could not get away from the truth that GOD had blessed us. And if God had blessed us, then I want to be used by Him to bless others, too. They do not know that they need His Gift yet . . . and so my rhetoric must get to them . . . .that CC is a gift from God to families and can be a gift to them too.

I do not know which part exactly it was. How do you know which part of the ice cube started melting first? But there was praise to God, testimony of God at work . . . and so my heart was changed.

I loved the choice of books and the accessibility and practice of classical tools, and I hope to bring this to more families for God’s Glory. And so—thank you.

First Graduates in Canada, Brazil, and the UK

To close out our lists of firsts for 2023, CC International had our first Challenge graduates in Canada, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

What a difference our CC Graduates will make in this world!

Our Very Own Podcast

One of the wonderful marketing items we have been producing for a little over a year is the Global Homeschool Minute podcast.

The Global Homeschool Minute Podcast is a wonderful place to go and listen to some interesting interviews with Global Homeschool leaders. Some of these leaders work with Classical Conversations, and other guests make a difference by advocating for home education in many countries. Every time I host one of these podcasts, I hear many impact stories that these leaders are having worldwide.

I encourage you to take a listen.

CC International in 2024 and Beyond

For 2024, we have a lot of events planned in each country where we have CC Communities. They host Parent Practicums, Information meetings, and open houses.

We will have our first Spanish-speaking Learning Forum in Panama City, Panama, in February 2024 for our Spanish-speaking country leadership.

Classical Conversations supports many events around the world to promote global home education. Classical Conversations Inc. supported events in Africa and Croatia for regional Global Home Education Exchange events. I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the one in Nairobi, Kenya. We also had representation at the Croatia GHEX event.

In 2024, a Global Home Education Conference will be sponsored by GHEX in Manchester, England. Over 1000 people are expected to attend. There will be many interesting breakout sessions and panels where homeschool leaders from around the world share and comment on different homeschool movements and research track sessions.

Anyone from around the world is welcome to attend, and you can find the event information on the GHEX website.

Thanks from CC International

CC International is truly thankful for the support Robert and Leigh Bortins give us and the many prayers and homeschool leaders that have gone before us. Thank you for reading this blog, and we do appreciate all your support and any new opportunities in countries you wish to pass our way. We will do our best to help them start a CC Community.

Visit the CC International website.

Grace and peace to you all.

The post Classical Conversations International: Looking Back at 2023 appeared first on Classical Conversations.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to many of the Classical Conversations communities in South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The privilege of seeing how CC has impacted mothers and children across Africa is something that is often difficult to explain to others.

Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love, and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.

—Stevie Wonder

The Heart of a Mother

No matter where I go, one thing that I find stands out is the heart of a mother for her children. There is just something about a mother knowing she has the ability and privilege to impact generations to come.

A mother who knows that serving in the smallness of her own home—who knows she can raise leaders that will impact the world—strikes me as one of the most powerful forces on earth,  and every time, that scene moves me to tears.

The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.

—Henry Ward Beecher

We have all seen photos of Africa: some are magnificent and breathtaking, and some are just plain heartbreaking.

And when you step into the midst of this, you realize just how much some mothers sacrifice and how there are no worldly measures of how much they love their children.

Having the opportunity to offer their children a better education means more to these moms than can be described in words.

In the midst of having very little, something as precious as classical education is a currency of immeasurable value.

Read: “Classical, Christian Education: A Brief Overview”

Homeschoolers in South Africa

It is easy to become very complacent in the comfort of our homes and even complain about the disruption of comfort.

In South Africa, we are experiencing rolling blackouts up to twelve hours a day.

Over the last ten years, this was a reality that ebbed and flowed, but for the last year, it has become a permanency. Moms plan meals, school times, shopping, driving, and so much more around the times they will have power or not. Just being able to print something, cook a meal, or charge a phone becomes a matter of timing it right. And more often than not, the outage schedule changes without prior notice, making it even harder to plan!

We often say that we have become resilient and can face anything, but lighthearted platitudes do not make it less stressful or difficult or, at times, just plain worth crying over.

I have seen how a mother’s heart becomes a child’s schoolroom in the midst of these times. Being faced with constant difficulties grows a mother’s character, her faith, and her ability to teach more than just the book in ways like no fancy schoolroom ever can.

Our kids are watching all the time, and this is true no matter where we live. We must choose what we teach in these times and what we model to our kids. Many families now use nighttime without power for family games, family read-alouds, and sharing stories.

In many ways, these challenges force us to go back to basics or stick in the sand, as CC calls it. We learn that it is not by the wealth of the materials we use that our children are educated well but by the love and wisdom a mom shares in the midst of difficulty and struggles.

Homeschoolers in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, we had a Practicum for the moms in the community I visited.

I remember there was one mom who traveled to Practicum by horse carriage, then in a baja, then by taxi—and she also walked part of the way. She made it to the Practicum on time and with a smile on her face, ready to serve the rest of us and lead us in worship.

I was moved to tears knowing what she had to go through to just meet us on that day and so many other days. It is difficult to comprehend the lengths some people must go through to join a community.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. —Nelson Mandela

The reality is that in Africa, there are often times when even water and electricity become a luxury. For many, these are basic necessities, and we give them little thought. For others, these are luxuries. And all of this does impact how we see life and why and how we teach our kids to become better leaders for our communities and societies.

Read: “9 Reasons to Attend Practicum”

 Homeschoolers in Kenya

In Kenya, I met with moms from different parts of Nairobi for our Practicum.

Though the circumstances were not quite as hard as in Ethiopia, these moms still face many challenges. However, the gratitude they share in being able to share in a community that offers a world-class education to their children cannot be transcribed by mere words.

There is a sense of community amongst those moms that can only be felt with your heart, and when you do, it fills you with deep, deep gratitude to God and all His mercies and grace towards us.

The Hands of a Mother

I came home from all my travels with my heart overflowing.

I left on these trips knowing I would go to offer them a CC practicum sharing tools, but I came home with lessons in having joy in the midst of extreme difficulty and knowing God is and stays our provider, no matter what. These lessons I carry with me, knowing that no matter what I face, gratitude and a mother’s love do make a world of difference.

And now, one thing I know for sure: no matter who you are and where you live, as mothers, we can and will change the world one CC community at a time.

And in the end, no matter where you live or what you have, when there are no worldly riches to give, it is in the joy being shared and the grace we can tangibly feel that truth is shared with words, beauty is seen through the eyes, and goodness is felt in the hands of a loving mother . . .

That best academy, a mother’s knee.

—James Russell Lowell

The post Classical Conversations in Africa appeared first on Classical Conversations.

Military life is one of constant change, and with each new adventure arises a set of challenges and logistics with which to wrestle. Maybe, like me, you often meditate and ponder the future, attempting to strategize every detail. But Jesus challenges us not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself and each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). What is the practical application of this verse? How can we ground ourselves in the present?

We must consciously choose to anchor ourselves in gratitude.

Gratitude in the Situation

“You are moving to Japan!”

After the initial excitement of another international military move, all the uncertainties began to overwhelm us. Where will we live? Where will we go to church? Is there Classical Conversations in Japan?

At the time, Japan did not have a CC community, and it felt like the rug had been ripped out from underneath us. After ten years of homeschooling, we had finally found that community, curriculum, and course that had been missing with our first two homeschool graduates.

What would we do now?

In my despondency, my then-Foundations Director encouraged me to attend a Window into Challenge event. Despite the ages of our two youngest—three and five—this happened to be the salve my battered heart needed because it provided the space I required to reflect upon all that the Lord had done and what He was still doing and to remind me that He was guiding our future.

Find a Classical Conversations Event

I answered the Lord’s call to begin a community in Japan, which in turn perpetuated an ongoing ripple effect for our family and countless others. Twelve years later, God has prepared me to build community despite the obstacles and regardless of that next “duty station.”

Because of the fortitude and love of those before us, we were never without a community, and now we have a Challenge IV graduate and a soon-to-be Challenge II student. The mission, vision, and method of Classical Conversations has been the consistent and stabilizing factor during our nomadic naval adventures.

Find a Classical Conversations Community

Gratitude in the Circumstances

Once committed to the role of Director in Japan, I found that the circumstances proved uniquely challenging: military rules, Japanese rules, language barriers, finding facilities, time zones, shipping, etc. CC was largely unknown in Japan, and now I was separated by thousands of miles from all that was familiar.

One particular hurdle to navigate that stood out was the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which establishes boundaries for Americans interacting with the host nation. Despite my ignorance of the nuances of the SOFA, I specifically prayed that the Lord would bring Japanese families to our new community. And He did!

At the time of my prayer, I had no idea that the SOFA limits business relations between Americans and Japanese. After diligent research and many conversations as a community, we were able to come up with a plan to serve these families as a ministry. Through adversity, life-long relationships were forged because we trusted in Him to provide the way.

Start a Classical Conversations Community

Gratitude in the People

Living internationally for the past seven years has amplified my awareness of the high caliber of families that gravitate toward CC. As a military family, we probably jump into churches, neighborhoods, friendships, and communities a little quicker than your average family because if we don’t, our time vaporizes, and we are on to our next duty station.

I am inspired and honored to serve beside many mommas and Directors with a huge capacity for making the most of their time and persevering despite the unknowns or challenges they will face.

This year, a new Director in Okinawa learned just a couple of days after signing the contract that she needed to find a new facility. Internationally, this could be a community killer because we rely solely on churches. SOFA limitations, entangled taxes, and small churches with few willing to open their doors to outside programs or ministries can all put an end to a community. And yet this Director’s prayerful tenacity, grace, and desire to serve secured the much-needed space.

In The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, the villain instructs his nephew to keep the patient separated from eternity by planting seeds of fear for the future: “Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.”

Keeping our eyes on the Perfector of our faith and eternity will ground us in the present, keep us grateful for the past, and restore our rest in His providence for our future. Despite the obstacles, there is so much life-giving joy that flows out of the fortitude and perseverance of Directors that rely on Him, utilizing His gifts to lay a legacy for others.

I humbly implore you to be anchored in gratitude, attend to the cares of today, and despite the challenges that will come, enter into His rest as you trust Him with your future.

The post The Homeschooling Military Life: Anchored in Gratitude appeared first on Classical Conversations.

In celebration of World Homeschooler’s Day this June 2, 2023, we would like to highlight one South African mom’s experience as a homeschooler. Although it’s spring in the United States, it’s winter in South Africa. While we’re enjoying warmth and sunshine, let’s remember also that our brothers and sisters on the other side of the equator are experiencing cold and gloom.

And so, as you read, please keep all those in need of God’s light and warmth in your prayers—for some winters are winters of the heart.

Summer’s Ease, Autumn’s Leaves

For as long as I can remember, winter has held a special meaning for me. I love the often-slower pace, warming up under a blanket, hot chocolate, and good books.

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!” —Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Not many people share this sentiment, and I often get stares when I reveal this secret love of mine. For many, winter holds long, dark nights and feeling cold, afraid, or even just restricted.

As a homeschool mom, my heart often goes through seasons.

At times, I find myself in summer: things are going well, we are making steady progress, and for the most part, my heart is at ease.

But just as the seasons change around us, summer does not last.

I head into autumn. In my home school, this would be the time we are scrambling to finish our last lessons. I am often walking with some restlessness in my heart about what we did not finish or accomplish.

But, as in autumn when trees lose their leaves, this is also often the season of having to let go of certain expectations, surrendering control of our perfect plans and accepting the invitation of our Heavenly Father to hear what is on His heart.

Read: “Homeschoolers: 5 Things Not to Do This Summer”

A Season of Growth, A Season to Let Go

I remember so clearly how in the early days I thought that if I had the perfect plan, schedule, and space, our home school would be, well, “perfect” . . .

That did not last long. I had to learn to let go of my perfect plans and make sure that my roots were growing deeper in the places it mattered and that I wasn’t just ticking off certain boxes.

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” —J. R. R. Tolkien

The reality is that when God invites us into the journey of motherhood and homeschooling, He knows it will entail many seasons of growth and the letting go of habits and ideas which will not bear fruit. And He always extends the invitation to more of Him, the invitation to settle into the warmth of His embrace so He can cover us with His love like a warm winter coat.

Winter brings with it a time for reassessment, because it is in the heart’s winter season when we doubt what we do as moms and homeschool teachers and when it feels like the difficult stretches might not come to an end.

Yet, if we turn our faces to our heavenly Father and ask Him to place in us the seeds for something beautiful, He reminds us the problems we encounter bring with them an invitation of growth. Difficult times grow character, and they can force us to change our perspective of where we are headed and the real reasons we chose to homeschool.

When we choose to embrace the hard times with His grace, the mundane routines and the never-ending battles to complete work become more bearable and easier to handle.

“Grace grows best in winter.” —Samuel Rutherford

Winter’s Grace, Spring’s Embrace

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul quotes Jesus, who said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (NIV).

It is during the winter seasons of our hearts that this passage really come alive. As we pass through winter and allow Father to pour more of His grace into our days, the difficult becomes easier to deal with. And as winter passes and the first buds make their way in the announcement of spring, so do our hearts become lighter.

I learn during the winter times that I need to offload the heaviness, despite wanting to be in control and needing to force my own plans. It is in this time that I learn that even when it seems like nothing is happening, God is working. My children and I grow in perseverance and character.

And I am reminded that—just as flowers all bud at different times and fruit trees all have different times for growth—in the same way, each of my children grow and develop differently. But in the end, they will all be like trees planted and growing fruit in their due season. And I need to be faithful in watering them, enriching the soil, and filling them with the truth, goodness, and beauty God offers us through His Word while adding some wonderful stories and watering them with encouraging words and love.

If we are faithful in these things with our eyes turned toward Him, our heart’s winters will make way for yet another spring season, and if we allow Him, God will be able to do His work in the depths of our hearts.

Maybe this is the reason I love winter so much: because during the coldest of nights, there always lies the promise of the most beautiful spring gardens . . .

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” —Anne Bradstreet

Each month, we plan to bring awareness to our wonderful international community and highlight our fellow homeschoolers across the globe.

In the United States of America, homeschooling has been legal in all fifty states since 1993, and we sometimes take our freedom as a given. But in many parts of the world, homeschoolers—and especially Christian homeschoolers—still face distinct challenges and significant obstacles.

Yet, where difficulty arises, grace abounds, and classical homeschoolers around the world are redeeming education victory by victory. We’d like to honor these pioneers in education, share their unique voices, and learn from their much-needed perspectives.

Stay tuned for more International Spotlight articles!

Read more articles from our South African community.

The post From South Africa: Seasons of a Mother’s Heart appeared first on Classical Conversations.