God Schooling:How God Intended Children to Learn{Review}

I am always so happy when I am blessed with something meant for the homeschooling parent, as opposed to the children to review, and God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco has been a powerful blessing indeed!

For many years now, I have leaned toward a very relaxed, almost Unschooling style of education with my children. In our case, we sort of slid accidentally into this while readying ourselves to move, in 2004, I believe. But when we set out to home school, I was afraid to even try without a boxed curriculum telling me what to do day by day! As it happened, even with a written school in a box curriculum, we stumbled. I became anxious and frustrated when the book said we were supposed to be on “Day 35”, but we were still on “Day 15,” because my first child was having serious trouble with vowel sounds. My husband wisely said “There are no ***** police, just don’t worry about what page you’re on.” {curriculum name blocked out with *****} So, we put away everything except the vowel sounds, and worked on just those for two weeks. And “The Batman” learned them, now that he wasn’t worried about how long it would take, and neither was I! 🙂

I did eventually discover that something different was needed for my boys, and stumbled around until I became a lot more relaxed.

I have read other books by Unschooling authors, and when we moved to New Mexico several years ago we even joined an unschoolers park day group. We didn’t fit in. It appeared that we didn’t fit anywhere, not with the unschoolers (secular), and not with the strict, school in a box groups. We are Christians, but believe more in natural learning. Well, Julie Polanco validates everything I believe about education, all throughout her book! And, she validates it with Biblical support, too! For example:

What about reading, writing, and arithmetic? Shouldn’t they know this by now? Kids in “school” start these things at an early age.

“does a child really need to know how to read at age five?” {Pg. 16, God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn} Biblical support for not following “the traditions of man”: Colossians 2 : 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Julie Polanco rightly points out that while Paul was writing here about rules and restrictions about diet, diet, worship, etc . . . she follows up by stating that it can be applied to any unbiblical philosophy which would be dependent upon human tradition. Things which cause us to trust more in what the world says, rather than in Christ.

How did the people learn in Biblical times? they sat at Jesus’ feet. They followed Him, and learned while doing. I would say, they did not build schools with rows of desks, and a teacher up front, nor did they attempt to replicate that in the home.

After each chapter, the author has written some study questions, which I really liked.
The chapters are:

Part 1: Dispelling Myths

• Biblical Support for Natural Learning
• Motivation & Excellence

Part 2: Practice

• Thoughts on Teaching Children Under Age Eight
• Thoughts on Teaching Children Aged Eight to Twelve
• Giving Teens the Wings to Fly
• Spreading the Banquet
• Getting Started
• Some Q & A
• Record-Keeping and Structure
• Concluding Remarks

Author Julie Polanco is also a regular contributor for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine and the Homeschooling with Heart blog. She is also the high school botany instructor for Schoolhousteachers.com She continues to be a professional freelance writer, with her work appearing in health and wellness, food, and trade publications. She also ghostwrites books for others.

I am blessed to have had the opportunity to review this, Julie Polanco’s latest book, and blessed that she even took the time to write a note with her autograph in my copy!

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