The Daniel Academy

Spent a ton of time on The Daniel Academy this week. We are putting together a classical University Model School or FPPS ( Family Partnership Private School) as the good folks in Kansas City are calling it,

It will have a strong art component- drama, art, music as well as daily doses of Praise, Worship, Adoration, Intercession, Meditative Prayer. Each week the kids will be treated to rock-solid preaching/teaching, leadership and protocol, Scripture Memory and Narrative. In addition they will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with other like minded youth and through that develop excellent friendships. I am so excited about it it's hard not to shout from the rooftops, hence I blog.

Seems like we've been peculating and mulling and refining our hopes for something like this for years. Back in Southern California when I was working on my thesis titled: Why Parents Homeschool, I remember reading outloud to Viking Man some of the research I was doing for the Literature Review. That research has defined much of our lives and the lives of our children for the past decade and a half. We've read tons of books since then and our thinking about education and child rearing and mentoring the spiritual lives of our kids has evolved and changed but one thing we've consistently agreed upon--- government school is not for our kids.

We've heard a lot of comments about that, too: We think we're "too good" for public school. Our kids won't be socialized. We are cheating our kids. Honestly, it's not that we think we're "too good" for public school- it's that we have a different vision for our kids than public school affords. Our kids aren't socialized in the way the average majority expects- they are more mature, more modest, more respectful, more thoughtful....and yes, we have cheated our kids...of some things. We've also enriched our kids lives in areas that are too numerous to even start to mention here.

Alternative educational opportunities, too, seem to be a Rorschach for people's own educational choices. I don't even have to say a word. If someone introduces me as a homeschooler of X years, I'll, more often than not get comments to the effect of : I could never do that. you must have great kids, I don't have the patience, My child doesn't listen to me about x anyway, how would I ever teach them math.....you get the idea.

The fact of the matter is that I'm am not a very patient person- even yet. I do have great kids- truly. Usually those same folks who are insinuating theirs aren't are also commenting on how polite and respectful mine are. I've spent years at this point training them so I appreciate the validation! And I am tempted, but very rarely comment on statements regrading kids who don't listen to their parents. "I'm not a therapist or anything..." (o.k., actually I am) and lack of listening to one's parents is an issue that gets to the heart of a families ultimate belief system.
As far as "never being able to do that" the Christian walk if full of calls first, equipping as you go.

The Daniel Academy is a hybrid program- taking the best of private and homeschool and providing the best of both- at a fraction of the cost. It will consist of a bunch of us who are in the process of being equipped, hungry for more and expecting our kids to listen, learn, and grow in ways that we can't even imagine right now. A group willing to learn patience and eager to see how God equips all of us. You should think about joining us for the ride- it's going to be a blast!!