An Interview with a family

I received an e-mail about a family who lives in England.  They are Christians, have 11 children, homeschool them, and haven't exposed them to all the "normal" things that kids get shown these days.  They don't have a TV, and they are happy. They highlight a young teenager named Deborah, she is 13, and they follow her life and ask her questions.  If you click on her name, you can see the youtube video I am talking about.

That is part of the story.  If you are a listener to Trunews you get a chance to hear the rest of the story on their free broadcasts.  Deborah and her father are interviewed and they are very eloquent on their beliefs and what they were asked to do during the TV filming.   It is not hard to check out the news and see that in the UK there are 13 year olds sexually active, and having children.  The culture prides itself on being "open" about things, and they know more about Harry Potter than the Bible.  Is that so different then what US kids are being exposed to?  

I like the quote that the father said, there has been accusations that they brainwash their kids, but he responds that sometimes our brains need the wash, in saying that we don't need to consume all the filth that the world puts out there.  Is that so bad?  Is it bad to get the Word of God rooted and grounded in the kids, and to take them away from much of what would harm them?  Now the family does have the internet, and the oldest children are off to college and one is married.  It is not that they aren't able to leave their home, they just don't want to.  They are happy. Now isn't that interesting.  How much do the kids really need outside of the family, and who's responsibility is it to raise the children?  It is something to in dig deeper with.     

Time is going fast

This weekend I was at a family get together, and my oldest son has some second cousin's his age.  I started hearing stories of the other children beginning pre-school, and realized that I am entering into that age now of formalized schooling.  And at such a young age.  

Although we don't have plans to send our kids to pre-school at this time, it is interesting enough to see the cost of the schools, I do have a lot of resources at hand.  I have this catalogue called the Rainbow Resource Center, that I got in the mail for free  (http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php) and began looking at what they had to offer.  They actually have a very extensive book with over 3500 products in it, all very detailed.  

Even with that I am hesitant about buying something I can't open, hold, and look at, so I am going to check out a local store that I know has a homeschooling section in it.  I was thinking if we can begin with reading and basic math concepts, it will help as we move onto the Noah Plan.  We also have plans to get the kids involved in organized activities, and with just the day to day things, they will have more than enough.

So are there any thoughts?  We are still going through the study plan, I just realized that there are a few things I can do now before we get into the full blown out curriculum.