Lighthouse Keeper: Advice & Encouragement for Christian Homeschool Families

As a retired homeschool mom and former support group leader, as well as a homeschool Grammie, I am very concerned about the future of homeschooling and our educational freedom. Homeschooling has always had its opponents and detractors, and has continued to grow and thrive nonetheless, in no small part due to the conviction and diligence of parents and supporters who have continually fought for the freedoms we enjoy.
There is currently an anti-homeschool movement in this country led by a group of activists who oppose parent-led education, promoting a legislation model called the "Make Homeschool Safe Act" (MHSA). The purpose is stated as ensuring that students are safe and receiving an adequate education. This sounds great, except for the fact that what constitutes "safety" and "adequate education" is up for interpretation. The things they endorse and want legislated include required use of state-accepted curriculum, mandated subjects and instruction hours, oversight by a teacher of parents without teaching credentials, increased documentation requirements, mandated annual medical exams and vaccines for all students, annual student evaluation by a "professional educator". These invasive requirements place an unnecessary burden on homeschool parents and students, continue the promotion of one-size-fits-all education, and set a dangerous precedent.

🚨 HOMESCHOOL LEGAL ALERT: BREAKING NEWS IN CONNECTICUT & How it Impacts Your State 🚨

​The legal landscape of homeschooling shifted just before midnight on May 4, 2026. After an intense battle, the Connecticut Senate officially passed HB 5468. This marks a massive turning point for a state that was previously one of the most hands-off in the country & serves as a critical warning for families everywhere.

​What Just Happened?
​The bill passed 22–14 in a late-night session & now moves to the Governor’s desk. While this is a tough moment for educational freedom, it’s also a testament to the power of your voice.
​The "original" version of this bill was packed with even more government overreach, including aggressive curriculum audits & mandates that would have given the state total control over what you teach. Because thousands of homeschoolers showed up in droves—calling, emailing, & flooding the capital—the most intrusive curriculum "approval" language was stripped out before the final vote. Your pushback worked to stop the state from dictating your daily lesson plans—for now.
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​Whether we like it or not, politics plays a massive role in our ability to homeschool. During the midnight session, it was the Republican representatives who stood firm as the primary defense for parental rights, viewing this bill as an unjust barrier to family freedom.
​Understanding who actually supports School Choice & Parental Rights is essential when you head to the ballot box. It ultimately comes down to a simple question: Do you believe you know what’s best to teach your child, or do you believe the government knows best?

🎬 ​Action Plan: Protecting Your Freedom in the Next 5 minutes!
​Connecticut shows that "low-regulation" status is not a guarantee & whi is voted in can change your state's homeschool laws. We must stay vigilant & know our leaders before a bill like this hits the floor.
​1. Know Your State & Federal Representatives

📍 ​For State Legislators (Your State House & Senate): These are the people elected in your state who write the actual homeschooling laws you live under every day.

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials?hl=en-US

📍 For Federal Leaders aka Congress (US House & Senate): The Federal government sets national trends & funding that can pressure states to increase their oversight.

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative?hl=en-US

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm?hl=en-US

​Protect Your Child’s Future 🎓
​I believe that following the law is the best way to ensure the diploma you present to your child is 100% legitimate & recognized. If you are unsure exactly what the regulations are in your state, I have a course in my Homeschool Teacher Training Academy that walks you through it step-by-step.

https://homeschoolteacheracademy.podia.com/ The best 10.00 you will spend in ensuring you are providing your child the best legally recognized education.
🔥 🔥 🔥🔥 🔥 🔥

(Just yesterday I was doing a search & information from a "homeschool influencer" gave inaccurate legal advice. Another well-known site had inaccurate information. AI even gets it wrong at times.)

🦁
​Let’s be parents who are legally diligent & legislatively vigilant. We must be ready to defend our right to choose what our children learn.
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Why should you include music lessons in your child's education?
1. Reduces Stress
2. Cultivates Creativity
3. Increases Memory
4. Builds Discipline
5. Develops Patience
6. Increases Happiness
7. Builds Confidence
8. Improves Coordination
9. Strengthens Concentration
10. Boosts Academic Achievement
11. Improves Time Management
12. Increases Emotional Perception & Expression

My children took piano lessons and also learned one other instrument - guitar, flute, trumpet, clarinet. We participated in a wonderful homeschool band program and my girls sang in a homeschool choir as well. Music training, like training in athletics, art, outdoor skills, debate, etc. brings enjoyment and all-around benefit in life, whether or not it leads to a career or is continued as an adult.
Music is a special gift from God that enhances and blesses our lives and can be used for personal worship, ministry and evangelism.

Two excellent homeschool band organizations in the Raleigh area are:
Capital Christian Homeschool Bands

Creator's Christian Academy Homeschool Bands

Education is more than books and curriculum and academic subjects. It encompasses all the areas of life where human beings flourish - the arts, religion, family life, community service, practical skills, travel, nature, etc. Look around your area - your city, town, county, region - for activities, places, events that will kindle interest and excitement in your children and help them to acquire new knowledge and skills to add to their "education resume".

Music is an integral component of a vibrant education.
Here is one NC opportunity for those in and near Cumberland County.

Homeschoolers Find Harmony with Fayetteville's Majestic Marching Eagles - majesticmarchingeagles.org The Majestic Marching Eagles offers premier afterschool band programs and summer camp for public, private, and homeschooled students in Fayetteville, NC and surrounding areas.

We forget sometimes that not all important lessons come from a book or screen. When you are a homeschool family, learning is integrated into life, and some days will lean more heavily into academics and other days will lean more heavily into other types of things that are part of family life. And it is all good.

With more and more families relying on technology and screen-based curriculums as an “easier” way to homeschool, studies like the ones referred to below, showing a significant decline in learning outcomes after the introduction of one-on-one classroom technology, are sobering. Screens really are making us dumber. We don’t have to “ waste time” figuring out the problem or perfecting our grammar or writing out our words or doing actual research when computers can do our intellectual work for us. This is not what we want for our children! The tools we choose really do make a difference

To quote Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks) in the movie “A League of Our Own”, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVF2PwUDDj1/?igsh=MWI0ZWNlOTFxZnluOQ==

Last month at a U.S. Senate Hearing on The Impact of Technology on America’s Youth, cognitive neuroscientist and former teacher Dr Jared Cooney Horvath delivered a stark warning: 👉 For the first time in modern history, children are becoming less cognitively capable than the generation before them. Across more than a century of data, every generation has improved in attention, literacy, memory, and reasoning, until now. Gen Z is the first to underperform. What changed? Not biology. Not schools. But the rapid introduction of digital technology into learning environments. Evidence across 80 countries shows that as classroom technology use rises, academic performance falls. Students using computers heavily for learning score significantly lower than those who rarely use screens at school. And the reason, Horvath argues, is biological: Humans evolved to learn from other humans, not from screens. Instead of asking what helps children learn best, education is increasingly being reshaped to fit technology shortening attention, encouraging skimming over deep reading, and redefining learning itself. “That’s not progress,” he warned. “That is surrender.” This conversation is no longer just about smartphones or social media. It’s about the tools being embedded into classrooms often without long-term evidence of benefit, and despite growing evidence of harm. Children deserve education designed around how brains actually learn. ✍️ Sign the SafeScreens petition calling for evidence-led EdTech policy and protections for children. Link in bio.

The ability to go on all of the field trips is one of the great perks of homeschooling! Historic sites, state parks, museums, nature parks, working farms, local businesses and manufacturing sites... all are wonderful possibilities for field trips.

Explosive growth in NC homeschooling population leads to more programs for them The Homeschool Day at Bennett Place State Historic Site is an example of the programming being offered to meet the growing demographic.

I raised 3 boys, and there was definitely a shift in the teen years - a restlessness, a resistance to being mothered, a contrariness that wasn't there before, a desire for independence and action. These things arose around the same time that my boys passed me in height. Fortunately, a solid foundation plus good instincts and some timely insight from sources like Raising Real Men allowed us to navigate these years without lasting damage. These boys are prospering in adulthood, and our relationships are healthy and strong. As a mother/teacher, I found that it was necessary to give them ways to exert some control, to lead, to protect, to explore. It was important for them to spend time with Dad and other men who were positive role models. Team sports and Boy Scouting served this need well for us during the the teen years. Physical activity through sports, hiking, and household projects provided an important outlet for hormone-driven aggression.
It was important for me to start seeing them and treating them as young men and not boys. With my boys and my girls, we allowed more freedom and gave more responsibility as they grew and gained maturity. As they showed they could be trusted, we gave more privileges; if trust was broken, then privileges were removed until trust was rebuilt.
It is good to be aware and to prepare for these kinds of changes that occur as our children grow to adulthood.

You can do this! There’s too much at stake not to. It’s not too hard to homeschool tween and teen boys. It’s hard, but not nearly as hard as what can happen if you don’t.

We’ve graduated four of our son and they’ve not only done well in life, but they’re our best friends. That’s worth way more than any trouble they were.

My mother, a retired public school teacher who spent more than half her career in the kindergarten classroom, heartily agrees. She deplores the "new kindergarten" and was very happy when my husband and I chose the path of homeschooling.

Kindergarten is the New Second Grade, and Teachers Aren’t Having It Kindergarteners desperately need active play. What they get is another story.

While this probably isn't a problem for most homeschool graduates, it has been a problem for some. We applaud efforts by legislators to promote acceptance of home education across all sectors of society and remove unnecessary barriers keeping our students from entering the field of their choice.

Homeschool Graduation Recognition Act Advances to US Senate Floor On Thursday, the Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced S.B. 3747 to the full Senate in a strong bipartisan vote. It now awaits a floor vote.

It's a new year!
Monday mornings, the 1st of the month, new years - this is when we naturally think of starting something new, turning over a new leaf. What fresh start are you making in your homeschool? Is this the year you take the plunge to begin homeschooling your children? Or step into the waters of a new approach or style of homeschooling that you have been thinking about? Or join a co-op or support group for more fellowship and accountability? Maybe you just want to reset and be more consistent.

Close your eyes and thank God for being with you as you walk into any unknown, begin any new thing, start any journey. Every day is a fresh start and the gateway to a world of possibilities!