Julie was just 9 years old and delivering newspapers in her coastal British Columbia community when she started hearing the peculiar questions.
One elderly man whom she regularly delivered to always asked why she was “playing hooky once again” during school hours, and she responded that “no,” she was actually being homeschooled.
“That answer didn’t seem acceptable to him. I always tried to avoid him and his questioning as to why I wasn’t at school,” Julie, who is now 37 and a mom of five, told The Epoch Times. She wished to use only her first name for this article due to privacy concerns.
She said grownups would even quiz her on the spot by asking her to read a phrase or two, which she shocked them by doing easily. They couldn’t fathom how anyone but a schoolteacher could teach children how to read.
Perhaps most importantly, Julie says, homeschooling has allowed them to impart their Christian beliefs.
Church was a huge part of the couple’s upbringing. That’s where they first met, and their decision to homeschool was sparked by Julie’s constant prayers and wish: for their children to see the worth of “a life lived in obedience to their Saviour.”
And because she'd found her own experience being homeschooled “a positive one,” the idea appealed to her.
The more they discussed it and weighed the pros and cons, the more at peace she felt with that option. Julie found the notion of “doing something different with our children” exhilarating, she said, and has now homeschooled her three boys and two girls for 10 years.
“I am very happy that this is the route we chose to go with our children,” she says.
Julie says she found positive reasons to homeschool, but also negative social trends to shield their children from. She listed negative peer pressure and a curriculum that doesn’t match their Christians beliefs, and the “drugs, bullying, woke ideologies, and social pressures” prevalent today.
In the beginning, the older children had to be taught while she and Andrew simultaneously entertained toddlers and babies. But after a few years, all the kids were old enough to join the homeschool classroom, which Julie says “felt like such a drastic change.”
Over the years, the family has found their homeschooling groove. Today, Julie declares she is “loving this current season!”
A day in the life of the family of seven looks something like this:
Mornings begin with breakfast, a mix of chores like laundry, and music practice before class. “World News Watch” is the first subject of the day, followed by Bible curricula, a read-aloud, geography and vocabulary flashcards, poetry, and French lessons. Julie reads aloud while the children follow along in their textbooks.
Out for recess, the kids take the opportunity to ice skate on their backyard rink. Then classes reconvene—math and language arts—before lunch, which one child is assigned to help Julie prepare.
The kids then get back on the computer, read to their mom, or finish up their earlier work, said Julie. “By about 2:00, everyone is done, and we have reading/quiet time.”
Doubters
Despite their efforts to homeschool in earnest over the years, and the fact that homeschooling has now become more widely accepted, Julie says she still runs into doubters who question the legitimacy of home education.A few years ago, when her eldest was in kindergarten and Julie had a doctor’s appointment, she brought her four little ones into the doctor’s waiting room where they encountered a woman sitting next to them, reading a book. She looked up, smiled, and asked something. Was her eldest out of school today?
Julie’s inevitable “no” was followed by a furrowed brow and a procession of inquiries.
Learning that Julie homeschooled, the woman announced she was a schoolteacher herself. Was Julie required to use the Ontario curriculum at home?
“I replied that no, we can pick and choose what curriculum to use,” Julie recounted. “She definitely seemed skeptical as she looked back down at her book.”
However, the mom of five has learned to take the questions in stride.
“My first thought was ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ I felt like I'd been answering questions from peers, trying to validate home education all through my own schooling years,” she said. “This particular situation motivated me to research more what the laws are, and become more confident.”
She now sees these encounters as teachable opportunities, she said.
‘Giant Field Trip’
In 2023, the family took a month-long road trip across Canada to the West Coast, then dipping south of the border, across the United States, and back up to Ontario. They packed dufflebags full of things they needed, including Bibles, iPads, and books. Hauling a pop-up camper, all seven hit the road for some education and adventure.“We saw the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, and so much more,” Julie said. “It felt like a giant field trip where we had a blast.”
Before heading home, they saw a St. Louis Cardinals ball game and feasted on Texas barbeque in Fort Worth.
Tracing their decade-long homeschooling journey, Julie says, “We want to give them a well-rounded education that will result in them being prepared for whatever they decide to do once their schooling is complete.”
“We teach our kids about God and the Bible,” she adds. Attending church regularly, singing gospel songs, and praying often, they place “God at the centre.”
