Parents Shun Schools, Bring Education Back Home : One Family’s Lifestyle Undergoes Big Changes

For Ken and Debbie Schaub, educating their daughters at their Thousand Oaks home has profoundly changed the family’s lifestyle, beginning with the way they start their day.

The couple awaken at 4:30 a.m. every weekday to allow Ken to get ready for work and Debbie to prepare for the day teaching daughters Nicole, 13, Rebekah, 11, and Christianna, 9.

By 7 a.m., the entire family is at the kitchen table for breakfast together--something they didn’t have time to do when the daughters went to regular school.

“It was too hectic getting out the door,” Debbie Schaub said.

After Ken Schaub leaves for work, the girls spend half an hour reading their Bibles and writing in personal journals, Debbie Schaub said.

The school day starts about 9 a.m. Monday mornings are devoted to math and English, and afternoons are spent on “homemaking skills like learning how to iron, vacuuming, dusting,” Schaub said.

On Tuesday mornings, her daughters accompany Schaub to church for Bible study, usually bringing schoolbooks along. At least once a month, they spend Tuesday afternoons reading and researching at the Thousand Oaks library.

Wednesday through Friday mornings begin with more math and English, followed in the afternoons by studies that include science, history and geography. On those days, the girls spend five to six hours a day in class, Schaub said.

Schaub prepares separate lesson plans for each daughter, planning at least two months in advance. Schooling continues year-round--full time about nine months a year and part time during the summer.

Occasionally, the Schaubs invite international students from nearby Cal Lutheran University to their home for holidays, outings or just for dinner, so the girls can learn about other countries, Schaub said.

“Home schooling is a very viable, wonderful option that’s been very good for our family,” Schaub said.