Delightfully Discipled: An Interview with Natasha

“Every life situation can be turned into an opportunity to teach; you just have to be open to seeing it!”

Over the last couple months, I have had the privilege of getting to know a new breed of homeschoolers. They’re eclectic, but not very structured. They’re borderline unschooling leaning toward delight-driven education with the ultimate goal of leading their children on the path of the Lord.

It may seem like a new trend, but discipleship schooling has been around since the beginning of time. Over the next few months, we’ll be exploring what it means to be delightfully discipled.

This month, I’ve interviewed a fellow discipleship schooler and good friend of mine, Natasha Pharis. She’s been a blessing to have as a friend, and, without knowing it, encourages me daily!

I met Natasha in our small group bible study for married couples. Our sons are close in age, and we have similar interests, so we became fast friends. She’s now 28-years-old and pregnant with her second child who should be arriving in a few weeks! Natasha and her husband of seven years are both involved in their son’s education, but fill different roles.
“I’m more of the structured teacher [in helping with] cut and paste, drawing, etc. Mike teaches the ‘as needed’ instruction,” she explained. “We both support each other in the teaching we do because we know we have the same goal in mind [which is] to raise children of God who have a hunger for learning without the pressure of it.”

Natasha was once a career-oriented woman who was climbing the corporate ladder. When her son, Kale, was ten months old, she left her full time job to care for him.

“I’ve truly been grateful for every, almost every, minute of it,” she grinned.

Some people know they will home school before their child is even born, but Natasha wasn’t one of those people.

“To be honest, I never imaged myself as a homeschooler, because I had always been very career focused. As Kale aged, I realized I had more responsibility to my family and raising him than I did helping someone else get rich. My husband and I have the biggest influence on our children, and we really didn’t want someone else raising them.”

A little over a year ago, Natasha got to know one of her neighbors who, come to find out, home schools her four children and is the secretary of our local home school association.

“In getting to know her family, I realized [homeschooling] was something that had been placed on my heart to do. It was something I needed to do. I started researching, and, lucky for me, [my neighbor] had tons of material and references available.”

What seemed intimating at first became less so after Natasha realized she was already teaching her son. “I just wasn’t doing it in ‘school’ format!” Natasha exclaimed.“I was a little worried at first,” she admits. “I didn’t want to be one of those parents who makes a child get involved in something he truly has no interest in because we like it so we think he should.”

Her son, who is nearing age three, is constantly on the go. He’s a busy little boy who has a variety of interests and loves to explore.

“There isn’t much he doesn’t like to do. He loves to draw, color, and cut and paste- which [neither of us] do very well. We started teaching him sign language at six or so months old so we could communicate easier, and to this day, he is very excited in learning more. We started off with the signs for ‘more’, ‘eat’, and ‘all done’, but now he‘s constantly asking me how to ‘say this’ with your hands. It‘s good, because I‘m learning as well.”

Sign language definitely has it’s benefits. “Today at the library, we were able to communicate to each other during story time without disturbing the teacher or other kids. It excites me that he will be able to talk to his new sibling at a very early age because we will teach him or her sign language as well.”

Kale is well-loved and nurtured, but he’s not treated like a helpless baby. Mike and Natasha encourage him to do things himself, but are always there to offer a helping hand if needed. They have allowed their child to grow without hindrance.

“He’s surprisingly coordinated and can actually play baseball very well. He doesn’t need the t-ball stand. I am truly blessed to have a child that enjoys learning and wants to learn. He keeps me on my toes!”

Natasha is passionate about her God-given mission.

“I don’t want underpaid teachers who aren’t allowed to teach about God to be responsible for the raising of my children. God blessed me with them, and we feel it’s our responsibility to do the best we can. We don’t have structured school every day, but we do make time to do school work. It’s getting to the point where he’s asking if he can ‘do school work’. How can I possibly tell him no? Why would I? It definitely makes it a lot easier to teach someone that is anxious to learn.”

Natasha and I both agree, all parents are teaching their children in some way. “Anyone who has a young child knows they pick up your good and bad habits. They are very curious creatures and are very interested in the world around them.”

As parents, we have to be aware of our own words and actions because our children are watching. They mimick us well. That’s what discipleship is all about- leading our lives in such a way that we direct and disciple our children to do the same. Mike and Natasha have decided not to subscribe to cable television so they can better control what comes into their home. Instead, they’ve placed wonderful learning materials within arm’s reach and are ready and willing to teach their child with every situation, small or large.

“As Kale gets older, we structure things a little more. We actually sit down to draw, color, and read for short periods of time. Learning is never forced, but always enjoyed. He takes breaks to play as often as needed, and sometimes ‘school’ is concluded after just one short session. Even though we may not do a lot of ‘school work’ in a structured setting, I use every opportunity I can to teach him without overwhelming him. Every life situation can be turned into an opportunity to teach; you just have to be open to seeing it!”

Natasha and her son Kale create a pizza with Mandy Mom’s children, Nolyn and Merikalyn.

Mandy is a former homeschooling student who has set out to homeschool her three young munchkins in an unschooling meets discipleship method. In her column “Delightfully Discipled”, she gives a glimpse into the curious minds of her children as they follow their natural instincts to explore the heights and depths of knowledge and and are led though Godly discipleship. She blogs at MandyMom.com and MandyMom.com/edublog