Ah, in the land of homeschooling you can do anything, even two languages.  When foreigners here learn we are homeschooling in two languages, the common response is "Better you than me!"  When the Chinese hear we are doing that, the response is "Is that legal?"  Is it easy?  No, not the least bit.  Is it worth it?  Every bit.  Homeschooling has only been legal in Taiwan since 1999, so this is a new idea here.  We feel it's best for our kids.  We are praying that we can continue to homeschool as long as possible.

            We are a unique family.  I, Deana, am from America and my husband, Luke, is a native of Taiwan.  Luke is the pastor of a small independent church here on the coast of Taiwan.  Not many couples like us are around.  Then there are our three sons, Joshua (six), Josiah (two), and Noah (three months).  Each time we leave Taiwan we have to take eight passports.  The boys are dual citizens.  Not many kids can say they go swimming in the Pacific Ocean, let alone say they live ten minutes from the Pacific Ocean or have flown around the world by age one.  We celebrate Chinese New Year and Christmas (the kids love that one)!

            So how do we do it?  The same way any other homeschooling family does.  We eat a late breakfast and sometimes do some chores or errands.  We start homeschool anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m..  We attempt to have 20 minutes for each class.  Now, it may seem like a lot, but it's not really.  Joshua is the only student so far, but his brothers will soon follow.  We have requirements set up by the government to follow here.  Being citizens, the boys must follow the rules of the land.  So Chinese is a must.  He has Chinese (local school curriculum), math (sometimes in Chinese curriculum and sometimes in English) (Singapore Math curriculum), English reading (A Beka), English class (we use Explode the Code) and writing in both Chinese and English.  We are trying to stick with the Sonlight program, but have done a lot of our own stuff as we get second-hand things from missionaries.  We have started health and safety (BJU Press) on Fridays as well.  Sometimes we only do a few things and have art or a field trip.  So class is usually roughly two hours with a few breaks here and there.

            Being in the ministry, everything is subject to change.  Many times, Joshua goes to the drug/alcohol rehab center where Luke teaches Bible twice a month so class has to be rescheduled.  We are also in the process of starting a group home for teens and children.  We currently have one foster daughter.  We have had six teens and children go through our doors in the past three years.  This is a ministry the whole family is involved in.

            We love the freedom homeschooling has given our family.  We can travel to the other part of the island (a six-hour drive) to see Luke's family whenever we want.  We are going to Hong Kong in November.  Noah and I are going to the states for a wedding in March.  Next year we would like to visit Japan where my sister-in-law lives.  In one year we are going to the Philippines.  If the kids were in school, they wouldn't have these opportunities or freedom to learn about so many other things.  I'd rather that they have these childhood memories than memories of sitting in class repeating what the teacher says.

            Most importantly, we have the freedom to teach out children about God.  Our children can see us serving God and can serve Him together.  Our children are learning so much more than in a classroom setting.  They are truly learning about life.  Would we have it any other way?  No way.

 - Deana Pan