EDUC A homeschool pioneer has gone to glory: Debbie Strayer

I've known Debbie for years though not as a close friend. We were in the same homeschool support group when my oldest was little. She is the one of the people that inspired me to write my own curriculum and then further encouraged me when I ultimately decided to narrow my focus to writing for my own kids. Debbie wrote several homeschool curriculum series.

http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/debra-strayer/

Praying for all who knew her.
What curriculum did you and Debbie write?
We homeschooled for a few years.

Links to a wonderful blog post about her:

http://heartofthematteronline.com/friend-and-mentor-to-many/

Debbie Strayer – Friend and Mentor to Many

Posted by Lori Lane | 3 comments

Debbie Strayer was my friend, mentor and cheerleader. (I know many others feel the same way.) I had looked long and hard to find someone that had depth, experience, insight, wisdom and passion for providing children with a Biblical approach to education and be willing to invest some time and energy into my life and ministry. I was looking for someone that I could trust as a mentor.

I found that and much more when I found Debbie. Debbie didn’t just talk the talk…she literally walked the walk. She had been personally mentored by Ruth Beechick and Debbie endeavored to pass that experience and wisdom along to others. Just this past February, Debbie took the time out of her busy schedule to spend a long weekend with me…just to spend some time with a kindred spirit. What an encouragement! Yes, we did some brainstorming about Heart of the Matter, Homeschooling Today, Artios Academies and Trail Guide to Learning. But for me, it really wasn’t about that. I just wanted her to talk and I just wanted to listen. So as one topic followed another, I would ask a question and then sit back on the sofa and just write fast and furiously. There was so much to be gained by just listening to her.

Whether she was speaking, testing, writing curriculum, or writing articles for various publications, Debbie stayed true and steady to what she felt God had called her to do. She shined a light on a Biblical approach to education…to remind all of us of what was truly important.

When we became the new owners of Heart of the Matter, she was one of the first people I contacted and asked to begin contributing to the site once again. I trusted her heart, her vision, her motives and her passion. I wasn’t wrong. As you read her articles here on Heart of the Matter, you will sense that she is speaking from a firm foundation, years of experience, and a great deal of wisdom.

As many of you may have heard, Debbie passed away over this past weekend. I do not know the details but I do know that we lost someone that gave much to the home school community. We will miss her bright light, her transparency, her humor, her candidness and much more. I will miss my dear friend and mentor. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family. Her legacy is far reaching. Over the next few weeks, I want you to become even better acquainted with Debbie’s message, wisdom and encouragement because I believe that the homeschool community needs more of what Debbie “preached”. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to feature some of Debbie’s past articles on the HOTM site so that as all of prepare for the coming school year, we will be reminded of what homeschooling is all about.

The Heartstrings of Homeschooling is an article that beautifully illustrates Debbie’s heart. I hope it blesses you as it has blessed many others in the past.

Faith and Courage,

Lori

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Lori and John Lane have been married 29 years and live on a ranch in the beautiful Colorado Rockies where John coaches the local high school baseball team, runs the ranch, and works with Artios Academies. They have four sons ranging in age from twenty-six down to fourteen, two beautiful daughter-in-loves, and a precious granddaughter. Lori is the author of the book, Beginning With The End In Mind, and the founder and executive director of Artios Academies. The Lane family oversees the ministry of Heart of the Matter Online. You can follow Lori at www.theendinmind.net where she blogs about a variety of topics including life on the ranch, arts education, a Biblical worldview of education, home education and more. Her blog also offers many free resources to encourage you on your journey.

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Here is the article referenced in the above post:

The Heartstrings of Homeschooling with Debbie Strayer

Posted by Debbie Strayer | 2 comments



Peanut butter sandwiches cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Colored paper plates for lunch. Hot chocolate with marshmellows in the morning. Snuggling on the porch while it rained. Doing school on a blanket under the tree. These are small things in the big scheme of things, but in the end, maybe the things that mattered the most. Why so important? These are the events that painted the picture of the heartbeat of our homeschool.



Daily life in homeschooling isn’t like life in a school. There, days turn on the hinges of big events – tests, grades, programs, passing, failing – dramatic events that move the year forward. Our homeschool life moved more like the waves at the beach – consistent, comforting, friendly. Of course there were the occasional storms or unusual tides, but for the most part, our focus was on daily routines that were familiar and peaceful. This came about because of something wonderful I observed from my mentor, Dr. Ruth Beechick. Her relationships with her grown sons reflected an understanding of caring and learning together that wasn’t at all schoolish. It was natural, like the beach, with the normal ebbs and flows of the demands of life, yet carried along by the current of care for one another and interest in what each one thought, which builds lifelong friendships. This brings me back to the sandwiches, paper plates and marshmellows.



Doing small things is the best way to show someone how much you treasure your time together. While doing school may be the reason for spending so much time with your children, it certainly doesn’t have to be the thing that they remember most. Learning together can certainly be memorable, but the most memorable thing about it won’t be the subject matter, it will be the thousands of minutes that tie each bit of work together. The value of the best academic activity can be lost when hemmed in by impatience or that “let’s get on with it” sigh. Your children know when you care about how they feel and when you just want something done. Every day has its own demands, but not every demand has to be made a priority above the few extra minutes it takes to communicate care and concern.



When your children grow up, they may not remember all the academics you taught. But there is one thing they will remember, and that is their place in your day. Were they just a part of your to-do list? Did your schedule become the master of your day and attitude? Did you enjoy the time you had been given to get to know and appreciate these gifts from God? Now that my children are grown, we talk about the special things we did when they were children and how much they appreciated them. As they become parents, I have some gifts in mind for them. The first will be a set of cookie cutters, tied together with what will look like ribbon. Upon closer inspection, they will find that those ribbons are really heartstrings.



Debbie Strayer - has been a part of the homeschooling movement since 1988 when she and husband Greg began their journey as homeschoolers. Prior to that time, Debbie received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in education. Since joining this wonderful movement that combines the importance of spiritual and educational development, she has many years of experience as an educator, author, speaker, consultant and homeschool evaluator.

Her accomplishments include: • Former editor and co-founder of Homeschooling Today™ Magazine • Author, Gaining Confidence to Teach • Editor, The Homeschool Answer Book by Dr. Ruth Beechick. A co-author of the Learning Language Arts through Literature series • Co-author, Trail Guide to Learning, a new series published by Geography Matters Debbie is grateful for the friendship and mentoring of Dr. Ruth Beechick, as well as the opportunities she has had to collaborate on The Homeschool Minute, published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Debbie feels that her most important accomplishments are that she has been the wife of Greg Strayer for over 33 years, the mother of homeschool graduates Nate and Ashley and a homeschooling parent for 16 years. She speaks and writes about homeschooling topics with humor, honesty and encouragement.

It's very sudden and unexpected, and very sad---she and her husband were just speaking last week at the Alabama Homeschool Convention (I think in Birmingham?) and had finished up their workshops for the week and were planning on spending another night there to celebrate their wedding anniversary, in the same hotel in which they'd spent their honeymoon---and then this. I do not know if she had any health issues or if this totally came out of the blue.

The article (for which the link is given in the OP) is a lovely testimony to her life, and I have posted it below:

Debra Strayer: Surrounded by His Glory
By admin on Jun 17, 2013 in Homeschool

debbieThe homeschool community has suffered a great loss this week. Debra Strayer, homeschool mother, author, and mentor to many, died unexpectedly in Alabama Saturday night. She and Greg had just finished serving at the homeschool convention where she was invited to speak. They were excited to celebrate their anniversary with reservations for Sunday night to stay at the hotel where they spent their honeymoon. Instead Greg drove home to Tampa alone on Sunday.

Debbie Strayer was my friend and had a passion for promoting a Biblical approach to education in the homeschool movement. Debbie spent her last days doing what she loved, encouraging homeschoolers at the Alabama Homeschool Expo last Friday and Saturday.

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again,
and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. John 16:22

Debbie is walking with Christ, surrounded by His glory. Her family–Greg, Nathan, and Ashley–and friends will greatly miss her. I’m sure Debbie would want us to take the unexpectedness of her death as a reminder to evaluate our time and goals on earth and remember Psalms 90:12:

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

From an article by Debbie, No One Knows

…Today, or in the coming days, you will have a chance to encourage someone. It probably won’t be a big deal at the time, but someday you will have the chance to hear the impact of your heart and words. Even if it is only a smile, take the time to share what God gives you to share, because no one knows how powerfully He will use your offering…except the Lord.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

Debbie and I spoke at the same curriculum fairs in the 1990s. We are both from Florida, both wrote curriculum, and both wrote articles for homeschool magazines. Last year we began a dialog with concern of classical education’s focus. She explained to me she was doing research and asked for some of my documents on the subject. I regret we won’t be talking again until heaven.

Debbie and I stayed in touch via email and Facebook. A few weeks ago few we chatted on Facebook about the Biblical Holidays book (she was adding to her”next level curriculum”). Debbie was devoted to equipping and encouraging homeschoolers with a focus on Bible and building thinking skills.

Debbie was very close to and mentored by one of my favorite authors Ruth Beechick. She is the former editor and co-founder of Homeschooling TodayTM magazine, the author of Gaining Confidence to Teach, one of the co-authors of the Learning Language Arts through Literature series and editor of The Homeschool Answer Book by Dr. Ruth Beechick. She more recently partnered with Josh and Cindy Wiggers of Geography Matters.

Here are a few of her lovely, encouraging articles from Heart of the Matter Online:

The Heartstrings of Homeschooling
No One Knows
Raising a Life Long Learner
The Frustration of Perfectionism
Safety From the Tidal Wave of Overachievement
Chosen to Bear Fruit
Lord, I Want to Report a Theft!
Getting My Attention…The Lesson of the Beach

How sad, for Greg and family. Prayers going up.

iboya said:

Praying for all who knew her.
What curriculum did you and Debbie write?
We homeschooled for a few years.

Click to expand...

I wrote a very short-lived series of history/timeline themed unit studies. We study history chronologically and at the time I couldn't find anything that I liked. Others also wrote those types of curriculum and were much more successful at it.

Debbie's first curriculum that I am aware of was the Learning Language Arts Through Literature series that is so well-known. Each level/grade is a different color rather than Level 1 or A, Level 2 or B, etc. She and her husband also started the magazine Homeschooling Today way back in the early 90's. Her daughter and son in law took it over last year and were supposed to start publishing it again this year but I'm not sure if that has started yet or not. Her daughter Ashley is also an author of curriculum and curriculum guides. Her son in law may also be a writer or maybe he stays on the publishing end, I can't remember at the moment. The latest curriculum that Debbie was involved in writing was Geography Matters. They have a facebook if you are interested in reading more about it.