The Shaw Family
By Heidi Shaw
Home Education for the Shaw family
has always been about two things:
values and lifestyle. Teaching our children to know a real and loving God and
see His faithfulness at work in their lives
closely connects to our lifestyle choices
and career directions. Living on and
working from the ocean has allowed our
family to live and grow from the bounty
of God’s provision while always being
aware of the amazing majesty and power
of His creation. So exactly how does life
in and on the sea really play out in the
day-to-day of our world? The fun part is
that we never really know what each new
day will hold, and that in itself teaches
me to lean heavily on the promises of
God, both for protection and provision.
Whether we spend time at the shore playing and walking or waiting through a big
storm, our lives and our homeschool
have been wrapped around the Pacific
Ocean for almost 25 years.
Dad and husband Mark has always
loved his independence and the sea. It
was natural for us to want to keep our
family as close to the sea as possible.
Our decision to homeschool came in
1989 when we had three small children,
ages 2 (Jonathan), 4 (Kaitlyn), and 6
(Jordan). We really prayed about how to
raise these kids and stay close to the life
that we loved. Mark furthered his education and eventually wound up managing a large fish processing facility. After
a lot of prayer we decided to follow
Mark’s desire to see life from the other
side of the dock! We purchased a small
32-foot double-ended fishing troller in
1993. Mark fished that boat up and down
the West Coast of Canada from Victoria to the Queen Charlotte Islands for
two seasons. After the second summer
with Dad away and our family soon to
become larger (we were expecting our
fourth, Isaac), we conceded that the boat
was just too small to house our gang and
allow us to stay together. In 1996 Mark
came back to shore but we remained attached to the sea for our livelihood as he
started designing, installing, and maintaining marine refrigeration systems. As
he was working up and down the coast,
from Alaska to Hawaii, I remained at
home, schooling our brood.
We enjoyed so many amazing learning opportunities living close to the
ocean, and we tried to take advantage
of them whenever we could. We don’t
get many white Christmases out here,
but we felt pretty privileged to be able to
walk on the ocean’s edge on Christmas
Day and glory in the setting sun. Indoor
school activities always took second
place in those days and we spent many,
many afternoons exploring tidal pools
and body boarding in the surf. After
five years of land-based travel, the Lord
blessed us with the opportunity to return
to a living off the sea. He also blessed us
with another beautiful baby, our second
daughter and the youngest of the clan,
Hannah. The older kids were growing
up and ready to start working and fishing with Dad. I still tend to get seasick
even at the dock, yet hope springs eternal that one day we will all be together
at one time on one boat. Our new partners in this new opportunity were crazy
fun Alaskan twin brothers who lured us
back into the fishing world with just that
temptation. A big, 58-foot steel boat with
tons of room and needing tons of work
became our new project. What started
as a job led to a friendship that strengthened into a partnership, and we were off
into the blue once again. This time Mark
fished shrimp southeast of Alaska and
cod in the Bering Sea, off the Aleutian
Islands. One thing is for sure: we learned
Top to bottom: 12-year-old Isaac sitting on the back
of the Hunter. Isaac and Hannah on Combers Beach,
summer 2006. The Shaw family, left to right: Jonathan, Kaitlyn, Mark, Isaac, Heidi, Hannah, and Jordan.
Below: the Hunter at the dock in Ucluelet.
Facing page: Special thanks to Johannah Leah Bluedorn for this beautiful painting “The Sea Turtle.”
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
Summer 2007 ■ 47
