For Elizabeth and Christopher Storm, the decision to homeschool their children was an easy one because they have lots of experience and faith in
the Bible.
As children, they each were homeschooled by their parents – Elizabeth, by her elementary schoolteacher mom in Rockledge, and Christopher, by his parents in Chicago.
The Storms have six children: Kate, 10; twins Noah and Eddie, 8; Luke, 6; Eleanor, 4, and Timmy, 15 months old.
“We enjoy homeschooling all of the children,” Elizabeth said. “We both had a positive experience ourselves, so it was an easy decision for us.”
The couple met at Verity Institute in Indianapolis. Both were working on a pro-life political campaign in South Dakota. Elizabeth got her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Christopher majored in accounting and business administration. They graduated in 2008, married the following year and lived in Chicago.
They moved to Florida in 2017 because, as one of the children said: “Mommy was tired of the snow.” The family moved to the Capron Ridge subdivision off Viera Boulevard in 2018.
Christopher earned his CPA in 2013. He works as an accountant for IMANNA Laboratories in Rockledge, a company that does product certification testing for the marine industry. The company is owned by Elizabeth’s father, Robert “Bob” White.
Although Elizabeth thought about law school, she enjoys being a stay-at-home mom and teaching her children.
“We would like to be the primary influencers of our children rather than other kids,” she said.
Elizabeth explained that she uses the Sonlight Christian Homeschool Curriculum.
“We start school at 9 a.m. and do table work first – spelling, language arts, math, science, phonics, reading and Latin,” she said. “After lunch, we do history, reading, music, nature studies and then do some reading aloud.”
Some critics believe homeschooling doesn’t allow children to socialize and interact with other kids. The couple said they’ve taken care of that.
“All of our children are involved with other kids through Little League baseball, ballet and church activities,” she said. “They are around people all the time.”
The family attends Grace Brethren Church-Suntree on North Pinehurst Avenue. Elizabeth is a church pianist and organizes the children’s Sunday school program. She also started a co-op of eight to 10 parents who teach cultural studies.
“We study a continent each month and its culture,” she said. “We’re also working on a Christmas special.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has created many problems for public and private schools throughout the United States, there are no teaching issues in the Storm household.
“We believe the Bible represents the ultimate truth,” Elizabeth said. “We talk about other people’s viewpoints, and we explain our reasons why we believe and read the Bible.”
Elizabeth said her biggest difficulty in homeschooling is giving each child individualized attention.
“As the kids get older, you teach them how to learn on their own,” she said.
Elizabeth said she also uses technology in her curriculum – YouTube science videos, a Latin language DVD, an iPad for geography games and the Brevard Zoo’s online education program. “I try to keep very active.”
Although Christopher works during the day, he contributes to the teaching. “I try to motivate them into doing work and influence them in the proper ways of communication,” he said.
Christopher also praised his wife’s work. “She has a real passion for it,” he said. “She really enjoys teaching the kids.”
Elizabeth hopes to someday write a book or an online blog about her teaching experience. “I love kid’s literature,” she said. “I would love to be involved in the county’s library system.”
