Stacy Singh

AFA Journal staff writer

Above, the Pratt family of Green Forest, Arkansas

December 2017 – “We began homeschooling over 20 years ago, and one day while I was traveling, my wife Kristen paged me,” Randy Pratt told AFA Journal. “I got off the plane and called her back, and she said, ‘I’ve just expelled your daughter. You’ll have to figure out how to school her for the rest of her education.’”

The couple laughs about it now, sharing the story from the offices of New Leaf Publishing Group where Randy is vice president of sales and marketing. But at the time, it was a serious climax that sent them in a new direction.

They moved their daughter to the curriculum of Switched-On Schoolhouse, a computer-based program, which in the early days of homeschooling, was almost taboo under the code of homeschool idealism. But they found that their daughter thrived under the new format, and they learned a lifelong lesson. There is no one-size-fits-all format for homeschooling. The lesson would prove invaluable for the homeschool family of 11, including one adopted special needs child.

“My daughter was that kid who makes people say, ‘I can’t homeschool!’” Kristen shared. “But the Lord knows what it takes, and sometimes He puts the pressure on in the right places, and it turned out to be a really good thing for our family.”

The search for the right curriculum for each of their children, in each grade, branched out into a family business, Pennywise Learning, in 2002. Kristen led the company as a curriculum consultant, helping each customer choose the best curriculum for their family from different publishers.

Since 2012, she has worked for NLPG, helping write, develop, and edit the company’s own homeschool curriculum resources under its Master Books imprint. She also analyzes, recommends, and adapts curricula from other publishers.

“We sold Pennywise Learning to Christian Book Distributors in 2010,” Randy explained. “In 2015, we sold our house in New York, left the church where I was senior pastor, and moved our family to Green Forest, Arkansas, NLPG’s home base.”

Staying on the farm
The highway leading to NLPG’s office and warehouse winds leisurely through the countryside past barns and grazing cattle until suddenly coming around a curve upon the large, bold sign marking the entry to New Leaf. The warehouse lies in the foreground, where all the packing and shipping are done on site. A smaller office building houses a number of staff, and many more work from their homes.

NLPG was founded in 1975 (See “Publishing business founded on family, faith,” AFAJ 3/17.) In a lot of respects, not just the location, the business is “staying right on the farm,” as Randy puts it, jokingly pointing out the cows in pastures out back.

New Leaf is not only staying close to its roots, but keeping things in the family – especially as far as the Pratts are concerned. While they still homeschool five children – from a high school senior to a third-grader – their four adult children work for NLPG. In fact, the once headstrong daughter who had been “expelled” has written Master Books’ phonics curriculum and homeschools her own two sons.

NLPG remains just as closely tied to its beginnings, even after having grown to own three separate imprints. Attic Books reprints legacy books from the 19th century and earlier in high quality, vintage design. New Leaf Press encompasses a wide range of inspirational and Christian living titles. And in 1996, Answers in Genesis sold the Master Books imprint to NLPG, known for its creation science and apologetics resources, and now the homeschool curriculum published under NLPG.

“Our New Leaf mission statement is ‘ink on paper to impact eternity,’” Randy said. “So, with every project, we look at how it’s going to impact eternity. What excites us is seeing families believe that the Word of God is true, and beginning to live that out in their lives.”

Building a Christian worldview
As the parents of nine, each with a unique personality, gifts, and hang-ups, Kristen and Randy are qualified to offer pointers to others when it comes to homeschooling. They know many parents wonder, Can I do it? The Pratts say, Yes, you can.

“I always tell parents, no matter what the curriculum is, ‘You’re in charge of the curriculum. The curriculum is not in charge of you,’” Kristen said. “Take what works for your family and don’t do the rest. That’s how I’ve always approached homeschooling, and that’s part of what we do at Master Books.

“We make our curriculum easy to administer and flexible for a variety of learning styles and lifestyles. There may be a mom who has five kids under the age of seven, or a parent with two kids. Those two families are very different in their needs, and so we want curriculum to be adaptable to either one.”

The other thing that Kristen is careful to examine is the worldview in a curriculum. Out of the 30-60 curriculum programs Kristen screens each year, about 80% make the final cut for Master Books to adapt, publish, and sell. Kristen challenges parents to invest a similar level of discernment and time in choosing curriculum that does not carry just a Christian label, but a truly biblical worldview.

That is where homeschooling meets the bedrock of Christian parenting. As Kristen points out, checking off academic accomplishments is not the sole focus. The goal is to create a worldview-building environment for families – based on Christian beliefs.

“After 20 plus years of homeschooling, we’ve seen the full gamut,” Randy added. “And it would be almost impossible to convince me that there is a better way. God has set it up so that parents are best equipped to train and equip their children. In the day and age that we live in, it is more important than ever that we don’t put our children under the counsel of the ungodly and that we train them up in the way they should go. People get caught up in the little details of curriculum and stuff like that. The reality that’s more important is their kids’ faith.

“We all have to stand before the Lord one day, and people say you can’t take anything with you, but I don’t know if that’s true. I have the chance to bring my family with me. And the last thing I want to do is stand before the Lord and say, ‘I didn’t steward the opportunity to raise these kids to follow you.’ That is simply the heart of what we do.”  

New Leaf Publishing Group
nlpg.com

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A personal perspective
In 2005, Mom gave me a book full of high-quality, glossy photos and in-depth research and answers upholding the Christian faith. It was from Master Books, she explained, a publishing company dedicated to apologetics and creation-based materials – all grounded in a wealth of Christian academics, whether science, history, or religion. The exciting fulfillment of that gift was meeting Randy and Kristen Pratt and hearing all about what they and NLPG are doing to make Master Books even more beneficial for Christian education.
Stacy Singh

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Master Books offers a wide selection of homeschool resources and curriculum. Order a catalog at 800-999-3777 or visit masterbooks.com