When my husband and I made the decision to home educate our children it was not a decision we came to on a whim. I prayed about it...read a stack of books on it....spoke and listened to others who were veterans in home educating their children.
The final decision was that this is what is best for OUR children. Side note: Hubby and I are not ANTI Public schools we are just PRO Home Schooling - please note that. OUR choice has been met with (as expected) a lot of eye rolls, questions, concerns, talking behind our backs and more - not just from "friends" but family members also.
For those out there who think that home schooling your child (ren) is easy and we just play all day - oh how wrong you are! Yes we do get a lot of hugs, and down time - when needed - but my time is 100% devoted to being their mom, their teacher, their mentor and there is very little "me" time at all. This is OUR choice and I would not change that for anything. For ME - home educating our children is a GOD thing. I don't "speak" of it often on the blog - little sprinkles of my faith here and there - but make no mistake about it - it's not ME guiding our home/school - it's the Lord above who makes this all possible.
I know that home educating your children is not for everyone and it does not make my "lifestyle" perfect in any way, shape or form - but it does make it OUR way.
Thought I would share with you SOME of the 100 reasons we home educate so maybe those out there can get a better "feel" or understanding from where we are coming from - maybe you would be more acceptable
Plenty of time for kids to
follow their passions.
We can be my kid's biggest influence, not peers or teachers that may have different values than our family
Home schooled children are able to think, explore and discuss topics in ways not possible in a classroom setting.
Take a break when your child NEEDS a break.
Break up the day anyway that you desire and make it fit the attention span of your child.
Far fewer wordly/negative influences penetrate your children at a young age when home schooling.
Avoid your child being given educational labels
Your child's achievements, advancements or academic pursuits never need to limited by age or grade.
Lessons in conflict resolution that they'll actually be able to use as adults!
"Jesus" is not a curse word... "crap" and "stupid" are
You don't have to miss school because of pink eye, cold, lice (ew, and less chance of getting that)
You can go on vacation in the "off season", which saves money and is more enjoyable because it's less crowded
You don't have to worry about who your kids are hanging out with
I get to spend soooooo much time with my kids.
Hugs and saying "I Love You" while we are doing phonics lessons are the norm.
We don't have to wake up super early to be to somewhere by a certain time everyday.
You can teach to each child's learning style, thereby encouraging their strengths and improving upon their weaknesses.
Field trips, field trips and MORE FIELD TRIPS!!!!
Real world experiences, going to the grocery stores and bank constitute a math lesson, gazing at stars on a beautiful summer night and seeing bats inhabit our bat house is science.
The freedom to do every single project in the science book, or none of them, or only the ones that make really big messes. :)
Portability of the schoolroom: make it a beach one day, a park the next day, a bedroom the
next day, the living floor another day, whatever suits your family
You don't have to fight with your kids for hours every night to get them to do their homework after they spent all day at school
Your kids can work as fast or as slow as they want or need to.
No worries of school shootings
No worries of some sicko teacher seducing your child
Not having to deal with a teacher your child doesn't get along with well
Not having to deal with parents you don't like just because their kids are in the same class as
yours
No fights with other people about how much your child is "capable" of learning
The list can go on and on.....
What others may not realize:
We don't get funding from our school system, government or any other source - schooling, materials, supplies, books, curriculum is 100% on US financially - and we still pay all those school taxes.
Our children still have to take the mandated tests (By NY) starting 4th grade and that is our responsibly to make sure that happens.
We spend any "down" time we might have - researching curriculum, downloading activities and making lesson plans.
There is very little "down" time.
Yup this is OUR decision and we know what comes with the it!
I pray that the good Lord will allow us to continue on this path to home educating our children and that others might have a little more grace when it comes to understanding home educating.
Until next time - Be Blessed!
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