7 Reasons I Choose to Homeschool

 

We are about to commence our 6th year of homeschooling here. 6th!  For a girl who never intended to be a homeschooling mom, a girl who said she would try it for a year – because how bad can you really screw up kindergarten, right? – it’s pretty amazing me to me.  Amazing that we’re still standing, amazing that my kids know some stuff, and amazing that we are still pretty much loving it.  I’m just as surprised as the next guy.

Occasionally, I get asked why we do it.  I used to hate to answer this question.  I used to smugly wonder why I should have to defend myself.  I used to analyze how, in a brief conversation, I could clearly articulate all the merits of homeschooling so someone else would be convinced it is obviously the best choice in education.  My own immaturity is embarrassing at times.

But I’ve since realized that when someone does something differently than you do, it’s interesting.  And inquiring minds want to know why.  When I first learned my friend vacuums her hardwood, when I’ve always been a sweeper, I wanted to know why.  Why a vacuum, what kind of vacuum, how well does that work, is it hard on your floors, does it save you time. I was never asking her to defend her vacuuming as the greatest method of obtaining crumb-less floors.  I simply saw something different and wanted to know why.

I now think why is a pretty great place to start.  So often we do things the way our parents did, the way our friends do, the way we think we are supposed to or someone else thinks we should and one of the wisest things we can do, one of the best ways we can learn is to simply ask why.

 

So with that in mind, and in no particular order, here are seven reasons why I homeschool:

1. No morning madness

No running late. No “I can’t find my shoes!” No “I lost my backpack!” No “you’re going to miss the bus!” And no crazy mama.  Well, at least for the most part, no crazy mama.  I have to tell you, friends, getting this group of kids in the car, on time, not looking disheveled and with emptied bladders is no small feat for me.  No small feat.

Now of course it would behoove me to become disciplined in this area, to train my children (and myself) to be more expedient and good stewards of their time.  So we do, on Sundays mornings for church, for ballet and soccer practice or the occasional doctor’s appointment.  That is enough training for me though.  This mama likes to cut the crazy and skip the morning madness.

 

2.  I get to pick the schedule.

I declare snow days.  This alone could be it’s own reason!  I remember in high school, watching the snow forecast for the next day, knowing the administrator would be out there before dawn testing the roads and making the call that meant freedom or another day of the grind for my classmates and me.  And I get to do that now!  I get to pick when antsy kids need a snack or lunch break or when we stop everything to watch the harvest going on around us.

Someone was telling me the other day about a recent school board meeting in their town.  All the teachers, parents and administrators were haggling over more days in the fall or more days in the spring.  It unfolded as teachers against parents all vying for different interests.  I couldn’t help but think “hooray for no haggling over schedules at our house; I get to pick!”

 

 

3. I love the unity it creates in my family.

Now let me tell you that there are days when we’ve been home, together, all day loooooong, and by about 3:00 we are fresh out of unity.  Our unity is just spent.  But that’s family life.  We get on each other’s nerves, someone is having a bad day, we’re short on patience.  There are times when we all need grace and space.

But for the most part doing school together creates more memories, more bonds as a family.  We see a swan and we wonder aloud if it’s Louis because we are reading The Trumpet of the Swan together.  We play outside and try out echolocation because that is what we learned about in science together.  More inside jokes and light bulb moments happen between us simply because of time spent.  I know exactly what my kids are studying so it naturally comes up when we are out and about in town and see it in everyday life.  The links between my kids’ education and their home life become constant and continual, they overlap and intersect.  Education is a seamless part of life in our home.

 

4.  I get to learn along with my kids.

I love, love this part.  I don’t know about you, but there is a ton of stuff I do not remember from school.  The historical timeline is embarrassingly muddy in my head.  I have trouble integrating Biblical history into World history because they run on separate parallels my mind.  But guess what?  I get to re-learn it!  I get to work on integrating world history AND biblical history with my kids.  I get to do experiments with them, I get to study logic with them and Latin.  I even get to do algebra with them (insert sarcasm).  Well, maybe my husband will help with algebra.  But not only do I get to see every light bulb moment, when the big and challenging stuff makes sense to them, I get the privilege of dusting off my brain and re-instating my love of learning along the way.

 

 

5.  I get to pick the curriculum. 

This is two-sided because it’s challenging and overwhelming and I kind of hate it when I’m in the thick of it, but I really am thankful for the opportunity.  I get to find the best curriculum for my active learner and the best one for my eager beaver.  I get to use the advanced curriculum that best suits my math minded kid and find a more gradual writing program for the kid who struggles there.  I get to choose curriculum that supports a biblical worldview and books that tailor more toward my children’s specific interests.  It’s like couture education – where I can customize a learning track specifically for my child, digger deeper than they may otherwise get to.

 

6. I get to pick the content.  

Nationally, education has changed.  It is constantly changing.  More things are being done at the federal level and there is less local control.  At the same time cultural shift is changing what our children are taught and how and when they are taught it.  Gone are the days where you could appeal to your local school board and small towns had great influence over what their children were being taught locally.  I understand the arguments behind why that has happened, but for parents, this presents some very real challenges.  I’m thankful that in my home, I choose the content.  My husband and I choose when and how it is presented and I’m not tasked with decompressing my children and sorting out conflicting beliefs.

Might this be considered sheltering my kids?  You bet it might.  And I’m okay with that.  In these early and impressionable years I want to choose how and when certain topics and theories are introduced and I am incredibly thankful that I live in a country that affords me that right.

 

 

7.  I believe that this is the best choice for my family right now.

I attended a Bible study last year.  One with a mix of mamas who homeschooled and public schooled and private schooled. And I learned something in the casual debates and discussions that came up.  Each one of those mamas loved their children like crazy and was making the best educational choice she knew for her family.  Isn’t that all any of us can do?  We pray about these thing, because they matter.  We look at our kids and our options.  We ask why.  And then we all boldly move forward having faith and praying every step of the way that we are doing the very best we can with the children God has blessed us with.

Wishing you all a wonderful start to your school year, whatever form that may take.  May you bring those kids up boldly that they may be the next generation of brave souls who are courageous enough to do great things!