Why Homeschool

I haven't said much on this blog about homeschooling. I think mostly that's because I was afraid of people's reactions. I didn't want them to judge me, and I didn't want to hear any criticism for doing what we thought was right for our family. However, I also realize that there are people out there who genuinely want to look into the option of homeschooling. They are curious as to how other people might go about it (everybody does it differently!), and wondering if it is a good choice for them. So, I'm going to put my pride aside for a little while and let you all into our lives as homeschoolers. Keep in mind, I haven't been doing this for very long at all. My oldest is in 1st grade this year. So we are still figuring things out too, and changing all the time. But the reasons remain the same, so I will share those too.

What made us decide to home school?
Background: My husband and I were never homeschooled. We both went to public school our entire school lives, and never really considered anything different for our own family, up until it was time for them to go.
It sort of happened very naturally. First of all, I never send my kids to preschool. Maybe because I think it's ridiculously overpriced for something I can very easily teach my children myself. I found that I really liked being the one teaching my kids. It was fun for both (all) of us and I think it helped me get to know them better, and have some good quality time together each day. When it came time for Tyler to go to Kindergarten, we were living in Ohio. I had a good friend, Loni, who homeschooled her kids and I really admired their family and how they made it all work. I felt like they had their priorities straight, and that the most important things were in focus. She had also had her kids close together (even closer than ours) and so I saw that it was possible after all :). But of course I had to make a pros and cons list, because that's what I do. We prayed about it a lot, and Kenny and I discussed it all the time. We decided that we could just try it for a year and see what we thought. If it was a horrible failure, then he hadn't missed out on much and we could just send him the next year.

I was worried that we were doing something so different. It was new, and scary, and I wasn't sure if I was qualified. (Which, now I see how messed up that thought is. Nobody is more qualified than the child's own mother to teach them! I was just brainwashed by the popular mindset of the day.) I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle all the stress, and responsibility that comes with it. There's a lot of pressure that comes with being solely responsible for what your children learn! And I feel the weight of that every day. But I also count it as a great privilege and blessing that I am able to stay home and teach them. I take it very seriously, and am so glad that I have the choice.

Halfway through what would have been Tyler's Kindergarten year, we had a sudden change of jobs and moved to Alaska. I was glad we weren't having to pull him out of school during that crazy time.
But just for the sake of sharing, here's what we felt were, and are, the pros and cons of homeschooling.

PROS:
I think the most important things they can be learning during these young, formative years is right from wrong. I want them to learn, more than anything else in the world, about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and what it means to be a good person. I wanted to focus on their moral and character development. I want them to be patriotic and have a deep love for their country, and the great stories of its founding. If they can have a really solid foundation and be more sheltered from the world and all the bad things in it while they are still developing their moral code, then I feel like they will be that much better prepared to face it all when the time comes. As a young child especially, they need to feel so loved and special. Who better to provide that love and teach those morals, then me, their mother?

Whenever I would get together with women who had school-age children, there was a lot of complaining. There were so many problems with other students, with the bad influences and things they were learning from kids, problems with the teachers, with the system, with ridiculous amounts of homework and specific ways that they were being forced to teach it. I would sit and listen to these women thinking, "there's got to be a better way!" Homeschooling allows me the freedom to teach what my children are interested in, what we as their parents feel is important, and lets them be kids. I don't think they should be required to sit in a desk all day at school (as 5 years old!) and then come home, only to have more homework to do. They are KIDS. I think they learn best through playing and working--both of which they are able to do a lot of at home.

Every child learns differently. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, and talents that need to nurtured and developed. One of the challenges of public school is there are way too many kids for one teacher to possibly be able to cater to each individual learning style. At no fault of the teacher, it's just a fact. As a mother, I know my kids better than anyone else. I can see where they are struggling and give them that extra help without them being labeled as "the dumb kid", or have them comparing themselves with everyone else and making them feel badly about themselves and their abilities. The opposite is also true, that if they are excelling in another area, they won't be held back for the sake of the other kids in class.

Sibling relationships. Yes of course my kids fight and quarrel like all other siblings in the world. But they also play really well together and have a lot of experiences working and learning together. It is really sweet to watch them interact (when they're being kind...) and to see them help teach the other something they've already learned.

Freedom! We are not tied to anyone else's schedule. We don't have to spend a lot of time in the car dropping off and picking up. We can vacation whenever we want to (which is nice because we live in Alaska so far away from family!) If it's a really nice day, we can spend most of it outside! The days are ours for the taking and it's nice to have that freedom.

CONS:
It's certainly not all rainbows and butterflies. There's the issue of the house being in a constant state of clutter! It's very demanding to keep up with everything and try to juggle it all.

Sometimes the little girls are wanting more attention or someone's sick, and like I said, it's just a never-ending game of juggling. There are constant interruptions; diaper changing, wiping bums, spilled drinks, problems with the dog, etc. etc. It can be exhausting and overwhelming, and some days I wish I could just ship them all off so I can sit down, or maybe clean the house and leave it clean for like, more than 1 minute. But I also see how that is a very minor issue, in comparison with the larger picture. It just takes a lot of reminding myself, and never rest :).

Boredom. Tyler especially is usually wanting someone to play with him. Perhaps if he had a brother close to him, it'd be different. But his sisters usually play dolls and stuff together, which he's not a fan of. He doesn't like when I have so much regualar housework to do. He thinks I should be able to give him all the one-on-one time he wants. But obviously that's not possible.. He does get a lot of time from me, but he's one of four kids (5 when we babysit 3-4 days a week) and there's many demands of keeping house that he doesn't get. He's very social, and also very competitive. So I can see how going to "normal school" (as he calls it) would be a lot of fun for him. And we're working on getting him into a good school. They just do it by lottery draw here and so far we haven't been picked. We'll re-evaluate next year and see what the best decision is for him individually. He will turn 8 halfway through the school year next year, so I feel good about sending him at that age.

The next post will be on HOW we run our homeschool.