I am starting my sixth year of homeschooling this school year, and over the years, I've been asked Why I chose to homeschool many many times. If you're like me, you don't really read long posts, so I'm going to do my best to make this a short summary of the many reasons that led to my decision that fateful September 6 years ago. Here goes......
DISCLAIMER---these are my experiences and my opinions and are in no way meant to be blanket statements. They do not apply to every family. God leads different families different ways for His purposes, so please don't feel "judged" if you put your kids in school. On the flip side, please be open to the Holy Spirit's leading.....as He may very well be leading you to start your homeschool journey. It wouldn't be the first time in history that God asked someone to do something that seemed "crazy" right?! 8)
Flexibility--With homeschooling I have the flexibility to adjust curriculum to fit the specific ability levels of my children. My son, for example, is at a very high reading level, but is at grade level in math. I am able to tailor his education to fit.
Flexibility--We have flexibility with our schedule during the school year. I started a little early this year because I knew that we were planning a month long trek across the country to visit family and go on a FL vacation. We are in the tourism business, and can spend quality time with our kids while we are not "in season" with work.
Discipleship--I want to have the time to really build into my kids....not just academically....but most importantly spiritually. Six years ago when I was faced with my son entering full day school (which was 9am-4pm) and then knowing there would be homework time and sports after that, I took a serious look at whether or not I was willing to let other people have that privilege. In our family's case, it was not the wisest decision for us.
Independence--With homeschooling, my kids are able to finish their work in less time (because there aren't 28 of them together and we don't deal with class wide discipline issues or bathroom breaks, etc.) and pursue other interests.
Spiritual Growth--We spend the first hour of our day doing "Bible time" which consists of personal devotions, prayer over requests that we, as a family, are fervent about, and then we work on Scripture memory. It would be very difficult to do that on a daily basis (especially in the morning) if I had to send them out the door to school.
**I have grown spiritually in so many dimensions as a result of this journey. There are so many days that I don't feel like doing it, but it is a lesson in dying to myself. There are also so many days where I've messed up and responded to my children in a way that was impatient. These are opportunities for me to humble myself and ask for forgiveness.
Closeness--I have had the privilege of growing close to my children through this experience. Instead of butting heads and just accepting that "we just can't get along" we have had the opportunity to learn to work through personality and relational differences.
God is always leading and growing us as Christians. I am so thankful that I had the courage to start my homeschool journey years ago. I was scared, I felt ill equipped, and I had to deal with family members who thought we had lost our minds, but in the end it was the best decision for our family. I'm so glad I took that leap of faith!
