Why do I Homeschool?

 

• We can focus more on Christ. That could be the only reason on my list, and it would be enough.  Just being able to have the time to have a devotional with my kids each morning where we discuss a scripture and practice our memorization, sing a song.  And then, to be able to tie in gospel principles every day to what we’re learning (thanks to our curriculum, The Family School). There’s nothing better.

   

• I just LOVE that feeling when I’m teaching my kids – knowing that there’s absolutely nothing better in the world right now that I could be doing.  Amazing.

   

• It allows the kids to learn at their own pace.  If they’re ready to move on in a subject, we can move on.  If they need more time, we can take all the time we need.

   

• I can see right away what they’re understanding and what they’re not understanding.

   

• I know what they’re learning. My son used to get off the bus, after being gone ALL DAY LONG, and when I would ask him what he did in school that day, he’d say, “nothing.”I would try to pry a few sentences out of him, and put together clues based on what he brought home in his backpack, but basically, I really had to clue.Now, I know exactly everything that they’re learning.We can talk about it through-out the day, review it at dinnertime when Daddy comes home, tie it in to something that we see together when we’re out and about.

   

• I get to learn, too!  Man, I don’t know if I was asleep in school or what, but when did we learn all this cool, interesting stuff?  Did I learn it?  I have no idea.  Through homeschooling, I’ve learned all sorts of cool stuff from history, literature, learned about composers, and animals, geography, culture, religion, art.  I’m even learning Spanish right along with the boys.  That is something that I definitely would not have even thought of doing before homeschooling.

   

• I get to spend time with my boys!  Now, I’m not gonna lie, sometimes Mama needs a little break – a little “me time,” a little breather, ya know?  But, I can honestly say that (most of the time) I enjoy spending time with my children.  This time in my life when I get to live with them all in my house is, I know, only a fleeting moment.  I want to take advantage of it as much as I can.  And they make it all worth it.

   

• They have more time to pursue what they’re interested in.  At their young ages, they haven’t quite declared an ultimate mission in life, but they have the ability to explore their talents and learn what they can about what they’re interested in.

   

• I’m able to teach them life skills.  Where the heck are the life skills classes in school?  I graduated from high school with high honors, and yet, when I got married and began living in the real world, I realized that I knew pretty much nothing useful about how to be an adult.  What is a mortgage?  What is insurance?  Why are there so many kinds of insurance?  You mean I have to keep track of what I spend?  Yeah, it was pretty bad, I hate to admit.  I want my kids to be prepared – to know how to take care of themselves and a family, not just how to pass a math or a history test.

   

• Field trips.  Going out and learning in the world at real-life places is just the best.  What else can I say?

   

• No waiting at the bus stop or in car line!  Yes!

 

• Picnic lunches outside in the back yard.  My fave.

   

• Being able to teach them to participate.  Think about it.  In traditional school, so much of the time the kids are told to “sit still and be quiet.”  Is that really what we want them to be doing?  Is that what they are meant to be doing at this age?  At home, they are constantly engaged, asking questions, giving their input.  I noticed a change in my kids within just the first month of homeschooling.  It’s like the lights came on.

 

 

 

How Did it All Begin?

 

It all started with the fact that my husband and all of his siblings were homeschooled at some point or another growing up.  Before this, I had never known anyone who had been homeschooled before.  I thought it was interesting, but quickly declared that it was “not for me.” 

 

Time went on.  We started having our own family.  The time came for the boys to go to school, and I sent them on their way to the local public school.  They had a typical satisfactory/nice experience in school – no traumatic events.  Their teachers were great.  They had good friends.  I really had nothing to complain about it.  It seemed to be “working.”

 

But, looming in the back of my mind was the question of what to do when they got to be middle school age.  I had been hearing some not-so-great things about the middle school and high school in our town.  When I tried to picture sending them to those schools, it really didn’t feel right. 

 

Now, I’m the type of person that loves to plan.  I love to picture my life 5-years down the line and imagine how everything is going to work out.  So, while it wasn’t really a critical decision at the time (what to do with my kids for middle school), it was really bothering me. 

 

I thought and thought and finally declared that we would either have to move, or I would have to take up homeschooling.  I still remember the night that I made that decision in my mind.  It’s really the first time I ever actually pictured myself homeschooling.  Up until that point, if ever the thought entered my mind, I would promptly chase it away, annoyed at the fact that myself even brought it up. 

 

“Why would you even think I could homeschool?  I don’t have the time!  I already work part-time!  It is too much work!  I wouldn’t do a good job!  I’m not going to do it!”  (These are some of the thoughts I would tell myself).

 

So, that night was kindove a big deal for me.  I noticed a little bit of a shift happening.  Homeschooling became on option – not an option for the immediate future, of course, but something to consider for somewhere down the line.

 

Again, time went on.  School was fine for the boys.  I didn’t really think too much about homeschooling.  I just planned on moving forward on the path that I was on.

 

That brings us to June 2014.  One day, I happened to come across an article on Yahoo about a homeschooling family (The Harding Family).  The mom, Mona Lisa Harding, had written a book (The Brainy Bunch) about her experience with homeschooling.  I was so intrigued by the idea that all her kids graduated college so early and were so successful in their careers.

 

I have to admit that, at first, I didn’t even want to tell anyone that I was reading the book.  I wasn’t ready for any outside opinions about what I should or should not do.  So, I just researched quietly.

 

Well, that only lasted about a day.  As soon as I got into the book, I didn’t want to put it down.  It made me so excited about all the possibilities for my children and for myself.  Everything that was she was saying really spoke to my heart.  I loved her method of helping her children find their passions, and figure out what they were interested in and allowing them to take off from there and really explore the world and the field that they were interested in. 

 

I wanted to talk to everyone around me about homeschooling and find out all that I could.  I finished “The Brainy Bunch” in a couple of days, and just felt this completely unexpected but overwhelmingly excited feeling.  My mind was racing. 

 

“Could I really homeschool?  Could this be something I could do?  Would my children be successful?  Would I be able to pull it off?  Do I have the time for this?  Do I have the money to get started?  How do I get started?  How do I get organized?  What if we start it and don’t like it?  What will people think?  What about their friends at school?  Will they be missing out on too much?  Will they become weird and anti-social?  Am I ready to make this commitment for something that could last me for the next 15 years?”

 

All these questions.  All these unknowns.  All these doubts.  But, the amazing thing is that despite all the issues that I could come up with, I still felt excited.  I still felt like something was moving me along this path.

 

That’s when I decided to read another book – “On the Fence About Homeschooling?” 

 

Well, that’s what did it.  I finished it in one night, and by the end of it, I had decided that homeschooling was definitely for me.  Despite all of the questions and doubts, I knew that there was no turning back now.  It was as if all these pieces were fitting together in my mind – these pieces that I didn’t even realize were missing before.  There they were.  And it was all coming together.  I don’t know how else to describe the feeling, except for the fact that it just truly spoke to my heart.  I just knew.  This was my path.

 

It’s funny, because, when I finally told Rob, my husband, that this was something that I was interested in, he said very calmly, “I was hoping that you would choose this.”

 

We hadn’t even really talked about it too much.  I had no idea that this was something that he even wanted.  He really wanted it to be my decision, though, because he knew most of the responsibility would end up falling on me.  He didn’t want to push me into something that I wasn’t ready for or something that I didn’t want.  But, once I made that choice, he was completely on board and ready to support me in whatever I needed.  Yay!

 

Ok, so now we knew that we wanted to homeschool, but I still had the questions of “How?” and “When?”

 

I quickly declared that it wouldn’t be this upcoming school year.  I just “knew” that I couldn’t pull it together in time.  There must be about a billion different curriculums out there, and of course, I needed to completely and thoroughly research every one before making my final decision, right?

 

This is when I decided to ask the boys about it and see what they thought.  I remember distinctly the day when I talked to them about it.  First, I asked my oldest son, Kent (who would be going into 3rd grade).  When I asked him what he thought about the idea of homeschooling, his eyes got really big for a second and I really had no idea which way his enthusiasm was going to go, until he blurted out, “That is the BEST idea in the whole universe!!!!!”  (Exact quote).

 

Ok, so I definitely had one boy on board.  Next, I asked my soon-to-be 1st grader, Jace.  As soon as I asked him what he thought, he started running around the room screaming, “Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!”

 

My 3-year-old, Cade, was of course all about the idea, too, even though we decided to keep him enrolled in his regular preschool for 2-days a week.  We just love our preschool in town so much, I couldn't let it go.  But, he loved the idea of being able to learn at home, too, with his big brothers.

 

Alrighty, so the boys are definitely on board.  I had to reign them in a little bit, though, because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to start right away.  I told the boys, “Look, this is definitely not going to happen this Fall.  It takes a lot of planning.  I need at least a year to try and figure it all out.  Besides, it costs quite a bit of money for all the supplies and everything.”

 

That’s when Jace blurted out, “I’ll give you all the money in my bank!”

 

Wow, I honestly had no idea that they would feel so strongly about it!  It was quite darling, I have to say, and just another confirmation to me that I was on the right path.

 

So, I kept on my research path, trying to find out as much as I possibly could.  I was so excited, too!  I could hardly sleep.  It’s all I could think about.  Every possible moment, I was looking up different curriculums online, reading books, making lists…

 

Then, one night, I came across a website for a place called The American Heritage School: www.latterdaylearning.org.  This is when everything started to become clear and come together.  I started looking through their website, watching their videos and reading all about their lessons. 

 

I knew this was it.  I had found the perfect curriculum for me.  It was one of those moments where all the stars in the heavens seemed to align and it was like a bright-neon sign was shining the way for me.  I had no doubts.  I knew that homeschooling was for me, and I knew that this was the curriculum I needed.

 

As I looked into it even further, I realized that everything was so well-organized.  All the lessons were planned out for the whole year and so well written!  It covered almost all of the subjects that I wanted to teach my kids.  It was amazing!

 

Now there was no excuse.  With a curriculum like this, there was nothing stopping me from starting up in the Fall.

 

This was honestly one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.  In a matter of about two weeks I went from:  “Hmmm, maybe I’ll homeschool my kids at some point, but hopefully I won’t have to,” to “Homeschooling is the best idea in the world, let’s start up this Fall!”  It was so amazing.  I honestly felt like I was being guided. 

 

I’ve always been a very religious and spiritual person.  Any and all big decisions in my life, I’ve given a lot of thought and prayer.  This one was different, though.  Of course, I prayed about it, but it was so strange.  It all happened so quickly.  It felt like I skipped over the whole, “Should I homeschool?” prayer, and went straight to the, “Thank you so much for leading me to the idea of homeschooling!” prayer.  I knew I was being led.  It was incredible.  It was just like I was being guided all along.  I felt this fire inside of me that I couldn’t deny, telling me that this was my path.

 

At this point, I had about 7 weeks to pull it all together.  It’s amazing what we’re capable of when we have a deadline, right?  I got straight to work.  I made my final decisions on the math and language curriculum, organized the house the best I could, ordered all my supplies, wrote letters to the Board of Education, withdrawing my kids from school, told our friends and family the news (with mixed responses – mostly positive).

 

Somehow, it came together, and now, even though I feel I’ve never worked harder in my entire life, all I have to say is this: IT IS ALL WORTH IT! 

 

The kids are happier, I’m happier.  There are still times, yes, when it feels like too much – when the pressure of it all starts to get to me.  It’s then when I try to take a step back, and instead thinking about all the things I didn’t get done in that one particular day – I look over what we’ve accomplished together as a family and who we’ve all grown and there’s no denying it.  This is where we are supposed to be.  I love it!