I am going to start by saying that homeschooling is NOT for everyone! Then I am going to tell you why it works for us and why we do it.
1) I feel led by God to home school
When I was about 13 years old i met my first home school friends at camp.They were amazing people! They loved me for me, They were intelligent and thinking individuals. I wanted to be like them! I wanted to be home schooled! and that is when i decided that home schooling was what I wanted for my kids. Then fast forward 4 or 5 years. I started dating an amazing man ( who is now my husband) and we were chatting about life and what we wanted and I told him all I want is to be a stay at home mom and home school, and you know what that amazing man cried because that is exactly what he wanted his wife to do and that was when I knew it was more than just my desire it was Gods desire also. There is no way i could go through a day of homeschooling with out the backing of my God.
2) I want to be the single greatest influence in my children's life
I want to watch them learn, I want to be there for them every step of the way, I want to be the one forming the adult they will grow into. I DO NOT think that other people cant teach my kids and help them grow into fabulous adults, but I want to be the one to do it. In want to stop hear and say I think teachers are amazing!!! I could not do their job on the scale they do. it is one thing to teach your own kids but to teach a classroom full of someone else's kids! WOW! Teachers are amazing people.
3)I can customize their education and learning style
I have very active children who need hands on activities to learn and I have children who want to sit down and do workbooks all day and with homeschooling I can make that happen for any of them! I can also look at what they are ready for and then start them there. My oldest i tried to teach to read really early and it was a horrible experience! Now I watch them and see when they are ready. I believe that it makes learning more fun for the student and easier for the teacher. One way I customize is in that one of my children excels at math but is a struggling reader at 8 years old. I can give him advanced math and easier reading and it is okay! He can be at a first grade reading level and a 4th grade math level.
4) I was bullied in school
This is a lame reason to home school but I am being honest here. This is in no way the main reason I home school but I believe it plays a part in my reasoning. I don't want them to face what I did, I don't want them to draw in a shell and be a shy person because of bullies. I know I cant shelter them forever but I can protect them and talk about the mean people out there, they know everyone isn't nice. I am going to give a few examples of things I don't want them to have to deal with at a young age, things i had to deal with. I don't want sympathy and I am not trying to cry about how bad things were for me, but like I said I am just being honest. I don't want them to be left out by everyone. I remember getting bad marks on my report card for not socializing and the reason was no one wanted me to play with them. I just sat under a tree by myself everyday at recess. I don't want them to be called ugly. In 6th grade is when i remember this starting and honestly still struggle with this today. I had a girl jab me in the forehead and tell me I had a big head with two bumps on my forehead, I had people tease me and say my bottom lip was big to the point I would bite my lip in to make it look smaller and give myself sores on the inside of my mouth, I had a girl tell me I smelled bad and sprayed me down with air freshener in front of the whole class, I even had someone tell me I talked like a boy. Wow people sure have a way of destroying innocence and self worth. My kids don't need that.There were many more instances but I will stop here. I am glad that by homeschooling I can help them keep that innocence and self worth a little longer.
5) The get to learn lots of different arts, crafts and cooking
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is we have time to spend together doing things other than school. My kids have learned some really fun and exciting things! My kids ages are 8, 6, 4, and 21/2 and they have helped me and learned how to freeze apricots, peaches, tomatoes and green beans! They have helped me can tomatoes and apple sauce, they know how to make bread. They are learning to knit, loom knit, weave, sew, cross stitch and whatever else we decide we want to do and I am learning right beside them!!!
So now you know why we home school. And here is a glimpse of one of our home schooling days.
