Why are we going to homeschool?
God said so.
We really believe this is a calling on our lives- at least for this season.
We want our kids to get the best possible education.
We don’t have a problem with the public school system- especially in the district where we live. (I will note that we think just like everyone else that we know that it has some serious problems that should addressed, but I think that of just about any big operation.) As a matter of fact ALL, and I said ALL, of the teachers that I personally know- and I know quite a few- not only seem to be good teachers, but genuinely LOVE “their” kids. My husband worked in this district and from what we can tell, the administration is made up of Godly men and women that work well together and are respectful to its staff.
That being said, public school is still public school. Everything is done for the greater good- as it should be in that setting. Teachers have to teach to the middle and hope that the ones at the bottom can somehow catch up with extra attention/help from the parents/tutoring and the ones at the top don’t get too bored and disruptive.
Flexibility.
Our “Saturdays” usually end up being our Thursdays just because that is the day Brandon is off. Our Saturdays are usually full of anything but relaxing or family oriented things. Also, I currently still do PRN work as a Speech-language Pathologist- this leaves me flexible to continue to do that.
We want to be the ones to “raise” our kids.
We aren’t ready for our 4, soon to be 5 *tear*, year-old to be gone from our house for EIGHT HOURS A DAY. That seems crazy to us. Sorry if the opposite seems crazy to you.
Nothing really has to change for us.
We have always done everything we can to make our home a “learning environment.” I already stay home pretty much full time. I know this is a big deal because for most families to make a decision like this, they would have to make HUGE changes in how things run in their households. I also think this is one of the reasons God had me start staying home in the first place.
God said so.
We really believe this is a calling on our lives- at least for this season.
We want our kids to get the best possible education.
We don’t have a problem with the public school system- especially in the district where we live. (I will note that we think just like everyone else that we know that it has some serious problems that should addressed, but I think that of just about any big operation.) As a matter of fact ALL, and I said ALL, of the teachers that I personally know- and I know quite a few- not only seem to be good teachers, but genuinely LOVE “their” kids. My husband worked in this district and from what we can tell, the administration is made up of Godly men and women that work well together and are respectful to its staff.
That being said, public school is still public school. Everything is done for the greater good- as it should be in that setting. Teachers have to teach to the middle and hope that the ones at the bottom can somehow catch up with extra attention/help from the parents/tutoring and the ones at the top don’t get too bored and disruptive.
Flexibility.
Our “Saturdays” usually end up being our Thursdays just because that is the day Brandon is off. Our Saturdays are usually full of anything but relaxing or family oriented things. Also, I currently still do PRN work as a Speech-language Pathologist- this leaves me flexible to continue to do that.
We want to be the ones to “raise” our kids.
We aren’t ready for our 4, soon to be 5 *tear*, year-old to be gone from our house for EIGHT HOURS A DAY. That seems crazy to us. Sorry if the opposite seems crazy to you.
Nothing really has to change for us.
We have always done everything we can to make our home a “learning environment.” I already stay home pretty much full time. I know this is a big deal because for most families to make a decision like this, they would have to make HUGE changes in how things run in their households. I also think this is one of the reasons God had me start staying home in the first place.
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Brandon and Grady Scott drawing together on the couch.
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These are not our reasons to home school:
Protect our kids from the world.
To me this one is just silly and naive. It is our hope that our kids experience MORE of the world, but with a their parents as their tour guide. If we end up continuing this into the teenage years, I see exciting things such as mission projects, service projects, and truly diving deep into their passions- whatever those turn out to be!
Give them a Godly worldview.
I know some of the most awesome teenagers ever that have an amazing worldview that were and are in public schools. That is our job as parents no matter the setting. Don’t use, “well, they picked that up from school” as an excuse people! Do your job! I do think that this is easier to do in the home setting, but still requires purposeful action.
We know other people that are doing it.
We do happen to have some close friends that are homeschooling and to be quite honest, some of them have given me things to aspire toward and some have taught me what not to do- some of them both. This is truly a very personal decision for our family that we have put a lot of thought, prayer, and time into making.
Concerns we have:
“Socialization”
I have some homeschool friends that laugh this one off, but it is a real concern to me and my husband. I don’t think they will be any more or less “weird” because they were or weren’t home schooled. I know plenty of homeschool teenagers/adults that are just fine and plenty that are a little… unusual, but the thing is, I know plenty of public school teenagers/adults that are just fine and plenty that are a little off as well. I do worry about my kids being happy though. Depression is real even among the youngest of us. That is why we are going to make this a priority because we happen to have 2 very social little people, I think. If we see that we just can’t meet what our kids need, we will make some changes- whatever those changes need to be (prayerfully- again, God’s will not ours).
Can I do it?
I was once a very career driven woman and I am very organized and goal oriented. These are weaknesses and strengths. My answer to this one: No. I truly can’t. I have tried on my own steam and we didn’t even fit “school” into our day for an entire 2 weeks. Crazy I know, but true. I am terrible on my own. That is why I am going to rely on my God to get us through this and hopefully come out “educated” on the other end. Ha!
That said, I am a trained SLP http://www.asha.org/careers/professions/slp/ and so I have an understanding of how learning takes place (especially language) and what external variables affect learning. I think I am equipped to teach the younger ages now. I do wonder how I will do if we continue into the teens years as I think that someone who went to school and specifically majored in that subject area would obviously be more qualified to teach that subject than myself. Which is one reason we will probably enter the public school system when our kids get older.
Protect our kids from the world.
To me this one is just silly and naive. It is our hope that our kids experience MORE of the world, but with a their parents as their tour guide. If we end up continuing this into the teenage years, I see exciting things such as mission projects, service projects, and truly diving deep into their passions- whatever those turn out to be!
Give them a Godly worldview.
I know some of the most awesome teenagers ever that have an amazing worldview that were and are in public schools. That is our job as parents no matter the setting. Don’t use, “well, they picked that up from school” as an excuse people! Do your job! I do think that this is easier to do in the home setting, but still requires purposeful action.
We know other people that are doing it.
We do happen to have some close friends that are homeschooling and to be quite honest, some of them have given me things to aspire toward and some have taught me what not to do- some of them both. This is truly a very personal decision for our family that we have put a lot of thought, prayer, and time into making.
Concerns we have:
“Socialization”
I have some homeschool friends that laugh this one off, but it is a real concern to me and my husband. I don’t think they will be any more or less “weird” because they were or weren’t home schooled. I know plenty of homeschool teenagers/adults that are just fine and plenty that are a little… unusual, but the thing is, I know plenty of public school teenagers/adults that are just fine and plenty that are a little off as well. I do worry about my kids being happy though. Depression is real even among the youngest of us. That is why we are going to make this a priority because we happen to have 2 very social little people, I think. If we see that we just can’t meet what our kids need, we will make some changes- whatever those changes need to be (prayerfully- again, God’s will not ours).
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| Norah playing in the sprinkler- always a smile! |
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| Grady Scott- my funny, sweet boy! |
Can I do it?
I was once a very career driven woman and I am very organized and goal oriented. These are weaknesses and strengths. My answer to this one: No. I truly can’t. I have tried on my own steam and we didn’t even fit “school” into our day for an entire 2 weeks. Crazy I know, but true. I am terrible on my own. That is why I am going to rely on my God to get us through this and hopefully come out “educated” on the other end. Ha!
That said, I am a trained SLP http://www.asha.org/careers/professions/slp/ and so I have an understanding of how learning takes place (especially language) and what external variables affect learning. I think I am equipped to teach the younger ages now. I do wonder how I will do if we continue into the teens years as I think that someone who went to school and specifically majored in that subject area would obviously be more qualified to teach that subject than myself. Which is one reason we will probably enter the public school system when our kids get older.
**DISCLAIMER**
This is not intended to offend anyone or try to persuade anyone in either direction. We just wanted to put our thoughts together so others could hopefully understand our decision. Prayers appreciated as we enter this unknown territory- we’ll see how it goes!!
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