I mentioned yesterday that I only planned to homeschool through preschool and kindergarten at first, because I thought those years would be easy enough. And yet, here I am, the mom of three sons who have graduated and two high school aged daughters, whom I am still homeschooling. What happened, and why am I still at it? Why am I such an advocate for homeschooling?
- I like being with my kids. The most common thing that non-homeschooling moms say is that they can’t imagine being with their kids all day. I can’t imagine NOT being with my kids all day. I love my kids. I am not any kind of super mom with an extraordinary amount of patience. I am just so used to being with my kids each day, I would truly grieve if our days looked any different.
- My kids have become friends and they like being together. I know–the norm in the U.S. is that siblings argue every single day and about every little thing. Mine don’t. I can’t promise that you will get the same results if you homeschool, because well, kids are sinners, just like us. My kids have grown up hanging out with each other every day, and they’ve grown to actually like being together.
- I like seeing my kids learn new things. Remember when your baby first learned to stand up, and you were there? It was so cool! I have been blessed to be present when my children first learned to sound out a word, write their name, read a chapter book, and write a research paper. Their eyes still light up, even if they’re too cool and they try to hide it now, and I get to be there to see it.
- I get to learn, too. I have no need of going to further college at this point, because I’m marinating in an educational environment right here in my home. I am reading poetry, classic literature, and history. I am looking at the map more than I ever did in my public school years. I am writing down people and events in my own timeline book. I’m listening to composers and exploring nature and going on field trips. What an amazing experience!
- I know what my kids are learning. I’ve hand picked my kids’ curriculum, and I know what they are learning. I’m protecting their minds during vulnerable years by providing them with a good, healthy, rich, full diet of beautiful literature, history, science, and more. They aren’t exposed to the most recent agenda that is being pushed on the public schools.
- We can spend time in the Bible together. I believe that the most important thing I will ever teach my children about is God’s Word. If they were gone all day, I’d only have small bits of time to share Scripture with them.
- My kids don’t sit at desks all day. My kids move around, go outdoors, explore, sit on the floor, lay on the couch, and be comfortable. This is a real kind of childhood. I don’t personally have a goal of training my children to sit at a desk in a cubicle all day when they are older, so why would I do that to them now?
- Our family shares experiences and knowledge. If we sent our kids to school all day, they would be in separate classrooms, and they’d possibly have different lunch and recess times and maybe even different schools (depending on their grades). They wouldn’t be getting to know the same people, or even sticking to any of the same subjects. Our family has always gone to co-ops and activities together. We also study several subjects together. As the boys have gotten older, I see how this connected our family in such a beautiful way. They can still talk about people they spent time with, experiences they had, and things they learned. I love that they can have these kinds of conversations!
- Homeschooling has allowed our kids to explore subjects they are interested in. School doesn’t have to take all day long. In fact, most of the time, we get our core subjects done in the morning. Because of this, our kids have had time to research, create, read, and focus on topics that they are curious about.
- My kids have become well-rounded individuals. Since our school days aren’t aimed at achieving perfect test scores, we get to explore so many beautiful subjects. Our children have learned so much about music, poetry, history, geography, great literature, and many other subjects. In addition, we’ve been able to spend time teaching them how to cook, how to care for a home, and how to take care of animals and a garden on a small homestead. I love who they are becoming. It has been such a wonderful experience to be by their side through all of it, too.
These are my top ten reasons. I’ve got more, but I wanted to share these top ten with you today.
Do you homeschool? If so, why do you homeschool?