Having recently started my first official year of homeschooling, I wanted to digitally put pen to paper and compile my thoughts on why I want to homeschool our children. It is something I have always wanted to do, and now I am doing it! My oldest has reached kindergarten age, and we are starting our homeschooling adventure.
Quick backstory: I was homeschooled K-12 and loved it. I didn’t love every moment of every day because school is school after all. But overall, it was a great experience. One of the highlights for me came in high school: finishing early afternoon and being done for the day. No homework when you are homeschooled! I can remember leaving ballet after 8pm several nights a week and my friends talking about the 2-3 hours of homework waiting for them at home. Not me! I got to go home and relax.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to homeschool my own children. When my husband and I were dating, I remember discussing the possibility of one day homeschooling. Fast forward several years from our dating days and here we are with our oldest somehow having gone from a baby to a school aged child.
So, that takes us back to the original purpose of this post: why homeschool? Like many homeschooling families, there are multiple reasons I love homeschooling.
My Four Main Reasons for Homeschooling
One: One big reason is the ability to customize my children’s education. Public and private school teachers are amazing people with difficult jobs. I am teaching one child how to read and can’t even begin to imagine teaching an entire classroom of students all learning at different speeds and at different levels. One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the ability to meet my children where they are in each subject and move at their pace.
Two: Another reason I am excited about homeschooling is that we have so much time together at home. While our time away from home will undoubtedly increase as my children get older, during these early years I love that they have so much time at home and time to just be kids. Our kindergarten core subjects usually take around an hour or so. That leaves the rest of the day for play, time outside, and lots of informal learning.
Three: Also, let’s be honest: I’m very glad to not have to wake my kids up at 6:30 in the morning. I’m not usually awake then myself! Would leaving the house early be end of the world? Of course not. But am I thankful we have the opportunity for relaxed mornings instead of rushed mornings? I sure am!
Four: Another main reason I love homeschooling is that I get a front row seat to watching my children learn. If you know anything about me, you know I love books. I especially love children’s books. Who knows, one day we may move to a completely different style of homeschooling but I love that for right now we get to use so many great books that bring the ideas inside them to life.
Homeschooling is Not About Sheltering
A lot of people assume that if you homeschool, you must be doing it to shelter your children. That actually is not one of the reasons I want to homeschool. The real world is the real world. For better or worse, it is the world my children are growing up in and will one day navigate as teens and adults.
My job is not to hide the real world from them. My job as a parent to ensure my children are ready to enter it with a solid foundation beneath their feet. I love that homeschooling allows us to give our children an education that not only celebrates goodness, beauty, and truth but points to God as the author of that truth.
I’m sure over time my reasons for homeschooling may grow and change. But at least for now, these are the reasons I am so thankful to have the ability to homeschool!