I can't imagine not homeschooling my children! I knew when I was in high school, that I would one day homeschool my children. I remember a class that I took in college that I had to research the "cons" of homeschooling. I had studied homeschoolers for several years because I knew two families that homeschooled their children. I prefaced my debate on homeschooling with the fact that I would in fact, homeschool my children.
Homeschooling was everything I dreamed. I would get to teach, a passion I have had since I was a young child. I would raise my children with my convictions instead of sending them off to school for several hours a day, five days a week to learn what the government deemed important. I would be able to give my children my time and develop a love of being a close family unit.
When I taught in the public school, I enjoyed the children in my classes. I loved when the light bulb went off and they "got it". I enjoyed teaching. I didn't enjoy the politics. I didn't enjoy the manipulation by some of the in house leaders in the school. I didn't enjoy parent teacher conferences to address inappropriate behavior in the class. And the bad language in class... well that's another subject altogether. I believed that what we taught was good for the children, but I didn't like the testing that was forced upon the students to fill statistics. I watched smart children buckle under the pressure of testing. Not the weekly spelling test or the biweekly math test...the state driven, one size fits all test.
Homeschooling is different. In our state, there aren't any major guidelines for homeschoolers to follow. I get to choose my curriculum. I get to set our schedule and then change it last minute for a lunch date. I get to teach my children how to read and write. My husband and I are the most influential people in their lives and I want to make it count. We read our Bible during school. We pray at the beginning of school. Occasionally, we take naps during the day. All this and we are finished with our school work by lunch time most days. Often times, it's after lunch that we get to do some of the really fun stuff in school!
Are there days when I want to pack it all up and ship them off?? You bet! But when I think of the character building occurring in our home and the love my children share that would have been missed if they had not spent the day together, I know there's no turning back. This is who we are. This is what we do. I wouldn't change it for the world!
Homeschooling was everything I dreamed. I would get to teach, a passion I have had since I was a young child. I would raise my children with my convictions instead of sending them off to school for several hours a day, five days a week to learn what the government deemed important. I would be able to give my children my time and develop a love of being a close family unit.
When I taught in the public school, I enjoyed the children in my classes. I loved when the light bulb went off and they "got it". I enjoyed teaching. I didn't enjoy the politics. I didn't enjoy the manipulation by some of the in house leaders in the school. I didn't enjoy parent teacher conferences to address inappropriate behavior in the class. And the bad language in class... well that's another subject altogether. I believed that what we taught was good for the children, but I didn't like the testing that was forced upon the students to fill statistics. I watched smart children buckle under the pressure of testing. Not the weekly spelling test or the biweekly math test...the state driven, one size fits all test.
Homeschooling is different. In our state, there aren't any major guidelines for homeschoolers to follow. I get to choose my curriculum. I get to set our schedule and then change it last minute for a lunch date. I get to teach my children how to read and write. My husband and I are the most influential people in their lives and I want to make it count. We read our Bible during school. We pray at the beginning of school. Occasionally, we take naps during the day. All this and we are finished with our school work by lunch time most days. Often times, it's after lunch that we get to do some of the really fun stuff in school!
Are there days when I want to pack it all up and ship them off?? You bet! But when I think of the character building occurring in our home and the love my children share that would have been missed if they had not spent the day together, I know there's no turning back. This is who we are. This is what we do. I wouldn't change it for the world!
Those are some seriously talented kids!
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