I wrote a previous post in January about the "when" of our decision to home school, so you may want to read that (or at least skim - I'll never know) if you haven't. (Some of you were already re-emailed that post - sorry about that). In short, home schooling my children was NOT something I had ever envisioned doing. I'm sorry, have my kids with me ALL THE TIME without completely losing my mind? Is that even possible?! But, here we are, a couple of years into things and I'm incredibly grateful that I kept my mind and heart open to the idea.
My standard answer when asked why I decided to home school is that there isn't just one big reason, but many small ones. Depending on the reaction and the circumstances surrounding the conversation, I'll either leave it at that or elaborate further.
Since you're still reading, I'll assume you want me to elaborate.
Flexibility. This reason ranks pretty high on the list, due to my husband's crazy work schedule. As most of you know, he's the general manager of a restaurant, so his hours are long and inconsistent. When our oldest son was in public school it was not uncommon for him to go days without seeing his dad. Now that we home school, we make my husband's days off work our "family days." Usually it's Sunday and Wednesday, but not always. The point is that we can adapt and make sure that we have family time.
This flexibility carries through to all of our activities and makes everything from dentist appointments to Cub Scout meetings much easier to incorporate into our days. The year my son was in a public school just seemed so...busy. Full days of school, combined with shuttling the other kid to and from preschool left very little time together. Add to that schedule just one or two extracurricular activities and life was suddenly crazy. More importantly, it wore my son out. It wore ALL of us out. My son entered first grade a very excited and eager-to-learn child and came out of it completely exhausted. Home schooling allows us to take advantage of the times when we are all at our best each day and gives the boys more time to pursue their other interests.
Values. Another big reason why we home school comes down to who we want to most influence our children - family and friends who share our values or a large group of same-aged kids? It's never seemed quite right to me to expect my young children to spend most of their time away from me and from each other. I'm just not comfortable with having their minds and hearts shaped by people and events that I have no control over. I used to think that I was just being over-protective. Now I'm okay with that. These boys have been entrusted to ME - it is my (and my husband's) responsibility to keep them on the right path. I feel much better equipped to do that through home schooling.
Customized Education. I have even more respect for teachers in schools now that I teach my own kids at home. They have the insurmountable task of teaching the same thing to probably 25 or 30 kids who are all at different levels and have a variety of learning styles. My children are certainly unique, but there's only four of them. I am able to take turns giving each child my undivided attention. I mostly use a "packaged", Catholic curriculum for the boys, but am able to use it in whatever way best fits their individual learning styles. We have the freedom to learn what we want, when we want and however we want. This means that we can start each day with prayer and spend an entire day learning about space if we want to. We can do reading while snuggled up on the couch together. We can skip unnecessary workbook pages if a concept is already mastered and allow time for areas that need more attention.
The longer we home school, the more reasons I seem to come up with for continuing to do it. However, I think most of them would fall into the above categories. I've experienced many validating moments in the last couple of years; assuring me that my boys are on the right track. We're taking it a year at a time, as far as the decision to continue home schooling or not. Right now I can't imagine having things any other way. I love having my boys with me. I love watching them learn and grow together. I love having the opportunity to truly know who they are both inside and out.
So there it is. I could go on, (and on, and on, and on...) but feel that I've given you enough to digest for now. "Homeschooling Part Three" will have to do with some of the "hows" - what does our home schooling lifestyle look like? If you want some idea of a "typical" day (there's really no such thing), then read the post titled "A Day in Our Life." If nothing else, it might give you a good laugh.
Are there things I left out? Is there more you want to know about? Do you wish I'd shut up about it already? Then please comment! I like to know that you're reading and what your thoughts are. Really.
See you on Fun Photo Friday! Hope you are having a good week!
~ Dori
5 comments:
I just visited a Christian school today looking for the right place for my son to start kindergarten. I'm not happy with his Montessori school and although I want to homeschool, I don't think it's the right time. As I stood in the classroom today, I almost started crying thinking about my son sitting at a desk and learning about a world that he can see through the window. I really don't think I can homeschool but I just don't believe in the cookie cutter education that is the same for every child. I'm SO torn!
Thanks so much for the comment Sarah! I think the fact that you're so torn shows what a good mom you must be! You want to do what's best for your child and are really taking the time to consider ALL the options before making a decision. I'm curious why you don't think you can home school? I was pretty sure that I couldn't! Going to a conference and otherwise hearing from mom's who had experience with home schooling really helped me. I finally had to just go with my "motherly instincts" and just decide to give it a try - like I said, one year at a time. Deciding one thing now, doesn't mean you can't change your mind later. Feel free to email me (look in my profile) and I'd be happy to discuss it more with you!
I find myself in the same position when asked why we choose private education for our kids. You're right, it's not exactly a simple answer, but instead many, many reasons. I admire you for doing what you feel is best for your children and family. On the topic of education, have you heard of/seen the documentary 'Race to Nowhere'? There have been several screenings in our town but they keep falling on evenings when John's working...argh. I'd love to see it. The more I hear from parents who've seen it, the more I want to just take a deep breath and stay on our current education track, where teaching to the test isn't on the minds of our children's teachers. Anyway, let me know if you get a chance to see it.
The clay person is awesome and Thomas reminds me of myself when I sit down to read!
I just now had a chance to catch up on your post. I really enjoy them. I am very proud of you Dori for all you have done. The boys look like they are growing up to be fine young men. I really wish I would have been able to do this with Andrew but just about every minute that I am not working I am involved in everything he does and I enjoy it more then anything. Keep up the good job and keep enjoying life with your family.
Tara - I'm so glad you like the blog! Your comment really means a lot to me - thank you so much!
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