Well, I guess it's official. Today I received the homeschool curriculum that I ordered and as I pulled each book out of the box there was a feeling of excitement and I must admit a feeling of fear. I believe with all of my heart that this is what God is calling me to do at this time in our family but I must be honest and say that I am scared to death. The battle between flesh and spirit is very evident right now. My flesh cries out, "No more quiet days, no more alone time, no more running errands while the kids are at school." But my spirit says, "The days are long, but the years are short."
I have had several conversations since finally making this decision about "why" I have chosen to homeschool. Unfortunately if I tried to write them all down, you would stop reading this blog about halfway through. But, I thought I would try to give just a few. Once again, not to convince anyone that what I am doing is right but to explain, and hopefully encourage anyone who might be on the fence. You see, for too long I did not feel that I was qualified to teach my children. I am not a teacher. I do not have a teaching degree. I am just a mom. But, I have realized that makes me just as qualified, or even more so, to teach my own children. For those of you who might be contemplating homeschool, but don't feel qualified, just remember this...noone knows and loves your children the way that you do. And no matter what anyone tells you that makes you more qualified in my opinion. Should everyone homeschool? Absolutely not. But, if you are feeling the call and don't because you are afraid, I am here to tell you, so are the rest of us. Welcome. Jump on in, the water is warm.
1. My children are learning to do ONLY what they HAVE to do and nothing more. I do not feel that they even realize their full potential of what they are capable of learning and the school is not pushing them to that.
2. Bullying and social exposure- need I say more?
3. Homework, in addition to the hours they already spend in school. Not to mention that most of the time they haven't grasped the concept at school so we are spending additional time researching the method (because much has changed in 30 years) that they were taught so I can continue to teach it to them until they get it.
4. They are not learning very important life lessons, like how to wash/fold clothes, clean up around the house, and cook because after being at school for 8 hours and then doing an hour of homework the last thing they want to do or I want to ask them to do is to do chores. I feel they need to have some time to just be kids.
5. They hate school but love learning. I want my children to realize that they don't necessarily need a teacher in order to learn. They are very capable of learning on their own and that when they make mistakes, that is good. Mistakes are portals to discovery.
6. I love the idea of being able to travel throughout the year and take our schooling on the road. I also like the idea of being able participate in performances, scouts, sports, etc and not have to worry about them missing school or being too tired the next day because they didn't get enough sleep.
7. Being able to move at the child's pace and not the school or classrooms' pace. Micah love science and math, but struggles with reading and writing. Being able to spend more time on reading and writing and allow him to explore further the areas that he loves is very important to me.
8. I want to be able to teach my children about sensitive subjects like sex and drugs.
9. I realized that I was already homeschooling my children with homework, and having a preying mantis as a pet, and all the other things I teach them every day.
10. I love my kids and since I only have them for a few more years, I want to spend as much time with them before they are off on their own doing whatever it is that God will call them to do.
