Last night Nathan and I went to a parents’ planning meeting for Laura’s Home-School Teen Group. We took some time at the beginning to introduce ourselves and tell why we home-schooled our children. There were all different kinds of people sitting in the room. Some were from different churches and some from no church at all. Each person had a slightly different reason they gave for why they chose to educate their kids at home, and yet every single reason just resonated with my heart. “Yes,” I thought. “That’s another reason I teach my kids at home.”
Here’s just a few of the reasons I, and others like me, crazy we may seem to you, choose to keep our kids home for school.
- We miss our kids when they go to school. We found that when our kids were in public school, or private school, they were exhausted and gone away from us too many hours a day. With leaving at 7:30 in the morning and not getting home until 3 or 4 in the afternoon and then homework in the evening, there just wasn’t enough time left to be a family. I know this was especially true for me. I adore my kids. I think they are hilarious. I am not one of those moms who says, “Oh I can’t wait for fall so they can go back to school.” I would miss them too much. I love having them here. I love laughing at the funny things they say and seeing their eyes light up when they learn something new. I think it’s hilarious when I teach them something and they are completely amazed that, “Wow Mom, you KNOW that!?” Yup, not so dumb as you thought, huh?
- A lot of us decided we could do a better job than someone else. There are wonderful teachers and schools out there, don’t get me wrong. But, I’ve discovered that my kids are individuals, and they each require a slightly different method of teaching and sometimes a different curriculum. One size most certainly does not fit all when it comes to school. Boys especially, and Daniel in particular, do not do well sitting still for 8 hours a day. As long as they are not doing handwriting, I don’t care where or how the work gets done. Today Nate wrote a poem on the front porch.
Daniel often reads while somersaulting around the living room or bouncing on a big exercise ball.
- We home-school because our kids get to discover so many more exciting things this way. They are not bound to a classroom or to a set curriculum. They can color outside the lines and if something is interesting to them, they can find out more about it. All three kids got pretty interested in Laura’s paramecium and amoeba under the microscope last week. And they all came out of a local pond! (the micro-organisms, not my kids!) Laura has also recently read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and is now doing a paper on Harriet Beecher Stowe. Huh, how funny that she suddenly put two and two together. “Hey mom, is that why Stowe Elementary School (our nearest public school) got it’s name?” (it is!) But, I made her email the principal and ask and look the information up. Such an interesting fact to add to her paper!
- We have a wonderful flexibility that families in school don’t have. A few weeks ago we went up to Hawk Ridge in the middle of the week. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to count many migrating raptors. I counted it as a field trip, as our resident bird expert and friend, Julie, was on hand with binoculars and all of her fun bird feet and wings to give the kids tons and tons of raptor information. We’ve also travelled to Split Rock Lighthouse and ambled up the Superior Hiking Trail when we’ve decided the weather is simply too nice to stay inside and do boring schoolwork in books. Practically anything can be turned into a school lesson with a little creativity!
- I simply love to be the one who’s there when one of my kids says “Oh! I get it!” Why give that joy to a stranger? To me, that’s like letting a stranger take the joy of seeing your child’s first step or hearing their first word. When Daniel is learning to read, and today when he said those four, wonderful words in Math, I was privileged to be there, because I was the one who taught the skills to him! I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for a million dollars, a bigger house, a nicer car or a tropical vacation.
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