Why did you choose to homeschool?

[momto7]

I'm often asked why we homeschool our children. The main reason for us was biblical conviction, but there are others as well. My husband is a police officer and was determined that "socialization" was going to take place on our terms! We also felt that a private Christian school would not be wise stewardship of our limited resources. And after getting to know some hs families at our church, we really liked what we saw in these children. As a bonus, we knew we could give them an excellent education if the public school system wasn't in the way.

 

So, since this is such a diverse group, I was just curious about how you got here.

[Eleni]

LOL! I just blogged about this today.

it is at www.finding-the-way-home.blogspot.com

[Nakia]

We both feel like this is the lifestyle God wants for our family.

[3lilreds in NC]

At first, it was because I could not see a reason for my oldest child to go to full-day kindergarten. Now, it's because the more I know about public school, the less I want my children to go. I can't say I feel a particular Biblical conviction, although learning about God is central to our homeschool. I just love having my children home and can't (usually) imagine anything else.

[CactusPair]

I was terrified that my child would flunk kindergarten. That about sums it up.

[Jill- OK]

Seriously, at first it was just "Wow...five is so little to send them off to school!", but then it just sort of seemed to go along with so much else that we do, our style of parenting, and the way we want to live.

 

We want to be the primary influence on them, during formative years, I guess, and maybe it just seems so laborious to try and squeeze all of that into the few hours left after being at a traditional school all day.

 

I also wanted them to learn certain things, and again...a lot to squeeze in after being gone (and doing academics) all day. (This is starting to sound more and more like a result of my laziness, lol).

 

Dh and I both had less-than-wonderful early school experiences (I was advanced and he was dyslexic), and that might have influenced our decision. (Neither of us had to get over any illusions about traditional school.)

[Jill- OK]

...it's so good to see a picture of you!

 

Even though I haven't really imagined a concrete image of you...you look different than I expected! (That doesn't mean anything negative, lol, you appear very cute and peppy. ::Sigh::...not that I wouldn't have imagined you cute and peppy...maybe I just figured a mom of seven would look tired, lol. Ah, anyway. Nice to see a pic of you, LOL! ;-)

 

ETA: I just realized (it was pointed out to me, actually) that you're momto7 and I was thinking of momof7 in my rambling above. Sorry for the mistaken identity! (But I still think you look cute and peppy).

[newbie]

I think they could get a better education one on one, than get lost in a crowd.

 

Jet

[dawn of ns]

A bunch of things...Two lazy to walk them to the bus, to scared of having to fight like my mom did for years on end in a fruitless attempt to help her kids get through school with a half-decent education, taken with the idea of unschooling, scared of what personality change I might see in my daughter, etc., etc.

[Perry]

I was a big fan of public school until we tried it. The reason we ultimately pulled them out of ps was because of the math and reading curricula.

[Jill- OK]

A bunch of things...Two lazy to walk them to the bus, to scared of having to fight like my mom did for years on end in a fruitless attempt to help her kids get through school with a half-decent education, taken with the idea of unschooling, scared of what personality change I might see in my daughter, etc., etc.

 

I forgot to mention the laziness in relation to getting up early every morning, not to mention ordering our lives around a school schedule! (Not that that's always necessary; my mom took me out of school to do stuff like go skiing, even when it wasn't a scheduled break).

 

And yes...my mom started homeschooling my brother in part because she was already spending oodles of time helping him with his schoolwork...she just cut out the middleman, lol.

 

The potential for young kids to be influenced by a group culture figured in, too.

 

Man...we have a lot of reasons, I guess!

[Karenciavo]

My older two went to Christian school for a while (1-4, & PreK-2) and my husband and I didn't like how our family was so segregated for 8 hours a day and then the running here and there after school; errands because I worked during their school hours to pay for it, music, karate, Awana, swimming. By the time we got home, made & ate dinner, and did homework we had very little family time, it was not a good thing. After I got pregnant with #3, I quit my job and we decided to homeschool. We could have gotten by with them still in school, but we wanted out of the rat race, we wanted our youngest to know his big brothers and spend time with them. And we've been homeschooling ever since. :001_smile:

[Athome]

I was a public school teacher for several years and was determined that my kids would go to public schools. God has changed my heart and my mind and both my husband and I are excited to "live our lives" with our children. That means formally educating them and experiencing life and using those experiences to educate them. I think I can give the best education to my child. I taught 25 kids all year long and did a great job, but I could never love those kids as much as my own. Who could want to do better for my children but myself? I'd like to add that I would think this no matter how my children were schooled and think it's important for every parent to be 100% involved in their child's education.

[jkwynn]

In addition to several of the reasons listed here, we think that homeschooling fits in with our lifestyle better than public school.

 

Military families move around a lot. It's hard enough to be the new kid, but to be the new kid AND have to worry about consistency with regards to an education?

 

Nah.

 

We'll do the educating part.

 

Plus, I hate fundraisers. Not all fundraisers...just the kind that make the kid feel like they have to sell x amount of crap before they can get the glorious pizza party or glow-in-the-dark ball.

[anissarobert]

The reasons that I continue homeschooling are different than the reason I started homeschooling. My oldest was bored in preschool, so they put her in K at 4 years-old. She then did K again when she was 5. This was a Montessori school and she learned so much that she was reading at a 3rd grade level.

 

When she was almost 6 we finally were able to have another child, and I did not want to put him in daycare so she could go to her expensive private school. I called the local school district and talked to the principal. He said that state law required her to be in K again, because she would not be 6 until Oct. I said I would just teach her myself then. (By the way, at this point I had not even heard of homeschooling. I was just hormonal, pregnant and upset at his attitude.) I did some research and started homeschooling that fall, right after my son was born.

 

I continue homeschooling, and plan to continue to do so for 14 more years.(eek!) for different reasons. I know my children are getting a much better education that they would have received here in our public schools. I am able to keep some of the worst parts of our society out of their lives until they are old enough to cope with them. I am able to know my children, not just see them for an hour or two a day. I have been homeschooling for over 9 years and I still find new benefits every day.

[CalicoKat]

tonight my answer is sarcastic, "because I was too stoopid to know what I was getting into and now I'm too stubborn to let it go."

 

In better moments I can dig up an answer that is more rosy and sentimental.

 

I hope that our socialization is better than what they would be getting outside our family. My mother is constantly telling me that my 7 yo is going to wreck everyone in the family. My 7 yo, ADHDer, tries to run the show--enough said.

[TXMomof4]

I forgot to mention the laziness in relation to getting up early every morning, not to mention ordering our lives around a school schedule! (Not that that's always necessary; my mom took me out of school to do stuff like go skiing, even when it wasn't a scheduled break).

 

And yes...my mom started homeschooling my brother in part because she was already spending oodles of time helping him with his schoolwork...she just cut out the middleman, lol.

 

The potential for young kids to be influenced by a group culture figured in, too.

 

Man...we have a lot of reasons, I guess!

 

I always get tickled when people ask expecting one answer. There are so many reasons! The spiritual reasons, the influence of society, the lack of continuity from grade to grade, looking at the personalities of my children and seeing what would be lost if they had to conform to the "norm"....

 

The list goes on and on.

 

But the kicker for me is sitting on the back porch, drinking my coffee with the kids inside asleep and hearing that school bell ring. And the fact that we're taking a month to go to Germany and England while the rest of my childrens friends will be having holiday parties and wasting half the month of December!

[mom31257]

My dd went to private, Christian school for K-2nd. My husband was principal. After I had my ds, I realized that they are gone so much. I knew 18 years isn't enough. My original plan was to homeschool 1 year to have more time with her before her pre-teen years. My husband lost his job during that year and ended up teaching public school. We lost the free tuition, weren't crazy about any other private schools here (that one closed), didn't want me to go to work and put ds in daycare, so we continued. We still are for other reasons, too. Eduction at schools here will not be a good one, private or public. We have no family here, and we like the flexibility of homeschooling.

 

I would say the number one reason is for our family. I believe that God wants our children to be with us more time each day than they are with their peers. It is a joy to have them here with me.

[JenParrish]

Well, in a nut shell - the public schools were less than desirable and the private schools were not worth the money or the drive (one local one puts kindergartners in the basement with no windows). I figured with the money I would spend on a so-so private school, we could have one heck of a home school. I really did not "want" to homeschool to begin with, but I did not see any better alternatives. I kept praying about it (what am I going to do) and homeschooling kept popping in my head so here I am ... three years later and I would not change a thing. I love spending all of this time with my children. Thank God I am able to do so.

[Mamasteff]

We lived in a non-English speaking country when dd#1 was in preschool, so we started then. She continued homeschooling in English with me, and going to the local school half days.

 

When we returned to the states she went to private school for part of the year (2nd grade) - things were crazy, we were moving repeatedly trying to find a home, and expecting a baby, so we needed one thing that was stable for her. Then, I was staying home with the baby and just continued to love homeschooling.

 

So, the reason we started is not the reason we continued. At all. It has developed over time (and I LOVE not having to get everyone up early!)

[swellmomma]

Well for a few different reasons, which have changed over the years. In the very beginning, as in when I was pg with my 1st, I thought I would homeschool to prevent him from the bullying I endured as a child. However when he turned 5, I did what I thought I had to and sent him to K. When the school lost him for 2 hours and tried to hide it after the fact I pulled him and hs'd the rest of K. After he spent sometime in the hospital and finally got his first diagnosis I again thought I was doing the right thing and put him back in ps but in a different school. He attended for gr 1 & 2. By the end of gr 2 he was talking about suicide and could barely do early 1st grade work in math, his other skill areas were delayed too. I decided I couldn't do any worse than the school and decided to hs for gr 3. At the same time he was in grade 1&2, my dd was in K &1, she was a very difficult child to teach, and spent everyday of grade 1 in detention and had a suspension. The school was thinking about expelling her. SInce I already made the decision to hs my ds I decided to do the same for her.

 

Since I began hsing I have added things to my list such as peer pressure, academic standards, bible studies, and continued work with their disabilities. My 3rd in line is about to start hsing K, for him even if the otehr were in ps I would have kept him home, because he has bowel issues that result in him constantly oozing and I wouldn't want him getting picked on for it while we work towards curing the problem. Plus with a fine motor delay he is not ready for the worksheets etc that Ker's use in ps to learn their letters and such.

 

The more we homeschool, the more reasons I find to stick with it.

[Tutor]

When we were expecting our first dc, we looked around at the families we knew with kids to see what we liked about each family... how the spouses got along, how the parents and children interacted, etc. We discovered that we greatly enjoyed being around the homeschooling families and loved how independent their children were, how all the members of the homeschooling families seemed to really respect and value one another, and how each family was a tightly knit unit made up of very unique, confident individuals. We spent a lot of time with these families and asked a lot of questions about parenting, schooling, time management, household management, discipline philosophies, etc. After spending so much time with these families, we never really "decided" to homeschool, my dh and I just knew it was the perfect fit for our family.

 

One of the benefits we've come to appreciate now that my dh is back in school is the flexible schedule. If my kids were in a traditional brick-and-mortar school setting, they would rarely see dh during the school year. Now, he gets up early with them every day and makes breakfast for them and sits and hangs out with them. Two days a week he works from home and uses his break times to play and talk with the kids.

 

I am so thankful that we have been able to homeschool our kids.

[Guest 4boys]

We first started because we were reading a book by Dr. Dobson that said kids (he was specifically talking about boys) do much better in school if they are homeschooled for the first few years before being sent to public school. After doing tons of research and now having one year under my belt, as well as observing my nephew in public school, there are now TONS more reasons we do it. Biblical conviction is a big one, as well as wanting to be the main influence in our kids' lives rather than their peers or someone we don't know teaching them things we don't necessarily want to expose them to. And now we are thinking of doing it well beyond just the first few years. We will homeschool at least until high school, if not the whole way.

[melmac]

Cuz I can't fathom the thought of my kids playing with feathers at school.:tongue_smilie:(j/k)

 

Seriously, there are so many reasons I couldn't begin to list them all. I think it all boils down to it's what I think is best for dc. :)

[Peela]

Actually, I always wanted to, after first hearing about it when my kids were small, but I knew Dh wouldnt support it. Later, when dh and I were separated, ds7 was really struggling, couldn't read, his teacher called me in to tell me I needed to work with him at home, but he was so distressed after school he needed to run around and unwind, not do more work. The teacher was terrible. Turns out ds was dyslexic, but we didnt know that then and were given no support. I decided I needed to work with ds since no one else would, and I couldn't do it with him at school- hence, homeschooling was the best option. I convinced dh for a 6 month trial, and he had ds 2 mornings a week while i worked- he bonded so much with his son in that time, and changed toward us as a family, the whole family was brought together again and dd9 was brought home to homeschool too.

So, originally it was for educational reasons, and within a short time it was because we saw the healing that happened once both kids were out of the school system, and the social and emotional benefits of not being in that environment. I would say we primarily homeschool for social reasons now. We don't want the kids in the school environment when they can have a perfectly good life out of it.

[Alenee]

For us it started with, "How am I ever going to put my baby on a school bus?" That, coupled with what we already knew about ps had us looking for private schools. Then like magic (although we knew it was God ;)) we suddenly met one homeschooler after another. Before too long, it became obvious that God was leading us to homeschool. It was pretty irresistable! :D

[JudyJudyJudy]

I never had given much thought to homeschooling, but as time approached for ds (now 9) to start to school, I couldn't imagine putting him in. The reasons were many. First, in Georgia since preschool is free, most people send their kids to school at age 4. I just couldn't see my "baby" going off to school so young.

 

Second, ds has severe peanut and tree nut allergies. The schools here are neither peanut-free nor nut-free. Since ds reacts not only to ingesting peanuts but also to simply touching where they've been, I didn't feel that school would be a safe environment for him, especially in the early years.

 

Third, ds, especially when he was younger, was a bit "hyperactive." Having taught school, I knew how kids like that are often treated in school. I am opposed to meds in most cases, and I wasn't willing to fight the battle that I was afraid would lie ahead. Also, dh and I had detected that various food additives, particularly food colorings, triggered ds's hyperactivity, and we knew that it would be very difficult to control that in school.

 

Well, those were initially my reasons for homeschooling. At first I had thought that I'd homeschool for a few years and would then put him into school, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to continue. I quickly realized how much more he could learn and in a much shorter time than he could in school. (I had previously taught school.)

 

Last year dh and I were struggling a bit financially. His job stability had relied on the housing market, and we were hurting, so I went back to work as a teacher on December 3rd. We decided that we'd put ds into school in January and see how things went (since dh is self-employed, ds was able to stay with him while I was at work). Sadly, those three weeks before Christmas told me that I didn't want my son to be in public school--at least not at this point in time in the area where I was teaching, so I never put him into school. I finished out the year and was more convinced than ever that ds would not thrive in public school.

 

My health wasn't great in the first place, but my health went down further while I was teaching those six months. I have multiple allergies and chemical sensitivities as well as arthritis and other issues, and the chemicals, dust, and mold in the building I was working in as well as all the perfumes the kids wore, etc., were making me worse. Dh and I sat down and reevaluated our plans and decided that it was best for me, for ds, and for our entire family if I did not work outside the home but continued to homeschool instead, so here we are.

[lynn]

It was the best thing for my childrens at the time. There were some issues going on wtih my ds and school and hsing was our best option.

[Rosie_0801]

All sorts of reasons, probably the same as everyone else's minus the God bits. I don't think age 5 is the right time to send a child out to face the world. I only have a daughter now, but if this next one is a boy, I couldn't even contemplate sending him to school. I didn't like the way the guys were treated, particularly in primary school; and that's not just hindsight. I thought the same back then. I also remember coming home from school and Mum asking what we'd done that day and us all answering "nothing much." I figure if I'm there, I'll know what they were doing, and if they give their dad that sort of uninformative answer, I'll be able to provide prompts to fill him in. Families should actually know each other personally, kwim? I don't know how that happens if everyone is always somewhere else. I want my teens to be able to get jobs that will count for something on their resume, instead of being restricted to afterschool retail jobs. I know from experience how much use those jobs aren't.

Ultimately though, I think it's a control thing. If I'm in control, I have the power to make the necessary adjustments. If I sent my kids to public school, I'd have the responsibility, but not the power to make changes.

:)

Rosie

[Laura Corin]

Initially because we couldn't find a fit for Calvin in school in Hong Kong. He's highly/profoundly gifted (depending on how you count the scores) and learning disabled (dyspraxic/SID).

 

Now we continue for the individualisation of the curriculum and the family feeling.

 

Laura

[RoughCollie]

I wanted to homeschool my kids from the beginning, but I don't remember how I found out about homeschooling.

 

DH went along with it until it was time for the kids to start school. The boys went to K (3 hrs/day) and then to 1st grade. DD went PS for K-3.

 

I had real problems with the PS. First, my boys were not learning to read. I tested them after 4 months of PS and no one could read a word. The teachers refused to believe that they had memorized the little books that have one word per page.

 

I told DH that I had to teach the boys 1st grade after school and that was too much schooling for one day at their age. He agreed to remove DS2 from school immediately, and the other two at the end of the school year.

 

Meanwhile, other things were getting my back up. First, the school assigned busywork for the kids to do with their parents at home after school. This was an encroachment on our family time and I did not appreciate the school trying to dictate how we spent it. These were mostly meaningless assignments and projects that no first grader could do alone.

 

Second, I did not like how the kids were taught about other religions, but any mention of Christianity was not allowed.

 

Third, I did not like the math curriculum. Not only was it confusing, it was filled with politically correct non-math ideology. I taught college algebra, so I knew a little bit about math, and I had to think about 1st grade math in order to explain what the textbook wanted them to do. Ridiculous!

 

Fourth, I did not like the kids' teacher. After all the boys came home, DS3 told me how she used to yell at the kids all the time. He still talks about that.

 

Fifth, I did not like my kids being molded to be just like everyone else. There was no room for individuality. Art class was a microcosm for that: Every child drew the exact same picture, using the same colors, at the same time, every time.

 

Sixth, the school stank once the lunchroom staff starting heating up lunch. I cannot abide that odor and I did not like subjecting my kids to it.

 

Seventh, things like this happened: DS2 was punished by not being allowed to participate in class, particularly a science experiment, because he had not completed a worksheet. He could not complete it because he could not read it, nor could he write.

 

Eighth, the school's covert attitude was that parents feed, clothe and shelter the children. The school takes over everything else. No way, no how.

 

Now, DD made it through 3rd grade. She loved school and I taught her to read and to do math. The problem, besides all of the above, was that I had to correct her teachers for teaching politically correct, but inaccurate things. Also, the school spent a lot of time preparing the kids to take standardized tests during 3rd grade. As usual, they wasted a lot of instruction time on meaningless b.s.

 

Another thing I didn't like came up in this situation. A boy in DD's class was hitting and hurting other kids. DD was afraid of him and asked me what to do if he hurt her. I told her to hit him as hard as she could and he would never mess with her again.

 

DD said she wasn't allowed to do that. The kids had to report the incident to the teacher and let her handle it. The problem was that the kid still hit other kids even when he was caught or it was reported.

 

I told DD to hit the kid anyway, if he hit or hurt her and I would take care of the rest. Then I went to see the principal. She told me that if DD defended herself, DD would be the one who got into trouble.

 

There was no way that my DD was going to learn not to defend herself against bodily harm. Period. Self-defense is justified in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of any thinking person, in my view.

 

IMO, if a child is told from the get go that she may not defend herself, what happens when she gets much older and has been thoroughly indoctrinated to not defend herself? Does she stand by and let a guy beat her or rape her? Is telling someone about it after the fact going to prevent it from happening? Of course not!

 

So I signed DD up for karate lessons and took her out of school at the end of third grade. By that time, DH was totally on board with homeschooling.

 

RC

[Rhonda in TX]

A bit of background: DS has Asperger's. There was a new principal at the school who was not as accomodating and helpful as the previous principal.

 

Here's the story.

[gandpsmommy]

I'm trying to remember when we first started thinking about homeschooling. I think it was before we even got married. I'm thinking it was probably when we were in college and talking about maybe getting married and having kids someday. I remember knowing when I was pregnant that I would be homeschooling my baby, and I have vivid memories of sitting on our bed reading homeschool books when I was about six months pregnant. The great thing is that it also fit very well with our kids when they came along!

 

It is sort of a natural extension of our parenting style. We don't leave our children with strangers, we like to be very involved in whatever they are doing, I love to read with them, we are a very close family.

 

We also have higher educational standards and goals than both the public and private schools in our area. And dd is advanced in several areas, and I'm not sure how well they would accomodate that.

 

Also, I'm very picky about curriculum, books, and how things are taught. I would probably be a nightmare parent for a teacher to have to please.

 

And I can't imagine my almost 5yo ds having to sit still in school and listen. Kindergarten is pretty academic around here, and often it is all day, everyday. Ds still needs time to explore outside and find critters to observe, time to play, and time to rest.

 

I also can't imagine my 7yo having to learn in an institutional setting. She went to a really nice private preschool for a few months and she decided to quit because the teachers didn't sit down and have conversations with her. I think she thrives best at home.

[PariSarah]

Who knew?

 

:lol:

[Mad Jenny Flint]

My sil began homeschooling her kids who were 1 and 2 years older than my son.

 

Columbine happened when my son was an infant.

 

I could not imagine allowing someone else to raise my young son for 8 hours out of the day. Particularly someone who saw him as just one of this year's crowd.

 

I was required to work for 9 mos. after my daughter was born (to pay a gov't grant I took in graduate school), beginning when she was 4 mos. old. Ds went to a pre-K program that year. My earnings went toward daycare for dd. I wanted to get the work period over with before my son started Kindergarten. I ran into many of the same frustrations with that pre-K program that others have mentioned with the public school system. I was in the office almost daily. They loved me.

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

I pulled my son out before the school year was over. My mil cared for him for the final weeks of my working obligation.

 

I started hsing my children with ds in Kindergarten. I love having my family all together each day. I love that my ds and dd can have a relationship that is much, much closer than they ever could if they went to schools which would not have overlapped much because of their age difference.

 

I love knowing where my kids are and what they are doing and how they are being treated. I love knowing exactly what they are learning. I love being able to help them and guide them- because they listen to me, and they respect me- because we have that kind of relationship. That relationship is built on time together.

 

I love being able to make our own schedules and to create the best learning experiences for each child. I love taking vacations during the school year.

 

I love that my kids are socialized in the proper sense of the word. They are coached in the customs and manners and values that make them valuable citizens of the world, valuable friends and neighbors. Their peers could not do that.

[Carrie12345]

When my son was 8 months old, Colombine happened. My immediate reaction was "My kid isn't going to school." At the time, I didn't actually mean it. I knew absolutely nothing about homeschooling, plus I worked full time. It was a gut reaction that I never planned on listening to.

 

I enrolled ds in K when he turned 5. He was going through evaluations for Asperger's at the time, and his K teacher was soooo sweet. I really thought that everything was going to be just fine. And it was a great respite for me, having 2 very difficult babies at home.

 

At the end of K, I requested an IEP meeting. I was told that I could only have a 504 meeting. Having only done preliminary research, I wasn't fully aware of all of ds's rights, and was steamrolled by the school for the next year.

 

At the end of 1st grade, we were moving out of state, and I was devouring books on homeschooling. My son had a 140 IQ, no friends, no support services, already knew all of the 2nd grade work, and his executive functioning skills were almost non-existent.

 

For the next 3 years, I was involved in a very nasty battle with my ex over homeschooling, while I battled the new school system for inadequate services.

 

For all of the time and effort I put into researching Asperger's, gifted ed, and homeschooling, I should have some sort of PhD by now. At some point in there, I realized that this wasn't just the best option for ds, but for all of my kids (and every other kid out there, in an ideal world, but you won't catch me preaching.)

 

When my older daughter turned 5, my husband still wasn't on board with homeschooling. He was able to see my point of view on all of the aspects but socialization. He was also worried about my ability to handle homeschooling with a new infant in the house. We agreed to "try" a cyber charter for one year.

 

By the end of the year, dh was almost as much of a homeschool fanatic as I am. He had enough confidence in me and the situation to agree to withdraw from the cyber school and officially homeschool both girls.

 

This summer, I finally wore my ex down. It helped that ds heard a radio spot for cyber charters and expressed an interest. Ex agreed to let ds enroll, and has actually started to defend my position to his family members who disagree. It's been a BIG summer!

 

Next year, we plan to be back in NJ, where there are no cyber schools. I have high hopes that my ex will agree to let us cut ties with the whole system. If not, I'll settle for enrolling in a private virtual school.

 

10 years ago, homeschooling wasn't really on my radar. But neither was having (at least) 4 children! It's something we've grown into, with serious thought behind it. I can't wait to see where it goes!

[Aunty Social]

Quite honestly, it wasn't something I had ever considered before we took the plunge. I had never even heard of homeschooling until the year before, when a friend of ours from college started because of her kids multiple, severe allergies.

 

Then we moved. My daughter started 3rd grade in the new ps, and was at the top of her class. I didn't realize that it was because she had already learned everything at her old school. Her grades started dropping drastically in 5th, and her classmates were....challenging. Finally, after I asked her what a noun was and she couldn't tell me, we decided something had to be done. After making some calls and realizing that there was no way we could afford private school, we researched homeschooling, took a deep breath, and pulled her 3/4 of the way through the 5th grade year. Much to my surprise, it was doable and enjoyable. And I figure that even on my worst days, they're still learning more that they would otherwise!

[Parrothead]

In addition to several of the reasons listed here, we think that homeschooling fits in with our lifestyle better than public school.

 

Military families move around a lot. It's hard enough to be the new kid, but to be the new kid AND have to worry about consistency with regards to an education?

 

Nah.

 

We'll do the educating part.

 

 

That is us too. We aren't military but dh works for another branch of the government that moves their people around. Since dd was born we have lived in GA, SC, Az, MT and now ME.

 

I was a navy brat and remember how hard it was to change school every couple years. And being a shy child just added to the pressure. I didn't want that for my shy child.

[Tess in the Burbs]

when we had our first child we were living within spitting distance of microsoft and we saw the teens in the town riding around in nicer cars than we could ever hope to afford...and these were the public school kids. the private school kids were another story, lol.

 

but we knew that our middle class position would be considered poverty in our community and that our kids would never be on the same playing field as other kids.

 

stop throwing tomatos. in the school I grew up in the socioeconomic class determined your friends and I suspect it's that way everywhere. if not, sorry.

 

so the idea of home schooling came about. he was a baby.

 

but then we started listing all the other reasons. our faith was in the list at the time but not the major reason.

 

now I can say it's so I can be free to teach our faith as well as academics. second would be the crappy school across the street that didn't pass their testing this year :tongue_smilie:

[Jenny in Florida]

My daughter is extremely bright and had the misfortune of having a December birthday. She was attending a two-morning-a-week preschool program when all of our friends with kids of similar age started scrambling to get their children into kindergarten. At that point, we realized that, because she missed the cut-off by a couple of months, our daughter (who was already way ahead of her classmates academically) would have to wait a whole year to start kindergarten.

 

We just knew that was a bad idea.

 

So, I started looking at private schools that might accomodate an early admission, but could't find one that we liked and could afford.

 

Finally, in desperation, I went to the library and checked out every book they had on homeschooling. (I think there were three, one of which was about teenagers.) I read through them and thought it sounded like something that was worth a try.

 

I talked to my husband about it, and we decided I should go ahead and do a trial year, making up a schedule and keeping records just as we would have to do later. The idea was that, if it didn't work out, we'd still have time to put her in kindergarten the following year.

 

As it turned out, though, we loved it, and I was good at it. So, we figured we'd do it for a few years, long enough to build up a portfolio of work to show that wonderful private school we were still convinced was out there that our incredible daughter was worthy of not only admission but scholarships.

 

What ended up happening, though, was that by the time we had accumulated those records, our daughter was so far accelerated academically that there was no school on earth that could have accomodated her needs. And, in the meantime, we had our son and, when the time came, started homeschooling him, too. So, it just became what our family did.

 

Deciding to homeschool was just one of several major life decisions I've made almost on the fly that turned out to be just the right choice.

[laughing lioness]

We began homeschooling 18 years ago in Los Angeles county. The summer before we had visited the public schools that were available to us; these were elementary schools. Many had drug and pregnancy problems; recesses were across a 4 lane street in a public park -30 some kids crossing this road a couple times a day. One shared a playground with a high school (again, incredible use of drugs among elementary kids). One school we visited was celebrating "Great Americans" month- not a white man among them! All women, blacks and hispanics. I agree that we need to celebrate the great accomplishments of all Americans but, uh, what about the Founding Fathers? One teacher told us that she was ashamed to be a white person in America (this didn't seem like a good thing for our little white child to be hearing). On and on. I was also writing a thesis at the time; "Why Parents Homeschool." My lit review was education in America. Fascinating reading- and disconcerting to say the least! We knew that we would be leaving CA in 2 years and my dad had taught me and my sisters to read at age 4 so I knew I could handle the early stuff- how bad could I mess up Kindergarten? Them my dh got a military internship and we knew we'd move twice in the next 2 years so we kept at it. Then we were stationed in nowheresville with nowheresvilleschools and kept at it. It has become how we live. I have loved mostly every minute I've had with my kids, the books we've read, traveling together, the field trips, the laughs. I had a friend call me yesterday just to tell me how much she loves our kids and what a great job we've done with them (sniffle). I really believe that we've wisely invested our time- our kids rock! And, although there is a 16 yr gap between our oldest and youngest our kids are friends with each other. They write, call, email, FB, send letters to each other- because they love each other and are invested in each others lives. I am so blessed (sniffling again)!!

[Mama Lynx]

Initially, it was a matter of:

 

1) I could not imagine sending my son off to school. He was too young. Plus, with 2.5 other babies at home, he was the most *interesting* one - he was the one I could have a conversation with, and teach things to, and have the most fun with. Why ever would I want to send him off somewhere so that someone else could have all that fun?

 

2) I always wanted to teach, and was very excited by the prospect of teaching my kids.

 

3) DH and I were bored for most of our school years.

 

4) I'm pretty sure we traveled a lot that year. I think my oldest's K year was the year we spent 6 months in Canada.

 

So far these reasons are all about me, and in that first year perhaps it was all about me. But the benefits to my child, and to his education, and to our family were so quickly apparent that we never looked back.

[fractalgal]

I'm often asked why we homeschool our children. The main reason for us was biblical conviction, but there are others as well. My husband is a police officer and was determined that "socialization" was going to take place on our terms! We also felt that a private Christian school would not be wise stewardship of our limited resources. And after getting to know some hs families at our church, we really liked what we saw in these children. As a bonus, we knew we could give them an excellent education if the public school system wasn't in the way.

 

So, since this is such a diverse group, I was just curious about how you got here.

 

My reason was simply that I was unhappy with the Math curriculum being used at our public school. When I contacted the school and suggested they change it, they told me that they review the curriculum every seven years. They said I'd have to wait until then to attempt to get it changed. So I decided to afterschool in the meantime. Afterschooling gave me a glimpse at how much I enjoyed teaching them at home, and so I decided to do it full time. Homeschooling allows me to change the curriculum when I think it is best for them and not have to pass it through some teacher's board, nor wait seven years until the review session rolls around. ;)

[iquilt]

We started at Thanksgiving break after our oldest spent 2 months in ps K - 1/2 days - coming home with gum in her hair and wads of candy from every adult that she saw that day. The school used candy as their major behavior control mechanism, she was sent home every night with sight words to memorize and she spent an hour on homework after school. I thought that was ridiculous all the way around so we opted her out of K to research our options. Once I discovered homeschooling I convinced dh to try it for 1st grade; we just started 2nd grade with her and things are working so well for our oldest. Our next has that fall birthday that makes her ineligible for K this year even though she's also already reading 3 letter words and working on K level math. I'm so thankful that we can keep them all home and teach them where they need to be :) Plus, right now they are all playing a game together, they really enjoy spending their days together!

[Plucky]

But we moved to a new city and it was not a good part of town. The school was scary. I even called the principal to talk about the school, i.e. safety and academics. She was extremely offended that I'd even question it and was very rude. I thought I was being nice. I told dh I couldn't send my baby there so either he ponied up the private school money or I was homeschooling. He thought I was kidding about homeschooling. LOL

 

I started reading and researching. I was amazed at what I learned. I couldn't ruin him in one year so we tried it. After originally torturing my poor kindergardner with too much work we settled into a good rhythm - well as good as you can homeschooling with a preschooler, toddler, and baby present.

 

I love homeschooling but it does have it's drawbacks. It's not perfect but for us it's been the best choice and I love the results.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I didn't even go to kindergarten (wasn't available in the early 70s), so I didn't value it much. We knew one family that homeschooled and I figured I'd give it a try. I checked out TWTM and off we went....

 

Seven years later, we are still at it.

 

K

[Desert Rat]

My ds8 was reading at a 4th grade level when he was 3.5. Intimidating! He just wouldn't fit well into traditional schools. I didn't want him languishing in the back of classes being bored and disruptive. I didn't want him to have to "wait until the kids even out in 3rd grade". I was actually very resentful at first. I felt I needed to homeschool but he was, and is, so demanding of time and attention, I was looking forward to him going to school so I could give my little one some attention. I still feel little man doesn't get enough and I struggle with guilt sometimes but I don't regret homeschooling one bit now. I love having homeschooled kids. I love learning along with my boys. I love spending time with them and watching their faces when they finally get something they're struggling with. I feel very lucky!

[Melanie]

We homeschool for all the usual reasons - academics, religion, safety, lifestyle, an aversion to classrooms... ;) Mostly, though, we homeschool to give ourselves time. We don't have enough of it, and the schools are greedy.

[katalaska]

Where we lived, kindergarten was full-day only; no option. While are oldest was definitely ready for school in all the academic ways, she still napped in the afternoons at age 4! We couldn't imagine sending her to school all. day. long. And it seemed especially ridiculous given that the kids had a "rest time" after lunch--why not just send them home before lunch!?!? We did not like not having an option.

 

Then, we found out a number of people in our church were homeschooling. One family had 8 children with a 9th on the way, and their kids were extremely impressive in both knowledge and behavior. We listened to them speak, we watched their actions, and we wanted to know their "secret," LOL.

 

So I visited with the mom, who was very hesitant to speak with me because they had been ridiculed for the number of kids they had, the fact that they were homeschooling all of them, etc. When she finally understood that I was genuinely impressed with her family and wanted to learn about homeschooling, she opened up. She is the one who directed me to The Well-Trained Mind. She said if she were just starting to homeschool (by that time her oldest was 18) she would be using TWTM.

 

I went home and got a copy of TWTM put on hold at the library. When I brought it home, I had to wrestle it away from dh in order to have a chance to read it. This is worth mentioning because dh RARELY actually READS an entire book...he skims, he skips, he "gets the gist"...and then he puts it down.

 

After reading TWTM we decided two things. First, boy had we ever been ripped off in our own education! Second, our kids were going to have a better education than we did.

 

TWTM gave us the courage and the tools to begin an experiment--teaching our oldest dd to read. When that worked, we did kindergarten, again on a "trial basis." When that was successful, we continued into first grade.

 

Somewhere during the experimental years, we realized that our second dd would go to school, fail, be labeled, and be miserable. Her behavior was just not conducive to traditional teaching and learning situations. We were grateful that we had found homeschooling and in so doing had found a way to ensure that she got a good education in a supportive, adaptive environment.

 

In a nutshell: We chose to homeschool because it "felt right" and we wanted to...and now it is also a necessity due to the special needs of our children!

[dirty ethel rackham]

My original reason - oldest ds was not potty trained for in time for preschool and we had no other kids to play with, so we looked into alternatives. When I happened upon homeschooling, I felt like I had come home.

 

Positive socialization, keeping the passion for learning alive, meeting individual educational needs, reduced influence of time-wasting and soul -numbing pop culture, nurturing the individual, spiritual development.