So, why do YOU homeschool?

[Volty]

I thought public school in the US was a joke when I was a student. It wasn't very challenging and I always felt how slow it was going, how I was just wasting my time. So I was unimpressed, still am, I've heard nothing that has made me change my mind. I don't want to have to put my kids into the public school system.

 

When I first heard about homeschooling, I was unimpressed. For many years I was a religious bigot and I wrote HSing off as something mostly for religious extremists with a disdain for modern science and who were willing turn children's mind to jello.

 

What started changing my mind was seeing HS kids winning things like the National Spelling Bee and National Geography Bee. Then, what really disolved the sterotype was when I actually met some religious extremist homeschool parents and kids, I was impressed. The parents were outstanding, friendly people, the kids were good students and well behaved. I was quite envious of the dad for having such an outstanding wife and such wonderful kids. And it was like the skies parted and everything I wanted in my life became so clear. This was what I wanted.

 

I wanted to provide my kids with the education that I never had but always wanted. I want to redicover many things that I've long forgotten and learn many new things together with my kids.

 

I had/have the income to do it. It was just a matter of finding the right woman to make it work. Most wanted to treat me like an ATM. I have that now, such a wonderful, dear wife, intelligent and well educated herself. We now have one daughter, 9 months old, hopefully more soon. The pieces are all coming into place now. And I just want my kids to explode in the hothouse academic enviroment that I believe I can provide.

 

I can't wait to start, obviously, that's why I'm here even though I'm years away from starting. I read TWTM before my daughter was conceived and was posting here -or trying to, I hated the old format-before my daughter was born.

[Excelsior! Academy]

The whole getting-up-early-to-get-them-to-school thing!

 

Just kidding! kind of

[Excelsior! Academy]

I have oh, so many reasons but I found this (maybe even on this board, can't remember):

 

Why do you home educate your children?

 

If they learn their ABCs, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, they have not been educated.

 

If they can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with their stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God's wisdom, they have not been educated.

 

If they read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books -- the Bible -- and have no knowledge of its personal importance, they have not been educated.

 

If they have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God's Word in their hearts, they have not been educated.

 

If they can explain the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe, they have not been educated.

 

If they can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker's purpose for all creation, they have not been educated.

 

If they can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country, they have not been educated.

 

If they can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him, they have not been educated.

 

If they can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend their spirit to do God's will, they have not been educated.

 

If they can identify a Picasso, describe the style of da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God, they have not been educated.

 

If they were to graduate with a perfect 4.0 and were accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God's choosing, they have not been educated.

 

If they become good citizens, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of (or believe) the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, they have not been educated.

 

However, if one day they see the world as God sees it, and come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for them, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN EDUCATED!

- - Carolyn Caines

:)

 

Wow! I have felt many of these things, but have not been able to put them into words. I am going to print this out and put it into my Teacher's Guide as a reminder on tough days! Well put!

[Plaid Dad]

Now my children are academically advanced to a degree that there is no place for them in the public school system (the words of local school officials upon reviewing testing they did of my boys last year).

 

This is an important point. We started homeschooling for a variety of reasons, but we keep homeschooling in part because the local schools, both public and private, have nothing to offer our dd academically.

[Renee in NC]

A previous post got me wondering why the parents on WTM board chose to homeschool their DC? It would be interesting and fun to see your answers!

 

We have five children. Little Soccer Dude is dyslexic; his program was fabulous, but would benefit from more one on one attention. Giggles was not learning as much as she should in her class. Shining Star is gifted and becoming a 'nonlearner''; everything was easy, therefore she was becoming lazy. (When she would go ahead, she would get in trouble.) Soccer Dude finally developed a love of learning, and couldn't get info fast enough! And Darling Dash...hmmm, pulling four out of school, why not all five? LOL

 

They are learning SO much more at home, with extra time for living life! They are neither sheltered nor "unsocialized" LOL It's made a huge difference in our lives. WHile we're not committed to doing this forever, we'll be continuing next year.

 

We homeschool because we want our children to be individuals. They each have their own personalities, their own strengths, and their own weaknesses. My 9yo would FLOP in school - he is a serious Visual Spatial kid and classrooms aren't for him. He can rebuild small engines, but he can't write a paragraph. My 7yo had medical issues as a baby and he has often been slightly behind and has definite language weaknesses. He is also the most hyperactive, attention deficient child I have. My 5yo is unique and has NO interest in school - he'd rather hang out with his Daddy. I figure he'll get there someday, but for now he gets to still be a little boy playing with trucks.

[Soph the vet]

Initially, we homeschooled for academic reasons and concerns about overcrowded classrooms. Then it morphed into the desire to avoid indoctrinating our kids in secular humanism (the religion of public schools). Now it is simply a way of life. I love the free time we have. I love teaching. I think teaching is much more fun than parenting, but I guess I can't outsource that:rolleyes:!

[GreenKitty]

"Why do I homeschool?". That is a good question. I never really feel like I have to defend why I do. So maybe my answer wouldn't be good enough.

 

I had always wanted to hs, though we put our first child in school. I noticed the focus on how letters were slanted was very important to the teachers. That they had to recite a thank you to mother earth poem at the beginning of the day. There were many other factors, especially the one where I wanted to keep them home. I know this sounds cheesy but I wanted to raise children with faith in God, love and hope for the future. Though we could do that if they were in school also...There was something pulling me to keep them home. The freedom to go whenever we want is also nice:)

 

I wonder why more people don't get the question, "Why do you put your kids in school?". Maybe we could start asking that to others?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I started because of my frustration with my daughter's kindergarten experience. As I read about homeschooling and met other homeschoolers, I came to believe that God gently led me to this route. I also wanted to bring up children who were grounded in the tenets of our family's religion.

 

Over the years, I have grown so much in knowledge and understanding just because I homeschool that I began to realize that my reasons were just as much selfish as "pious."

 

Now, I think I homeschool because it has become what we do, our way of life. I have a very difficult time imagining doing anything else. None of my children have ever begged to attend a public school, yet. They enjoy their relative freedom compared to their peers, and they get lots of compliments from the adults that know them.

 

We still do religious studies, but our homeschool never became the religion centered institution that I had originally imagined it. I think that is because dh and I have more of an intrinsic than extrinsic faith, so it was very difficult to maintain a "Christian school" atmosphere in our home. That was dropped very quickly.

 

So to answer your question: Homeschooling is what our family does.

[rockermom]

I can't wait to start, obviously, that's why I'm here even though I'm years away from starting. I read TWTM before my daughter was conceived and was posting here -or trying to, I hated the old format-before my daughter was born.

 

I'm in the same boat with my nearly 9 month old son. I love the new format.

 

We will homeschool because my DH and I both feel that ps education is a joke. I knew one week into my University years that I would homeschool if I ever had children. I saw how ill-prepared nearly everyone was for higher education and the personal responsibility that comes with it.

 

In college I tutored my 8th grade nephew who was failing or nearly failing most subjects. He was very bright so I thought he was just goofing off. When we tackled his spelling/vocab words, it was immediately apparent that he had never actually learned how to read. He would look at the first and last letters of an unfamiliar word and guess. My mother and I started working with him on basic phonics. He became an A/B student within weeks and I was upset that for that many grades not one teacher (or parent) was ever able to look past the marks he was getting and realize the problem was so basic. He is 26 now and one of the most voracious readers I know.

 

I feel blessed to have met DH and he planned to HS as well.

 

My ds will have an exemplary education and will not be left behind or held back. Plain and simple. (There are more reasons, but I need to go now.. :D)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Now my children are academically advanced to a degree that there is no place for them in the public school system (the words of local school officials upon reviewing testing they did of my boys last year).

 

I was actually told that I'd "ruined my son (ds10) for public school!" This darned classical ed! What was I thinking -- teaching him to diagram sentences, write papers that are not formulaic, think like a mathematician, read Latin and even English!

[OnTheBrink]

Why do you home educate your children?

 

If they learn their ABCs, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, they have not been educated.

 

If they can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with their stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God's wisdom, they have not been educated.

 

If they read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books -- the Bible -- and have no knowledge of its personal importance, they have not been educated.

 

If they have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God's Word in their hearts, they have not been educated.

 

If they can explain the law of gravity and Einstein's theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe, they have not been educated.

 

If they can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker's purpose for all creation, they have not been educated.

 

If they can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country, they have not been educated.

 

If they can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him, they have not been educated.

 

If they can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend their spirit to do God's will, they have not been educated.

 

If they can identify a Picasso, describe the style of da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God, they have not been educated.

 

If they were to graduate with a perfect 4.0 and were accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God's choosing, they have not been educated.

 

If they become good citizens, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of (or believe) the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, they have not been educated.

 

However, if one day they see the world as God sees it, and come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for them, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN EDUCATED!

- - Carolyn Caines

 

This is beautiful and really sums up what I want for my own dd.

 

To answer the OP, homeschooling was the "last resort" for my son. He was not doing well in public school and no one there seemed to give a rats tail. He was labeled this and that and shoved into boxes by everyone, yet he didn't fit into any of them. The final straw was when he became severely depressed and when I called a conference with his teachers, every single one sat there with their arms crossed and every single one, when asked what could be done to help him, said, "We don't know!" I walked out of there in tears and told EX that ds was NOT spending another year in this wretched district. So, we looked into private school, which was a joke, and an expensive one at that. Homeschooling was the only option left. I deeply regret not pulling him out before 9th grade. I think PS ruined his love of learning completely.

 

SO, when dd got to be school age (well, 4, anyway) she had such a thirst to read and learn, we decided that we weren't going to ruin her love of learning in the ps, so we started homeschooling her. My reasons for continuing have changed over the years from purely academic to academic and spiritual. I want her to be able to be what God created her to be without having it beaten out of her by schools who insist everyone be the same, do the same, learn at the same rate, etc. I like a customized education, designed for her, not a one-size-fits-all-you-must-conform-to-a-postmodern-worldview "education."

[Sebastian (a lady)]

This is an important point. We started homeschooling for a variety of reasons, but we keep homeschooling in part because the local schools, both public and private, have nothing to offer our dd academically.

 

This is about where we are too. I have 3rd and 4th graders doing Saxon 7/6 math and reading at high levels. At the same time, one is emotionally very much a little 3rd grade boy. His older brother is small for his age and would definitely have issues in classrooms that had children who'd been held back once or twice (but hadn't stopped growing).

 

Add to that the issue that the gifted end of the spectrum receives far less attention and resources than the LD end of the spectrum. Perhaps that is as it should be. The presumption that a gifted child will find a way to learn is often based on just what gifted kids are prone to do. But if they are going to be expected to just sit patiently while others get their lessons and then learn something that challenges them on their own time, I'd just as soon maximize the amount of own time that they get and minimize the waiting for others.

 

To be honest, the longer we live here, the more possible homeschooling high school seems. I have such high standards for what a high school should look like. If the local public school can't offer that, why should I try to force my kids through it.

 

There are private schools here, some of them quite good. But I don't have an extra 15-16K lying around (per child). That is an awful lot of books and microscopes and travel that we would be giving up.

[tabrizia]

I thought public school in the US was a joke when I was a student. It wasn't very challenging and I always felt how slow it was going, how I was just wasting my time. So I was unimpressed, still am, I've heard nothing that has made me change my mind. I don't want to have to put my kids into the public school system.

 

I can't wait to start, obviously, that's why I'm here even though I'm years away from starting. I read TWTM before my daughter was conceived and was posting here -or trying to, I hated the old format-before my daughter was born.

 

 

This is basically why I'm here and planning on homeschooling. I never fit in public school, it was a complete joke and I never was challenged to anything near my potential. DH had it slightly better in that he was in a magnet school so had slightly more challenging work, but he still wasn't very challenged.

 

I want the ability to customize my child's education to fit them, and public and private school's can't do that. I really like the fact that I can make the education fit the child rather then trying to force the child to fit the education.