I've been working on the story of why we homeschool...It was a oddly quick decision that was made almost overnight when our preschool situation was not working out for us.
So...
The whole family jumped in with all 8 feet. Research via internet, reviews of curriculum, calling my sister, writing writing writing to sort out ideas...creating a budget (I quickly found that if I didn't things could get quite costly.)
Later (as in about 6 months later) my mother in law admitted she thought we'd gone off the deep end, but had come to the realization that we had made the right decision...and she as well as my mom were very supportive of our decision.
And away we went...
Buying curriculum, sorting it all out...
(good ole husband did a great job organizing since that is not my forte.)
Structuring days.
Finding home school groups.
Finding friends that support your decisions.
Dealing with a polite way of dealing with people saying X way was the only way and we should do it too...
Realizing that the real education is in the journey of discovery...
Making things fun.
Trying to overcome a severe case of Type A personality.
Trying to read all of Charlotte Mason's writings.
Exploring our world and finding new joy in every moment.
Finding the kids are best friends.
I am learning along with them.
Finding I am infinitely currious as well.
When the husband is home, I am discovering why he has always been such a sought after teacher.
We all love listening to him spin a tale of history and why things are the way they are.
How different life is when you have a teacher that cares.
Seeing the magic of everyday moments.
That is what learning is all about.
How did you make the decision to educate your child the way that you do?
Ours was a slower process, and probably involves more than i can adequately write in a comment box : ) but we knew early on, at around age 2 with our oldest that this was the right path for us. We liked the idea that we could gently introduce them to the world instead of starting them whether they were ready or not. We liked the idea that our family could be first. We liked the idea that we could be together whenever we wanted. That we could serve our community at 10 am if we wanted to. That we could not only "teach" the Bible, but could live it out. That we could take a vacation in October if we wanted to!
ReplyDeleteI guess, all in all, we felt like our children are our responsibility. We weren't willing to hand that over to someone else.
And nobody cares for their children like parents!
ReplyDeleteWe homeschooled, though both my kids did a year or two in Christian school and a year in public school. It was Deut. 11:19 that was the key. I realized that it was my responsibility to teach and train my children. We homeschooled all the way through high school. I never regretted the decision. Or how my children turned out.
Homeschooled kids often score better, overall, on their SAT's. My children went to public school, but I had been a homeschooled child and I loved it. Keep up the hard work!
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