Why We Homeschool

Every family chooses homeschooling for different reasons, so if you are thinking about homeschooling your child(ren), ask around to get different perspectives! Here are some reasons why we homeschool.

Homeschooling is unique because it is adaptable.

It can be customized to meet the needs of individual children and can developed around the needs of individual families.

Here are a few reasons why we love it!

Video: Why We Homeschool

Relationships

When your kids don’t go to school, (surprise!) you end up spending a LOT of time together! This may be both absolutely wonderful and utterly exhausting depending on the particular moment or circumstances! As a whole, however, thinking about ALL the time we have spent WITH each other…living, being, learning … remembering all the places we have been together, whether literally through field trips or figuratively in books – we have built something deep, something lifelong. We have built relationships. We are making investments into the people we love the most.

Sibling friendships

Our kids have invested in friendships that will outlive their elementary/high school years. A sibling relationship is a lifelong friendship. Since my kids have grown up together, it would make me so sad to think of them all going separate ways and not knowing each other in the way they do now.

Now, don’t lose me here! Our kids have friends outside our home. They have friends in many different circles. At our most recent pediatrician visit, the doctor asked my 15-year-old son if he has friends outside our home. Ugh, really?!! Of course they have friends!! They have regular friends that they chat and hang out with. They are or have been involved in many different groups and community events from Cub Scouts to intramural sports to homeschool CO-OPS to art classes to camps to music lessons to drama presentations to church activities. They have friends.

BUT when they get up each morning…not rushed, not harried, they eat breakfast together. When they finish their independent work, they build forts in the back yard together. After lunch, we go amazing places in the books we read together. Roots run deep when you spend a lot of time with someone, and a sibling will be a friend for a lifetime.

Flexibility

This right here was almost number one for us when we started out. Nelson worked swing shifts at the time, so if our kids had gone to school, there would have been several days a week when they wouldn’t have seen dad at all. Homeschooling allowed us to flex with his schedule to maximize our family time. We can whisk away for a day or overnight trip, take an early weekend, do school at night, or change it up as needed.

Interest-based/Individualized

We are not a factory here. Why do our kids have to be learning a certain pre-determined material at the same time and at the same level? Why are we putting our kids into a one size fits all mold?! Our kids are highly unique individuals!

What if my son suddenly becomes obsessed with learning to play the guitar and spends every spare moment teaching himself to play from YouTube? That’s exactly what happened with our second son Luke. He is a hands-on learner. As soon as his independent work was done in the morning, he spent all his time learning to play. Now he is able to participate in the worship team at our church along with my husband who also plays guitar.

What if the kids want to spend more time studying a certain topic because it interests them? Isn’t that where real learning happens-when you want to know about something?

As parents and as educators, we do have goals and high expectations for our kids, and we realize that these expectations change, depending on the child.

I would go so far as to say, though, that my expectations and my interest in my children’s success is much higher and more personalized than any school district’s or teacher’s. Why? Because they are mine!

I want their education to be tailor-made, completely individual.

And I can do that because I know them best.

There are so many reasons why we homeschool. These are some important ones, but you can read about more reasons why we homeschool in Why We Homeschool Part 2!

Why do you homeschool? I love hearing from other homeschoolers! Please share what led you to homeschool your kids!