Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

Due to the recent passing of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law I have been thinking a lot about living my life in a way that I will not have regrets.  Thankfully I had no regrets in these relationships.  We loved each other & it showed in our day to day dealings with each other.  Although we lived in 3 different States thousands of miles apart, we were close.  We called, emailed and visited as often as we could.  We said "I love you." often and we meant it.

So all this thinking about regrets has led me to think about homeschooling.  I homeschool because I do not want to have regrets with my children.  I want to look back at my children's education and say that I did everything I could to give them a great education and especially to encourage them in their walk with the Lord.

So what things do I fear I would regret had I not homeschooled my children:

1.  I would not have had unlimited time with them.  This would have been so sad to me.  I think of all those stories I have heard about a Mom crying t the school bus the 1st day of school only to become desensitized to the separation in a few weeks.  I don't want to become desensitized to my kids.  I miss them when they go to a friend’s house to play and look forward to their return.  I can't imagine them leaving all day every day!

2.  My husband and I would not have been the main influence in their lives.  Because we are their teachers we can pick their teachers!  My kids will never get teachers they don't gel with and then have to suffer silently all school year.  I went through this is school and I remember being miserable all year long hoping for a better teacher the following year.  Their education is too valuable to waste!

3.  They would not have spent the zillions of hours together that they are privileged to spend.  Since my oldest and youngest and 9 1/2 years apart I appreciate that they are still able to spend every day together.  I cannot imagine their relationship would be as close if they were in different places all day.

4.  Outside influences would creep into our house more easily.  I could go on and on about this, but the best explanation can be found over at Path of Grace.  Read it and weep!

5.  I would not be able to know their friends and love them in the way I can because of the amount of time I spend with their friends. Sometimes I think I am more attached to their friends than they are!

6. I would not be able to directly influence what they learn.  I am thrilled that I get to choose the curriculum my kids use.  If I don't like a book we can drop it.  When I find something else I want to teach mid year I can add it.  If we want to go off on some crazy tangent no one will stop us!

7.  They would not have unlimited time to explore their interests.  My 11-year-old is currently learning Japanese in his spare time.  It's his interest and because he is homeschooled he has time to pursue this interest.  Who knows how God will use this in his future?

The list could go on forever, but the point is this.  I am truly grateful for the privilege of homeschooling.  I thank God for all the people who went before me to make my journey possible.  I thank him for curriculum for homeschoolers, homeschool groups, conferences, homeschoolblogger.com and so much more!  I am so glad I am able to fulfill this dream and not live my life with regrets.