Jan. 7, 2006
Why We Started Homeschooling

I got asked this question today in an email, and thought I would also share it on our HS blog:

"Why did you start homeschooling?"

In a nutshell:

Because we wanted a strong family,

strong kids (in many areas),

and (for me) freedom in our day. 

So, what got me thinking about homeschooling, after being raised in an area where NOBODY did it?  When I married DH almost nine years ago, I saw how well his aunt & uncle did with their kids -- that they "normal" & yet also very smart, could talk to anybody, were (and still are) growing deep in their walk with God, and that they cared about more important things than most teenagers do.  Also that they loved and had close relationships with their parents and siblings.   They weren't perfect, but I was impressed.  (Especially after "hearing" from society that homeschoolers were an odd, socially-inept, strange bunch of people, it was really good for me to see the opposite first-hand.)

So, after living in the same neighborhood with them for 2 years and meeting more homeschoolers and seeing their results, I thought, "We can do this." 

I think we would say is the main priority for our family is to have, and to keep, our children's hearts, and to have them grow up into strong, godly, wise people.  We found the book "Keeping Our Children's Hearts" by the Maxwells very helpful in this area.  (www.titus2.com/ecommerce/products/prod_listing.php/1140 )

We also have gleaned a lot from the No Greater Joy Ministries and Vision Forum.  (http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/  and http://www.visionforum.com/)

I think it's hard to truly do this when they are gone 7-8 hours a day and have peers, etc pulling them in different directions, than the direction we as a family want to head in. 

We really want them to understand that God is first and HE is THE TRUTH.  I see parents trying to undo stuff that is not only taught at public schools, but also what they are exposed to when they are there.   It is a hard, up-hill battle for them.  Sadly, the same goes for some private schools.  There are times when I don't see much difference between public & private school kids' behaviors, mindsets, desire for worldly stuff, etc.  This goes for kids that are active in church as well.  (Hubby went to mostly private Christian schools growing up and could share a few things about this.)

(I know dear teachers who are Christians who have their hands tied -- I'm glad they are in PS system, but it's pretty sad, because at times it's hard for them to have any positive impact with the way things are in schools today.) 

I think everything comes down to this:  Who has your heart?  God, or the world?    Really, those are the only 2 options in life when you boil it down, and how you answer the question and live it out will impact the way you live your life.

I also want them to love learning, to learn HOW to learn, and to have them grown up to be life-long learners.  I like the Charlotte Mason philosphy in regards to this, as well as KONOS and points from the Robinson Curriculum.  We give them a strong foundation and let them know that they can do amazing things.   DH really expects them to not "meet" normal school standards, but to SURPASS them. 

As a bonus, we also can go WHENEVER we want.  We are not tied down to a school-year schedule and that gives us a lot of freedom and opens lots of doors for us.

Jan. 7, 2006 - How Wonderfully Worded