FOUR REASONS WHY WE HOMESCHOOL AND LOVE IT

four reasons why we chose to homeschool and love it

First of all, let me preface by saying that I believe that homeschooling is a privilege.  I am assuming that the moms who have asked me about homeschooling have an option to do it.  I was not homeschooled growing up. My parents were immigrants who were beyond grateful that they were able to bring their children to this country for a better life. They had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and homeschooling was not even a possibility for us.  So, know that I am very sensitive to this. I understand that not everyone can homeschool their kids. In fact, for a long time Alex and I never thought we would be able to because I was working as a nurse, we lived in Florida and our cost of living required me to work and not be home with our kids. We needed my financial contribution to make ends meet.  Being a homeschool mom and having an opportunity to do so, is a privilege and it’s one that I don’t take lightly.   

Conviction

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it

Proverbs 22:6

I have a deep conviction to keep my kids from a system of education that denies that there’s a God.  The world hates God and it’s evident in the times that we are currently living.  Everyone is pushing their agenda and even the best schools have a secular worldview.  My desire is to teach our children classical education through a Christian worldview. I want them to know the truth and to root every part of their education on the truth of the word of God.  If we’re learning about Science, we are talking about God’s power to create and sustain all things by the word of his power. If we are talking about Math, we talk about how God is a God of order and logic. If we are talking about History, we talk about God as the author of history and all that has and will come to pass is HIS STORY. There are amazing schools close to my home but at the end of the day, you never really know who is teaching your children and what they’re being taught. Our society is pushing a very liberal view on sexuality and gender.  They are exposing children to pornography in the name of sexual education and they’re being taught to accept gender fluidity – that they are the center of the universe. Bullying in the digital age is much more prevalent and seems normative when I observe children interacting in a public setting.   Lastly, when we stand up in this culture, we are looked upon as people who are spuing hate speech and unless we accept sin and label it as good, they see us as hateful people.

Building Relationships

Every time I chat with a seasoned homeschool parent about their journey, time and time again I get the same answer. Relationship.  We are spending the majority of our lives alongside our children.  I know their bents.  I know where they struggle, what they need to thrive, their love language, their potential, and their breaking point.  We have a relationship and based on what most seasoned homeschooling parents tell me, it’s a relationship that lasts a lifetime. Now, it is a lot of work. It entails long hours and conversations, a lot of confession, forgiveness, and disappointments. It’s also a lot of cheerleading, guidance and ultimately pointing their eyes (and ours) to Jesus. My absolute favorite part of homeschooling is that we talk about the truth of the word of God as it pertains to every area of our life and that I am not the ultimate authority.  They also build a lasting relationship with one another.  I tell my kids that they are each other’s best friends. We are a team and that our ultimate goal is to love one another. That doesn’t mean they don’t fight or have disagreements, but it’s an opportunity to practice forgiveness, repentance and character development.

Flexibility

Alex has always been in retail and has worked nontraditional hours.  This means that we’ve never had an official “weekend.” Some days he’s off on a Friday, and some days on a Wednesday, which means that carving out consistent family rest days is very difficult for us. We also like to take family vacations during the “off-season” so that we can benefit from more affordable accommodations (ahem… flying 6 people around gets expensive) and because we make our homeschooling schedule, we can adjust our curriculum based on when we want to travel.  We also have the freedom to bring school with us wherever we are.  Sometimes school happens at the park, sometimes by the pool and I’ve been known to always have some sort of flashcards in my bag.

There’s also the flexibility that comes with a tailored education. We often tailor our electives based on what the kids are interested in. Grace loves science, Haddon loves learning about tornadoes and building racecars and we’re able to incorporate their interest as part of our curriculum.  Sometimes that means adding a few racecar pictures to our math worksheet or we practice our sentence structures during the observation portion of our science experiments. Our hope is that as we progress, and learn our kids’ interests, we can tailor their education even more.

Sanctification

One of the pieces of feedback that I often get is that moms don’t have the “patience” to homeschool their kids, yet the first attribute that Paul ascribes to love is patience. Love is patient (1 Corinthians 13). Let me encourage you not to look for a “patience button” but rather to grow in grace and love for your calling and for your children. I often struggle with this, but I lean on 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Motherhood is sanctifying because we are constantly aware of how much we are in need of a savior.  We are sinners in need of Grace and so are our children and we become more like Christ as we bring our needs, our weakness and our life and give it to Him.  It’s so easy for me to see the sin in my children because more often than not, they are reflections of who I am and of my own sin. But seeing our collective need brings me back to His word and to daily prayer.

There are many more reasons why we have chosen to homeschool and to be honest, this is something we bring to the Lord often. Our desire is always to point our children’s hearts towards Christ and to filter everything through a Christian worldview.  Friend, I hope this is encouraging for you and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me or message me here.

Here’s a blog post on what a typical day looks like for us.