Deciding to Homeschool

Deciding to homeschool did not come easily to me at first. I swore that I could never homeschool my daughter. Even for an educator like me, I felt that it would be near impossible to hold my daughter’s attention all day, especially when trying to teach her something she may not be entirely interested in. However, I was thinking about homeschool all wrong. Being an educator, my schema of what a typical “school” day should look like hindered my understanding of homeschooling. Homeschooling should absolutely NOT mirror the set up of formal schooling. That would be contradictory.

One main reason parents (such as myself) decide to homeschool is for the flexibility it provides. I do not need to teach my daughter for 8 hours straight. In fact, that would be counter productive. Our “school” day happens when we decide and how we decide. What my daughter is gaining from homeschool is authentic experiences in the real world. We have the flexibility to go out and explore at any point in the day. She does not need to sit at a desk and write in her notebook to learn. She is learning much more from our nature walks, talks with one another, and day trips to the zoo, aquarium, museum, etc. Additionally, my family and I can take a vacation whenever and where ever we want without a school schedule tying us down. Life happens when we want.

Consequently, from exploring and navigating the world together, I am able to determine the topics that would interest my daughter most. For example, during the Fall we took a nature walk through one of our local parks. On this walk we observed several squirrels digging in the ground and squeaking at one another. This experience intrigued my daughter, and lead to a study on squirrels and their behaviors. Homeschooling allows this type of interest-led learning to occur more often than in formal school.

Although flexibility and interest led-learning were significant factors in my decision to homeschool, I would have to say that time was the deciding factor for me. The Spring before my daughter was to enter preschool was when I gave birth to my son. At this time, I had discussed signing my daughter up for Pre-K with my husband and he was on board. Do you know how they say things don’t always go the way you plan? Well, I definitely learned that one quick. When my son was three days old, I was rushed to the hospital with pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure rose, and doctors feared a stroke or seizure. To be safe, I was admitted and placed on a magnesium drip for 24 hours. Now, the reason I mention this is because it was at this point that I realized I not only wanted more time with my children but I NEEDED more time with them. If homeschooling allowed this to be possible then homeschool it would be.

Last but certainly not least, deciding to homeschool made more sense when I realized that I would be able to incorporate our faith into the curriculum. Something that I feel is missing in many aspects of life is our faith, and I just felt such a strong urge to teach my daughter that our faith is relevant in everything we do. Again, after having gone through such a traumatic experience after giving birth, I was so grateful to God for bringing me back to my babies. My faith helped me get through the most challenging time in my life and it is my job to teach my daughter ( and son, of course) that her faith in God will help get her through her best and worst days.

Now, if you have been pondering whether or not homeschooling is something you could possibly do, I would compel you to try it. You, as a parent, know your child more than anyone else in this world, and always have your child’s best interest at heart. So, give it a chance, I am so thankful that I gave it a try!

Is homeschooling something you are interested in?