I never intended on being a home school mom.
My husband and I had discussed the possibility of homeschooling, but I never gave it more than a passing thought. In fact, I had every intention of sending my kids to public school. My daughter had been placed on the wait list at an excellent school, and I fully intended on sending her. However, as the enrollment date approached, I began to feel hesitant about sending her off to school. I felt like God was placing homeschooling on my heart.
After much prayer, thought, and anxiety (followed by more prayer) we jumped in with Homeschooling. It was scary to make such a commitment and I didn’t take the decision lightly. In fact, I constantly worried if I had made the right choice.
I originally went to college to become a teacher, and there are things I love about traditional schools. I truly loved school. My deep love for learning and traditional school made me wonder if my children would be missing out on the fun. I had so many concerns: would my kids have friends, would I fail at teaching and give my children an inferior education, would I be lonely, would others judge me, would we become the “weird” family?
You know what’s amazing? None of this has happened! My kids have close friends. I have met dozens of wonderful home school mamas. And my kids aren’t falling behind in anything. Homeschooling definitely isn’t the easiest path, and there are times I feel like my patience is worn thin. However, for our family, the pros outweigh the cons.
There are many reasons why we decided to home school, these are the top three:
1. I wanted to individualize my children’s learning. Reading has been a breeze for my daughter. She gets it, it’s been smooth sailing. You know what hasn’t been a breeze? Telling time. What’s awesome about homeschooling is that I can take the extra time to focus on areas and concepts that need a little work, like telling time, for example. You know what else is awesome? The student teacher ratio, you can’t beat one-on-one teaching! I’ve witnessed firsthand how quickly kids can learn when they are being taught one-on-one. All of my lessons are specifically designed towards my child, and I know exactly what we need to work on. I wanted to ensure that my children were given the best possible education to prepare them for their futures. I wanted to give them the knowledge and life skills they need to be successful in college, or whichever paths they are led.
2. I wanted my children to have the freedom to explore their interests. Homeschooling gives my kids the unique opportunity to explore subjects which interest them. Right now my kids are obsessed with planets, so we rent books, watch videos, and do crafts all based around planets and our solar system. For math we can even add and subtract planets. It’s amazing how interested kids become in learning when the content is based on their interests. This will be particularly useful as my kids get older. We will encourage them to pursue their unique God-given abilities, talents, and interests.
3. I wanted their education to be Christ centered. This was the main reason we decided to home school. As Christians, we want our kids to grow up learning about God’s love for us, and we want them to love God and to love others. We want to give our children a deep knowledge of the Bible. We want to raise them in such a way that when they are grown and leave our home their light will be burning brightly throughout the world. I love that we can study all the traditional subjects and include a Bible study or read a Bible book as part of our normal school day. Now, I am not saying our kids won’t ever be introduced to people who hold opposing world views. In fact, we have friends from all walks of life who hold a wide variety of beliefs. Our kids are taught to respect and love all people, regardless of differing beliefs and backgrounds. I am happy, as a home school family, we have the freedom to incorporate our own Christian beliefs into our children’s education. My daughter told me that her teacher prayed with the kids before class at our home school co-op, and it warmed my heart. To her this is normal, however anyone who is involved with public school knows this is no longer an acceptable practice.
If you are considering homeschooling my advice to you is this:
Jump in with both feet! We jumped in and took the plunge, and honestly, we’ve never looked back!
Have you considered homeschooling your kids? What has encouraged you on that path?
Homeschooling has so much more to offer than I ever imagined. Like you, I’m glad we jumped in with both feet. It wasn’t on my radar either, but it’s been the best thing for our family!
We will be starting our first year of homeschooling this year and I’m nervous but so excited! Thanks for this post!
That’s awesome you decided to homeschool, Lacey! OKC is an awesome place for homeschoolers. There are so many families who get together and meet up, and there are lots of fun places to explore! I know you will do great!
Thank you for sharing this encouraging post. I can totally relate to how you felt before you started. It was not something I thought our family would ever want to do. But now I’m excited as we are getting ready to begin our first year of homeschooling!
I am currently in the process of enrolling my daughter in the K12 Oklahoma Virtual Academy. But I have read some negative reviews about them not being able to go at their own pace. I chose to take her out of public schools because she has been having problems in math for a few years and seems to be getting worse. She understands fine when I explain it to her in a few different way and she figures out the best way for her. How can I get more info on traditional home schooling? I think we may do that instead of K12.
Hey Marie! There are many different ways to start out traditional homeschooling! I would say start out with a curriculum that includes all of the different subjects in one package. For example, reading, math, science, etc are all provided through one particular curriculum brand and is geared towards your child’s grade level. That way you do not have to worry about piecing all of the subjects together which can get a little stressful. This year we are using My Father’s World for my daughter who is starting 1st grade. I would suggest finding a co-op in your area also! I’m sure they would be happy to answer your questions and might be able to give you more personalized suggestions. A co-op is a great way to meet other families and your child can attend field trips as well. Hope that helps a little bit 🙂
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