Why I Homeschool

My husband and I have MANY reasons for choosing to home education. You will find many of them listed throughout this blog. There are far too many for me to be able to put in this one page. So I have put up a top ten list to give you a general idea of the main reasons that we are taking this fun adventure!

This list will likely change over time, but these are my current top ten reasons in no particular order.

1. I love planning, being flexible, and being responsible for his curriculum based on their learning styles and needs.

2. Less "classroom" time, homeschoolers tend to cover more educational material in a shorter period of time than schools because of the one on one ratio and being able to focus on the child. No being held back or falling behind because of the 30 other children in the school classroom.

3. I love that I can protect their innocence better, I have seen what kids at even a very young age are exposed to and I don't like a lot of it. I'm appalled at how many people think that little kids swearing and talking about sex is CUTE and funny. That is not the type of "cute" or "funny" that I want for my children.

4. I don't have to worry about the very real threat of bullies. I was a girl and I had a hard enough time with them because of my size (being so small) I know it would be harder for boys who are small like my guys.

5.
There are a lot more opportunities for fun learning through plenty of field trips and other hands-on learning projects. These types of learning events tend to stick in the memory better than standard book and instruction learning because we as people learn naturally though our experiences and the five senses.

6. More time together, and more quality time at that. No rushed mornings trying to get to school on time, no rushed afternoons trying to squeeze everything in after school and around a bunch of sports.

7. Moral teachings: I am glad to be the one to teach him morals and values, which includes tolerance, kindness, and fairness. I don't want some stranger and certainly not the state teaching morals to my child!

8. Fun socialization: homeschooling groups, sports, clubs, etc.
This is especially important since most schools are cutting back on Physical Education, Music and Art programs due to funding issues. 

Not trying to socialize when they should be learning, and not learning socialization through bullying and fashion wars. Spending time with people of all ages and learning how to socialize with many more age groups than just his own.

9. No "back to school rush" - no shopping like mad to get a new wardrobe in a week, no getting all the supplies on the class list at one time, etc. Buy as necessary, when everyone else is in school and the stores are not packed.

10. No state standardized tests!! I've seen what my stepdaughter went through, getting stress headaches and more. She says the school nurse said they are always swamped that time of year. 


Why all the stress? The schools and teachers get more pay if the kids score higher. Also the schools spend up to SIX MONTHS a year studying JUST to pass that test. Complete craziness. My boys will be studying to learn, not spit out information to benefit the school. It will be for their benefit - as it should be. My children are not a dollar sign for the school system.

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This post written by a public school teacher explains a lot of our reasons too. The comments also bring up a lot of other legitimate points - and some drama too - but both the post and the comments are worth the read.


Key points to note:
  • Processed foods in cafeteria
  • One size fits all education not as good as individual
  • One hour per day clocked standing in lines!!
  • Three hours of instruction on how to fill out standardized tests!
  • Lack of freedom of religion and spirituality
  • Substitutes will show movies all day (while on facebook) while the teacher is at a training on how to give standardized tests
  • Lock down drills, drug raids, and emotionally disturbed children who need to be removed the classroom by 2 grown men
  • Kids are exposed to so much so early and they expose their peers in school
  • Restricted from field trips, projects, etc.