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kiloyd
06-01-2005, 08:29 AM
DS will be 4 next week so we have another year.

But I thihk my reasons would be more individual attention and that I've heard the HS kids are usually ahead of their grade. I have cousins that were homeschooled and they are at the top of their class in college.

Teribear
06-01-2005, 09:13 AM
1) Because I believe that it is what God wants for my child. If I didn't then I wouldn't be doing it.

2) Our public schools are abysmal. The two elementary schools she would have attended will be taken over by the state this summer unless their test scores improved dramatically.

3) The Christian schools in our area seem to foster an entitlement mentality that I don't find attractive or for that matter very Christian. We had her on a waiting list for the day school connected to our church before God pressed it on my heart that she wasn't to go there.

4) I see an age appropriate innocence in homeschooled children that is absent in the conventionally schooled children that I know. I also see an ability to interact with people of all ages and races that isn't present (ironically...since the accusation I face often is that homeschooling in our area is racially motivated) in the conventionally schooled children that I know.

Singingmom
06-01-2005, 11:53 AM
I homeschool so that I, not the public schools, can lay a moral foundation for my children. So that I can teach them right from wrong and guide them through the day's challenges.

I homeschool so that I can be with my children and know their hearts, and so they can be with me and know my heart.

I homeschool so that our family is the number one influence in their lives, rather than peers and teachers.

I homeschool so that my children can "have a life" outside of school. Eight hours spent traveling and in school, 1-3 hours doing homework, chores, dinner ...when do they get to climb trees, curl up with a book, collect rocks, draw pictures...

I homeschool so that my children can learn at their own paces, not be pulled along or held back by 25 other dear children.

I homeschool because my heart and my God tell me it's the right thing for our family, and I am thankful every day that I can. :heart :heart

Sara
06-01-2005, 11:58 AM
I didn't write this, but I did put it on my website because I think it is a great list of reasons why someone might homeschool! :)

http://www.interactivedesigncompany.com/personal/benefits_of_homeschooling.html

CelticJourney
06-01-2005, 12:35 PM
1) Protection - spiritual and physical. Dh is law enforcement and I know more about what can happen with a 30 to 1 ratio than I care to think about.

2) achievement - homeschooling gives the opportunity to work to whatever academic level they are challenged at. It also gives more time for outside achievements in other areas, such as Girl Scouts, etc. For example, we are learning American Sign Language

3) flexibility - whether it is starting the day early or late, doing Saturday school, or skipping a week, we have control of our time to use as we see fit.

4) experience - they have the opportunity to go more places, see more things, meet more people, do more things than traditionally schooled children. For example dd1 gave an opening prayer at our denominations state convention when she was 7, and last month she read scripture at the local National Day of Prayer commemeration.

5) cold, wet, winter mornings - nothing solidifies my desire to homeschool like watching the schoolbus drive by at 6:45 on those cold, wet, winter mornings, knowing my children are still safe, warm and dry in their beds.


I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that spring to mind first.

blessedmomof4
06-01-2005, 12:55 PM
A few of them are.....

1. Because we believe God wants us to.
2. We believe we are the best teachers for our children.
3. Protect them from a negative environment, negative peer-pressure, etc.
4. To give them the best education possible.
5. To allow them to learn at their pace.

erinee
06-01-2005, 01:28 PM
My reasons don't have so much to do with the public school here, it's really quite good. But we weren't happening with the way a few things were handled on an administrative level. At any rate, here are my reasons:

1. The most immediate one and the one that really pushed dh over is that Zach was coming home almost daily with reports of bullying. In a lot of cases, I think he was being oversensitive, but at any rate, it was affecting him in an unacceptable way.

2. Zach was also bringing home a lot of not-so-nice imitative behavior. I know he'll still get this from TV (which I let him watch more liberally than probably most people here do) and his friends in the neighborhood, but hopefully the extra time spent with me will make him imitate me more than those other things.

3. Time. After spending 6 hours in school (7 when he was still riding the bus, but I had went to taking him & picking him up because of the bullying), I wanted to let Zach do what he wanted to do when he got home, and that was usually playing with his friends. He was so dead-dog tired at the end of the day, he crashed at 8, and dh & I felt like we were hardly seeing him. Next year, in 2nd grade, the homework picks up considerably, and so he'd be spending 6 hours a day at school and coming home to do more seatwork. I just can't imagine that!

4. There are things I want him to learn that the school just isn't able to offer. We were spending less and less time reading together, and we were in danger of skipping some really important works of literature. I was wanting to work on Spanish with him as well as start giving him some piano lessons, and we just couldn't fit those things in.

5. One-on-one attention. I think Zach will thrive on this, and that I will be able to teach him good habits that the school couldn't because they couldn't spend the time focusing on it -- not their fault, they just can't possibly do it with all those kids.

There are other reasons, but those are the main ones.

heartofjoy
06-01-2005, 01:55 PM
My reasons for homeschooling are pretty similar to everyone else's. I wanted to write them out anyway, so that I could refer back to them.

1. Connection - to foster a connection with my kids, to teach them that I love them and will always be there for them, to be the number one person in their lives, to keep other people (teachers and students) from becoming more important than their parents

2. Moral purity - to keep my children from losing their innocence, to teach them about Jesus on a daily, hourly basis (a goal that I have yet to completely realize, but I am trying!), to tie in the big questions of life with our religious beliefs, to keep them from false religions until they are mature enough to handle it, to make sure they hear and understand the gospel

3. Education - to give them the very best learning experience possible, to teach them things that they cannot get in public or private school, to let them learn at their own pace, to let them follow their own dreams and desire, to keep them from humanistic philosophy, to teach them according to their learning styles and use curriculum that is fun and interesting or no curriculum at all

4. Freedom - to sleep as late as we want (which is not real late around here!), to stay home all day if we want, to be out all day if we want, to go on vacation in September, to not be a slave to the school schedule, to take field trips where we want, to be with daddy when he's off (shift-worker)

5. Safety - to keep them from bullies, negative teachers, sexual predators, scary images in curriculum (I saw a video in 7th grade that showed what happens to drug users. Very graphic. I fainted and peed in my pants. Another boy vomited. I still tried drugs when I was 19.)

6. Time - to keep from wasting time!

Celeste
06-01-2005, 03:16 PM
I used to teach in the public school system. Nuff said.

hearttender4
06-01-2005, 03:37 PM
It's encouraging to read through these and be reminded of some motivators I had forgotten. :) I think I'll make this thread a sticky so others can find it and be encouraged.

Gailmegan
06-01-2005, 03:59 PM
This is great information - thanks everyone. I had a woman at the playground today ask me if Justin was in preschool. I said, "No." She then asked if he was going next year and I again said, "No." Then she asked if I was really going to wait until kindergarten, at which point I responded that I was homeschooling. "Oh, why would you want to do that? I teach dance classes and all the homeschooled children ask the most useless questions." Thankfully Nathan was running to the sliding board on the other side of the playground, so I had to chase after him before I said anything rude. It would have been great to have a list like these to rattle off the top of my head. :mrgreen

The Christian schools in our area seem to foster an entitlement mentality that I don't find attractive or for that matter very Christian.

Terri - I think I understand what you are saying, but I was wondering if you could explain this more. I'm not thrilled with Christian schools either and I can't exactly put my finger on it, so maybe your point here would help me. Thanks! :-)

Teribear
06-01-2005, 04:07 PM
I posted a reply here and then realized I don't want to take this thread in that direction. I'll start another thread to discuss the question posed above.

hsgbdmama
06-01-2005, 04:57 PM
Dh and I attended both public and parochial schools and had very negative experiences in both, and in good conscience will not force that upon our children. We decided we want something different for them.
Led to homeschool through prayer and Lord-directed research.
Like the flexibility to direct our days, based on our children's interests, or what is going on in our lives ... we get to schedule school around our lives, not schedule our lives around school.
We know our children best, and feel that we can best give them the individualized attention they need.
We not only love our children, we also like them and enjoy spending our days with them!
We can incorporate our beliefs, values and morals into our learning, showing how our faith is intertwined into our beings, and cannot (and should not) be separated from daily things (like our jobs).
We can pick and choose the curriculum that we feel will work best for us.
We like the fact that if something doesn't work, we can easily move to something else, rather than :banghead with something that does not work, or have to go through a bureacracy to get it changed.
We can stay with something until we know our child has mastered it and understands it, rather than being forced to move on to the next thing before he is ready for it.

Piper2
06-01-2005, 05:45 PM
1. This is probably an incredibly selfish one, but Kevin is my only child, and I want to be able to spend as much time with him as I can.

2. I enjoy being there when he learns something for the first time. It was so cool this year to watch him "get" the idea of silent e! :D

3. Socially, I know Kevin is a bit "different". I was "different", my youngest brother was "different", and we both had some bad experiences in school because of it.

4. Kevin's not on the same level in every subject, so I know there's no way one teacher with one group of kids in one classroom can effectively meet his educational needs.

5. I also like not being a slave to the county school year calendar. Next year, we're starting on July 5th and will be done at the end of April, with several breaks along the way, including nearly a month off for Christmas and a week and a half off for Spring Break!

6. DH does some traveling for business and can also work from home and take half-days off frequently. Having Kevin at home allows him to take advantage of the extra time with Dad.

7. Homeschooling allows us to be flexible when emergencies come up. When DH's grandmother passed away last August, we were able to hop in the van the next morning, drive to FL and stay for the rest of the week and not miss a day's lessons because we brought it all with us -- We were doing Language Arts on I-75 between Atlanta and Macon one day, Math-U-See at my MIL's dining room table another day, and demonstrating rotation and revolution (solar system) in the hotel room one evening! ;) I hate to think what a hassle it would have been to try to gather and complete make-up work (and he'd still surely miss something) if we were in school -- or that we might even have not been able to go because of having to miss school.

8. I'm not a morning person, and I quite frankly had my fill of rushing around before dawn trying to catch a school bus (and they come earlier now than they did when I rode it). Plus, like someone else said, seeing kids waiting out in the cold and rain before 7am (and knowing they've probably got another hour to go before they even get to school) just makes me feel so blessed that mine is safe and warm in bed and will stay safe and warm up to the time he starts his lessons without any extra distractions to inhibit the learning process.

9. He doesn't need special clothes.. or even good clothes...to wear to school. ;) If the situation ever arises (and knowing me, I'm sure it will eventually), I would have no problems having him do his math sitting at the kitchen table in his boxers on laundry day! :giggle

10. Bottom line, I believe God gave me this child to take care of and raise, and that includes educating him. For some people, that may mean providing the best education outside the home as possible, but for as long as I am capable of doing it, I feel I'm shirking the responsibility God gave me if I don't educate him at home.

kiloyd
06-01-2005, 08:26 PM
Thanks for all the great replies! I'm glad I posted that question.

Katherine

lovelymama
06-05-2005, 08:17 PM
I'm glad I posted that question
I'm glad you did too!

We are getting ready to start homeschool with my oldest and I was having serious self-doubt. I decided to log onto to GCM for a little encouragement and this was the first thread I found. I'm feeling really good about it again. This forum is such a blessing. :heart

Tex
06-10-2005, 07:16 PM
Well I'll tell the big reasons I am considering homeschooling...

I don't want my child being influenced solely by peers and a stranger for the majority of the day 5 days a week
I want my child to have a 'curriculum' that is personalized
I want my child to be able to eat healthy foods and at leisure)
I want my child to have physical fitness play every day

JavaMama
06-22-2005, 07:24 AM
I have attended public school, private school and been homeschooled and homeschooling worked best for us. I believe it will be the same way for my children. I am very concerned about the morals (or lack thereof) being taught in the schools and the fact that SO much time is spent at school while little is accomplished.

If you're interested, here's my experiences:

I was homeschooled for pre-k through 1st grade. I started public school after my mom had two babies in 17 months and while my youngest brother was hospitalized for cancer and my experiences were NOT good. I was the only one in second grade who was already reading and I was bored a lot. I was a tiny little girl and a big bully boy picked me up (!) and basically body slammed me on the playground. He was not disciplined and the principal blamed it on hormones. !!!! I think that was 4th grade.

After that I spend two years (5th-6th grade) in a church school that used ACE curriculum. I really loved it as it allowed me to go at my own speed. I was ahead when we left the school... which we did only because we were moving out of state. Once we arrived in Indiana it was best to homeschool while we searched for a home so I was homeschooled for 7th and 8th grade. The summer following 8th grade I decided I really wanted to go to school again so my parents found another church run school for me to attend. I really didn't like it much and there was a boy who teased me a lot and I was basically told that I was egging him on. :sa At the end of the first semester, my parents thankfully pulled me out and I finished out my schooling at home; with the exception of taking driver's ed and a semester of Spanish at the public high school as a non-traditional student. I passed my GED test (without studying :blush) shortly after my 18th birthday and two months before the school year ended. I already had a job at the local library, so I was able to move up from shelving books to a variety of other jobs requiring more skill.

A funny note, but our local library loves to hire homeschoolers! :tu

mrsramjet
06-25-2005, 04:12 AM
i say yes, mmmm. yep, aha.. etc to nearly all of these here.

the one i would like to add is that it comes (to me) as a natural extension of our parenting. (i am not saying it is the only "AP" "GBD" way to do things or anything like that)

and i LOVE that my life and the lives of my kids aren't cut up into little segments.
it's all cohesive. part of a whole. :grouphug

Leslie
07-05-2005, 11:02 AM
The thread about being able to afford homeschooling reminded me of some less obvious reasons.

Public school parents are expected to be involved--to help in the classroom, to help their children learn whatever their children couldn't understand in class (or what their teacher didn't have time for because she was too busy teaching about whatever the PC issue of the county made her teach). I've seen public school parents who put in as much time with their children's education (PTA meetings, cafeteria work, teacher's helper, and homework) as I do homeschooling. But they had no say about the education their child was receiving. It makes me wonder what they think their child is getting from school that's so valuable that they'd make that kind of sacrifice for it.

Public school parents have to pay for stuff when the public school tells them to. Not when it fits their budget, but when they get a note from the school. There are school supplies, suitable clothes, field trips, class pictures. Homeschooling parents spend money when they can. If they can't, there are ways of getting an education without money. They can use the library, for one thing. And homeschool parents never have to pressure their co-workers and distant family members to buy candy bars, candles or magazines to fund their school.

I liked the reason about being able to limit your child's diet, too.

Katherine
07-28-2005, 04:28 PM
I liked the reason about being able to limit your child's diet, too.

Yeah, I'm glad somebody else mentioned diet. :shifty The fact that my ds is seriously allergic to all types of nuts (including peanuts.. where the allergens are actually airborne :eek ) has been sort of an extra motivation for me to consider homeschooling. (He's still 3, so we haven't definitely decided yet, but I have am testing the "homeschooling waters" by starting some more structured art and preschool stuff with him.) Yes, I know there are plenty of nut-related dangers in other places.. the park.. restaurants, stores, church, social gatherings, etc. BUT.. I'm always somewhere close by with an epi-pen in hand, and I'm in the habit of being more aware than a teacher who has 25 or 30 kids to think about.

JellyBeansSlingMom
08-03-2005, 12:31 PM
Well we have had some problems with our daughetr in ps system for years. I mean yes she has learned a lot but the other stuff she is learning worries us more. My daughter is not as emotionally and socially mature as others her age and easily gets overwhelmed with the way other act and their interests at her age. We noticed she was writign love notes to boys because she thought thats what others do and just wanted to fit in. Since she is so nieve she is easily talked into doing anything someone dares her to do. This can be a very troubling thing. I have been for homeschooling for a while and was about to last year but hubby decided not to. After the occurances this year we both agree Hs would be best for Madalyn. a few reasons we have decided to not do ps this year is: repeated very stressful standardize tests (freaks her out and stresses family), bulling teachers to try to make you out your child in extra tutoring classes so their test results will be higher and they can get bonuses, child being left behind when they do not understand a skill, being made fun of by teacher and classmates when they do not understand a skill and have more questions, peer pressure, not having to do a bunch of school fundraisers, child not having to get up at 5 am to catch bus on time. and sooooo many more.

Marie

jacq210
08-04-2005, 06:05 PM
"I liked the reason about being able to limit your child's diet, too.
Yeah, I'm glad somebody else mentioned diet."

I wanted to say that in addition to diet being a good reason to home school, what about adding to the list the idea of being able to eat when you're hungry and use the bathroom when you need to? I know for me when I was growing up, you had to eat lunch when they told you it was lunch time even if you weren't hungry at that time.... and for me, I never went to the bathroom in school {until I got my monthly, that is...} - I would use the bathroom at home, go to school ALL DAY and not use the bathroom until after I got home. To this day, I don't like public toilets, but I now go and use them when I have to.....

~~ Jacqui

mykidsmom
08-09-2005, 09:55 AM
Oh, the list just keeps on growing.

1. We want them to have the best education. Learning at their level without any restrictions.
2. The socialization offered in public school is NOT something we want our children to learn from. Bullies and Peer Pressure are not required for healthy growth (although some think it's normal :rolleyes ).
3. It's hard to teach about loving Christ when they go school and learn about loving self. We usually don't have a problem loving ourselves, it's sort of human nature.
4. Say no to TRENDS. We really don't want our kids to be into trends, wondering why they don't have the newest whatever. Clothing, toys, beliefs, etc. It's materialistic and superficial. :blah
5. SHARE. Our children will learn about sex from what we teach them, thank you. :) Also, kids in highschool are hormone crazed. I really don't want them to have to deal with all that comes with being around the harmone crazed opposite sex, six hours a day. :giggle I mean, I had guy a rub his you-know-what on me when we stood up to get off the bus(I clobbered him right away), or times when we were groped in a crowded hallway, or guys staring at your behind as you walked to the next class, or finding out one of your close friends was gay.... It's worse nowdays. Our youth group has told us some horrific stories. :eek
6. Our kids are also kept "innocent" longer. Why should they have to grow up so fast?

This is just a short list of reasons. I find new reasons all the time.

MylittleMandM
08-20-2005, 10:43 AM
3. It's hard to teach about loving Christ when they go school and learn about loving self. We usually don't have a problem loving ourselves, it's sort of human nature.

Wow. This is really good. Thanks for that reminder. :tu

Piper2
08-24-2005, 09:15 AM
Here's something that was in the directory from the homeschool expo I went to a few weeks ago. I don't necessarily agree with everything this woman says, but this was pretty good:

...Homeschooling is not really about the kids, its about changing moms' hearts. Homeschooling propels a mom's heart toward her children...it is about changing self-centered and foolish women into moms whose feet are set firmly in principle and conviction as they to pour out their lives for their children.

(I know there's an odd "to" in there, but I'm staying true to the quote...)

Read the whole article here: http://www.homeschoolyellowpages.com/modules/articles/article.php?id=4

Katherine
08-24-2005, 03:20 PM
Wow.. Great quote. :) It reminds me of some of the things I've heard Joanne say on this board.. stuff like:

The more time parents spend away from their kids, the easier it gets to be away from them.

And various comments that refer to the fact that we have to *LEARN* how to be mothers/parents.. that we have to *develop* things like patience and tolerance, structure and organization, etc.

It was a great relief to me to hear someone SAY that these things don't always come naturally, and we have to learn them. The thing that makes me the most unsure of myself when I consider HSing is the thought that I am just not the right "kind of mom" or that I don't have adequate skills/resources to manage and educate my child properly.

Today while I was out running errands, HSing popped into my head and the thought that crossed my mind was that I want to experience life *with* my children. I genuinely love being around them. (the vast majority of the time, anyway. :giggle :O )

Celeste
08-29-2005, 10:31 AM
Very good points. Last year I subbed in public schools about a half a dozen times. I let my oldest son (who is about to graduate from Abilene Christian as an education major sub for the kids). I was shocked as an ex-public school teacher how much things had deteriorated. I highly recommend to anybody who is thinking about homeschooling to read The Well Trained Mind.

Miss Priss
09-21-2005, 08:11 PM
I see an age appropriate innocence in homeschooled children that is absent in the conventionally schooled children that I know.

:tu
When we had dd#1's birthday party a few months ago, I remember one of the moms commenting to me, "T picked L out a baby doll. I wasn't sure about that, I told her that even though L was a year younger (8yo) that I didn't think she was still into baby dolls. But T insisted that L still really liked to play with baby dolls. I hope she's okay with her present." I replies that L indeed still loved to play with baby dolls, and she would love her gift. The other mom looked at me like... :hunh :scratch

mykidsmom
09-21-2005, 08:20 PM
Oh, I know it. I can see the difference. My cousin, 11 years old (HSed), still loves her American dolls. My SIL, 9 years old (PSed), doesn't play with anything and is completely boy crazy. I see it all the time. :(

Teribear
09-23-2005, 04:37 AM
Memphis City Schools Promotes Reading: Read 2 books a month: thats 25 in a year!

This is an actual banner hanging in the top public high school in Memphis right now. I'd say that qualifies as a reason to homeschool.

mykidsmom
09-23-2005, 09:02 AM
Memphis City Schools Promotes Reading: Read 2 books a month: thats 25 in a year!

This is an actual banner hanging in the top public high school in Memphis right now. I'd say that qualifies as a reason to homeschool.


:giggle Fuzzy Math....

Miss Priss
09-23-2005, 11:24 AM
Memphis City Schools Promotes Reading: Read 2 books a month: thats 25 in a year!

This is an actual banner hanging in the top public high school in Memphis right now. I'd say that qualifies as a reason to homeschool.

Oh my! My dd's read 25 in two months, at least. :lol

Roma
11-08-2005, 06:03 AM
well we're talking about it and i'm excited thinking it might happen now...in addition to what others said:

1. so much wasted time in class - i taught in public and private and even the best teacher can't avoid waisted time which goes up a lot with a higher student:teacher ratio. the local catholic schools have 30-35 kids in a class and i think that is awful. i know i could teach a K-1 curriculum in half the time they do at school.

2. they send home way too much redunant busy work homework.

3. K-1 dosn't allow for kids to progress at their own pace anymore. kids who aren't ready to learn phonics right away end up in the bottom and stay there.

4. money. we won't do public down here. they are awful. catholic schools are ranging from 3500-4000 for elem. not counting books, fees, never ending fundraisers, supplies, uniforms, etc.........

5. my DH works late, so by the time he gets home they'd hardly see him. this way they don't have to get up super early and be in bed super early.

6. the siblings would know each other so well and spend time together

7. money we save on tuiton could be use for exciting family trips where they see things in person in stead of in a book (and we could take them any time of the year we wanted)

Soaring Eagle
11-08-2005, 01:35 PM
This is a great question! I have been asking a couple people who I know will HS and so this is perfect. My daughter is only 2 years old but I am considering HS and so this is great to find out why others are doing it.

Love
12-01-2005, 09:33 PM
So many of the good ones have been taken! :P

Here is one I don't think was mentioned. Before becoming a Christian, I was visiting a good friend. We both were very new moms and she asked me if I ever thought about HSing. I hadn't. She said she was going to and started talking about it. I realized here I was holding this little boy, who I was APing to the max 24/7, respecting him so much in every way.... No WAY was I going to suddenly make him ask permission to pee from a complete stranger- just because he had turned five! :eek

I wanted him to be raised with basic human dignity.

illinoismommy
01-24-2006, 07:44 PM
Wow I am so blessed to have found this thread and forum. :) My son is only 1 1/2 but I have been thinking about homeschooling for many of the reasons previously mentioned. :tu

klpmommy
02-15-2006, 12:21 PM
I taught public school for 9 years (grades 2-4). The year I was teaching 3rd grade with 22 students, everything was my responsibility (no pull out classes or anything like that) and I had the smartest boy in the grade (no kidding, an IQ of 180) and the most LD kid in the grade (IQ less than 70) and the rest of the 22 kids were in the middle. And I was supposed to meet all of their needs. One teacher, 22 different sets of learning needs. How was I supposed to do that? Not to mention teaching to the test. It was an impossible situation and the kids were the losers- all of them, imo. That was before I had any real discipline problems a couple of years later to further convince me that homeschooling was what I wanted to do.

mambug
03-09-2006, 01:36 PM
Thank you all so much for you input on HS, our child is very young and we have one on the way but it's something we are thinking about. I'll keep researching and listening....

apmommyto4
03-18-2006, 11:37 AM
1. I want dh and I to be the primary influences in their lives-not 30 other children from all different walks of life, and 1 teacher that we don't really know much about.
2. I want to be able to pay attention to their character, and help them in little areas that I might have missed if I only saw them a few hours a day.
3. I enjoy being with them and want to be there for their 1st time doing things as much as possible, and love to see their faces when the *get it*!
4. I want them to be immersed in the love of the Lord, and totally saturated with the things of Him all during the day (Bible, talking about Him, music, etc) and they can't do that in a school setting.
5. I don't want them exposed to "tolerance" programs, "family life" programs, "evolution" materials, etc., until I feel that they are ready for them, and then I want to teach them the issues from a Godly perspective.
6. Violence, bullying, and bad language in the classroom on a daily basis, on any given day, in any school.
7. I want to prepare our children for *life*-teach my children, boys and girls, to cook, sew, take care of children, run a home, clean, etc, by the time they graduate from high school.
8.I enjoy learning with them. It's fun to do projects with them and explore their reading literature with them! I like being able to customize their schoolwork to their little personality and interests that God has given them.
9. Most of all, I want them to be strong in their relationship with Jesus, and I can't encourage them in this if they're gone from me for so long.

illinoismommy
03-19-2006, 06:20 PM
--Homeschooling more easily facilitates parents as disciplers of their children because of the amount of time spent together. I believe parents should be the primary influence. I don't want a bunch of same age children telling my kids how to act. :/ (Hold Onto Your Kids is a good book about why peer orientation is a bad thing)

--My kids don't have to move at the exact same pace as everyone else in school. I was bored so much in school because we had to go slow enough for the people who needed it.

--School is such a time waste. Research shows they only accomplish a couple hours worth of education in the 7 hours they are there... 7 hours + time to travel there and back.

--Speaking of time, I want my kids to have time to really play and enjoy nature and not have to sit there all day

--I love how education flows naturally from our real life rather than sectioned off to something they do elsewhere with other people. 'So what did you do at school today?' becomes an unnecessary question, and thankfully so.

--I want my kids to be close to each other and have a real relationship rather than just give each other the leftovers after a long day at school with their "friends." Family is a relationship that stays with you for life (in most circumstances) and that makes it important to me.

--I don't think 5 and 6 year olds are emotionally and socially mature enough to be on their own in social situations without their parents.

I love how my first post on here my oldest was 1.5 and now he's approaching 5 so I changed my answer to reflect some of our journey since then. :)

HA
04-26-2006, 02:48 PM
:popcorn :grouphug

We chose to homeschool because we believe this is what God wants as the best choice for the children.
They can work at their own pace. There is always that issue out there that always comes up about socializing and how does the children
spend time with other children their age? They do socialize. By getting involved in local homeschooling groups, meeting new people, getting involved in the local church where other families have children and finding out that other people there have some of the same likes and beliefs that you do.

Littledisciples
04-29-2006, 08:00 PM
Loved hearing the replies, I just decided this this school year with my kindergardener. Number one reason is children at the public school were way to sexual and totaly inapropriate. I cherish my DD inocennce and would like to preserve that. Now reading what you all say makes so much sense and we want to homeschool our kids new to the scene of it and not sure my exact reasons but the number one reason it feels right in my heart.

Points I do like.
I can incorprate God anytime in our lesson plans like on our History Day we learned about the Crusifixtion of Jesus and by Easter Sunday We knew the story. I can teach them that Abraham Lincoln Prayed before he worked and show them how our country was founded on God. Love that.

My DD and I can go out and look for bugs for science and come back in and read about them.

For reading we can read what ever books we want and not worry their christian.

For worksheets and the like I can have her do them and on days she is not interested we do more hands on things.

I like the idea of not forcing her to sit still and learn from workbooks she can have more hands on, life experience learning style.

She can have friends from Church and around the nieghborhood and we can socialize plenty we go to the store, the park, the library.

I love the fact that she don't have to compete with the most popular kids for what she wears. I got her a few things from a yard sale today and she was like cool. Even if the pants had a bit of hole she said "That's ok who cares if they have a little hole" No influence in the fashion department love that.

Moon
08-04-2006, 11:42 AM
The really short version:

We simply see no reason to stop doing what we've always done just because our kids have reached an arbitrary age that declares them ready to sit in a desk and be spoon fed their education.

JavaMama
08-05-2006, 08:03 AM
The really short version:

We simply see no reason to stop doing what we've always done just because our kids have reached an arbitrary age that declares them ready to sit in a desk and be spoon fed their education.


:highfive

RubySlippers
08-05-2006, 02:04 PM
Love the responses here...I saw all our reasons for homeschooling and more.

Oh, :laughtears that banner was hilarious! The math error plus the grammatical error??? :laughtears I'm sure it wasn't originally intended that way. :giggle

seekingLove
08-26-2006, 10:19 AM
We homeschool simply b/c we prayed about it & it is what is right for our family :-) That is all there is to it, of course we are thankful for the many benefits that come with homeschool!
The journey began when I started to see just what homeschooling was. As a teen I babysat for a few homeschool families & so I had some experience with what homeschooling was to their families. However, as an adult I remember saying, "God will have to tell me to homeschool B/c I just don't think I am cut out for that!" Well, well, well... it is amazing what God calls us to. I am ever thankful that He equips us for what He calls us!!!

jghomeschooler
11-23-2006, 09:19 PM
Because I don't believe in farming out my children and relying on strangers to actually help them learn.

Because the ps system is a complete failure.

Because they are MY children, not wards of the state.

Because I love them, and love having them home with me everyday.

Because I want them to LIVE, and LEARN, and LOVE.

Because I don't want to see them wither away, wilt, and be beaten down by such a system, and by children raised in such a system, by teachers who are trained to beat them down within the system/with the system.

Because, IMNSHO, ps is no place for children.

live~laugh~love
12-23-2006, 08:55 PM
:rockon BRAVO ladies! I :heart you guys :kiss.

cbmr777
12-29-2006, 09:36 PM
I haven't read through all of the responses (yet) but wanted to share our reasons...

I wrote them here in my blog in 2005 and our reasons haven't changed one bit... in fact over the last 3 years of HSing, they've only strengthened.
http://www.hoguechronicle.com/parenting.php?itemid=109&catid=34

:)

masherrell
02-09-2007, 11:19 AM
I have always wanted to home school and I am still trying to decide what i will be doing next fall. What drove me to the edge was when I put my DS in public pre school when he was 3. Just to try things out. It lasted two weeks. I went to a parent meeting when they past curriculum around that they were going to teach the next week. It was on good touch and bad touch. No problem I thought, we have been over this. Then I thumbed through the children's book that they were going to read to a male/female group of 3 and 4 year olds. Graphic pictures of both sex genitalia. I though I was going to get sick. I pulled him out that very next day. I was horrified to find out that they start sex education in our school system in 4th grade. Not personal hygiene like I was taught but actual how to prevent STD's and such. So yes I am still debating. I don't know why. Maybe because I do have some family members against it. My grandmother says they deserve a proper education. She does not live in the schools in these times. I don't think she realizes how bad it has got.

TuTusMama
02-18-2007, 05:26 PM
In semi response to one poster...(something tambourine?)

1. My 4 children are my only children and I want to spend as much time with them as possible ;)

my other reasons are a bit different form those posted...

2. In school I always wanted to go outside....even to do worksheets or listen to the teacher, I felt like I was wasting my life indoors.

3. So my kids can learn about subjects for however long they want, no time limits

4. On the opposite end, if they arent ready for something they wont be afraid to say so. I constantly fell behind because I was just too afraid to raise my hand and say "this isnt making sense"

5. Learning will be limit less and all day. No longer will I feel they need to zone out on the TV afterschool. To just be blah and not listen to anyone... it will be a thing of the past

6. To have my kids learn about the Bible throughout the day, we can in no way afford private school

7. To see my kids excited to learn and discover and enjoy it with them

Christine

RedTulipMoon
03-03-2007, 10:19 AM
I am so glad i found this thread. I really needed to be reminded of all the reasons i choose to homeschool. I have an 18 yr old son that i homeschooled pretty much from 4th grade through the end of highschool except for when he went to 8th grade PS for the last half of 8th grade cuz he wanted an 8th grade diploma (which he got with no problem). And his 2 mos attempt at Public highschool.

Anyways, i have another son who is turning 3 in June and i have a baby girl that is due in June. I have had every intention of homeschooling all the rest of my children through atleast 8th grade, possibly highschool. Now it turns out my son that is about to turn 3 has been diagnosed as PDD-NOS with Dyspraxia. (he is supposedly high functioning but on the autism spectrum, and he isn't talking yet). He has been in Early Intervention for a year and all the therapists have been coming to the house. Now they are PUSHING me to sign my son up for the special education offered through the school system starting THIS SUMMER on his 3rd birthday. The problem is...its 5 days a week, 3 hours per day! I didnt mind a few therapists coming to MY HOUSE a couple days a week to help him, BUT to send him 5 days a week at age 3 to SCHOOL!!! eeeeek! i am sooooo torn! i had NO intention of sending my children to pre-school or any school. Now i have a son that isn't TALKING and has sensory issues and NEEDS occupational therapy and speech therapy and such and the school system offers all this for free. I think its possible to HIRE these therapists for MEGA BUCKS to come to the house, but we dont have MEGA BUCKS! i am torn torn torn as to whether my son NEEDS this or doesnt NEED this help!! He is extremely SMART. He knows his colors, numbers 1-12, shapes and his entired alphabet and isnt even 3 yet.

I dont know why i am going on and on ....this is probably the entirely wrong thread...if this belongs somewhere else..then please move it if need be. sorry.

Mothering by Heart
03-03-2007, 10:23 AM
I was just thinking about this in the shower yesterday. One of my DD's has been sleeping really late all of a sudden. Obvious growth spurt.

I am so happy I am able to accommodate that for her instead of having here at school at 7:45 when she still needed to sleep for a few more hours :heart

illinoismommy
03-03-2007, 01:56 PM
I am so glad i found this thread. I really needed to be reminded of all the reasons i choose to homeschool. I have an 18 yr old son that i homeschooled pretty much from 4th grade through the end of highschool except for when he went to 8th grade PS for the last half of 8th grade cuz he wanted an 8th grade diploma (which he got with no problem). And his 2 mos attempt at Public highschool.

Anyways, i have another son who is turning 3 in June and i have a baby girl that is due in June. I have had every intention of homeschooling all the rest of my children through atleast 8th grade, possibly highschool. Now it turns out my son that is about to turn 3 has been diagnosed as PDD-NOS with Dyspraxia. (he is supposedly high functioning but on the autism spectrum, and he isn't talking yet). He has been in Early Intervention for a year and all the therapists have been coming to the house. Now they are PUSHING me to sign my son up for the special education offered through the school system starting THIS SUMMER on his 3rd birthday. The problem is...its 5 days a week, 3 hours per day! I didnt mind a few therapists coming to MY HOUSE a couple days a week to help him, BUT to send him 5 days a week at age 3 to SCHOOL!!! eeeeek! i am sooooo torn! i had NO intention of sending my children to pre-school or any school. Now i have a son that isn't TALKING and has sensory issues and NEEDS occupational therapy and speech therapy and such and the school system offers all this for free. I think its possible to HIRE these therapists for MEGA BUCKS to come to the house, but we dont have MEGA BUCKS! i am torn torn torn as to whether my son NEEDS this or doesnt NEED this help!! He is extremely SMART. He knows his colors, numbers 1-12, shapes and his entired alphabet and isnt even 3 yet.

I dont know why i am going on and on ....this is probably the entirely wrong thread...if this belongs somewhere else..then please move it if need be. sorry.

:hug2 perhaps make a new thread?

mamato2kids
05-16-2007, 06:18 PM
My reasons for homeschooling were not as pure as everyone elses. Isaac went to ps...and he is very very intelligent...and bored....we found that he was a behavior problem because of it....we were reminded that meds were a great options repeatedly....we kept saying that we thought he was bored and no one would listen.....then we had his IQ tested to prove to them that he wasn't just a "ADD/ADHD" kid that needed meds...and his IQ is 138. Well nothing much changed...so we decided to pull him out. Since he has been home we realized that he was left to read all day long...he is an avid reader (not an ADHD trait) and would literally read whole chapter books in a day....as long as he was quiet...they were happy!

We did pray and pray about it...and the answer seemed obvious...so we brought him home...we are discussing how long he will remain home...at this point dh wants him to return to school for 7th grade...I would like him to stay home until high school so we shall see....

we haven't decided if we will homeschool our dtr she just turned two....I figure we will montessori train her as we did Isaac for prek and then decide what is best for her!

Jana
05-23-2007, 02:05 PM
I just did a post about this on my blog last week. I homeschool for a ton of reasons, but I'll link to the main post here. If you want to read about why we STARTED to homeschool in the first place, go ahead and follow the link in the blog post.

http://joybox.typepad.com/the_joy_box/2007/05/my_closing_stat.html

illinoismommy
05-23-2007, 04:47 PM
I'd like to add "safety" to my list :yes2 .... sad but these last few years have been eye opening both nationally and locally.... we've had schools in our area close because of threats

JavaMama
05-23-2007, 08:25 PM
I'd like to add "safety" to my list :yes2 .... sad but these last few years have been eye opening both nationally and locally.... we've had schools in our area close because of threats


Agreed. We'd already decided to homeschool but the horrible things these last few years have cemented our decision. :sigh

Even our small town schools have had trouble of various kinds... oral s*x in the upper elementary grades, school employees and the children attending school where they are employed being threatened by nutty neighbors etc. :neutral

Ned
01-07-2008, 04:47 AM
Its so great to see this thread - here I was feeling gulity about just wanting my children around - thinking I was being selfish but hey.... God gave us this maternal instinct for a reason eh? What's so bad about not sending them to school anyway ;)

My reasons are the same as most - there was also no way my kids were going to spend hours on the bus everyday travelling - forget that!

What a wonderful journey this is - we are learning together.

ThreeKids
01-10-2008, 02:35 PM
Future HS'er here

All the usual reasons.

DH has some interesting reasons. Me, I just can't get my head around a reason have someone else teach my child.

How come we never hear anyone say "What are your reasons for not homeschooling?" Wait, I have heard that. This is a big HS'ing town.

Saria
03-17-2008, 01:09 PM
When I first decided to homeschool, it was simply because I looked at what our public schools had to offer and found them lacking. My oldest son is not cut out for sitting still and listening, and, when we toured the schools that we were looking at for him, we saw that, quite frankly, children like him were treated badly. They were either punished heavily, ignored, or treated like they didn't deserve the attention of the teachers because they could not be the "easy" student. I could never imagine my sweet little boy thriving in an environment like that. :(

Now that I've been homeschooling a while, I could give you a whole host of other reasons (most of which have already been covered, so I won't list them ;) ), but the freedom to be together, doing what we want, to see my boys learning, all of it is so incredible.

But best of all, I know how my boys are being treated, and how their day is going. I don't have to put my trust in other people I don't know. There is just something about leaving my child, every day, with someone I don't know that sets off all my bells and whistles, KWIM? I made a point of never leaving my kids with people I didn't know and trust with my life, so why would it be okay now for me to just trust them with a new stranger every year?

ziggyplaid
03-18-2008, 07:50 PM
I used to teach in the public school system. Nuff said. :yes

FaroeIslandBabes
03-19-2008, 03:17 AM
Very good points. Last year I subbed in public schools about a half a dozen times. I let my oldest son (who is about to graduate from Abilene Christian as an education major sub for the kids). I was shocked as an ex-public school teacher how much things had deteriorated. I highly recommend to anybody who is thinking about homeschooling to read The Well Trained Mind.


do you know who the author is? :)

Teribear
03-19-2008, 08:24 AM
Very good points. Last year I subbed in public schools about a half a dozen times. I let my oldest son (who is about to graduate from Abilene Christian as an education major sub for the kids). I was shocked as an ex-public school teacher how much things had deteriorated. I highly recommend to anybody who is thinking about homeschooling to read The Well Trained Mind.


do you know who the author is? :)


The Well Trained Mind is by Susan Wise Bauer I believe.

FaroeIslandBabes
03-19-2008, 11:15 AM
thanks Terri :)

I have always dreamed of homeschooling my kids...before they were even born! for all of the same reason that you ladies wrote...well, most anyway...but now that we live in the faroe islands where my hubby is from, I dont think I have that option here? :( except to homeschool them in English and american studies and maybe art or something...but they are only three and 6 months...we may very well move home again (my home in CT) :pray4 so Id really like to know all I can about homeschooling...and I will be honest and say I dont know much...but Im learning alot from just being here :clap :heart

illinoismommy
03-26-2008, 10:34 AM
This is a good thread, I still like to read it, I especially like my first post in it was 2 years ago :giggle

mykidsmom
03-26-2008, 02:33 PM
This is a good thread, I still like to read it, I especially like my first post in it was 2 years ago :giggle


Oh wow, mine was in 2005, too. :heart

I think I'll add (sort of furthering my previous education reason), that I know my son has learned what he's supposed to have learned. He doesn't move on from an assignment until it's an A, and there's no pressure, it's just our way of knowing he doesn't understand something. So, we go over it, and over it, until he gets it. My son learns everything that he is supposed to, nothing is missed or skipped over because the class has to move on... He's also ahead of his grade level, because we move at his pace. Sometimes we have to spend more time on one subject while we blow through others that are easy for him. School is really "all about him" and who HE is and what HE can do. I love knowing that he really "gets" school. :heart

3girlsboynames
01-07-2009, 11:25 AM
I see an age appropriate innocence in homeschooled children that is absent in the conventionally schooled children that I know. I also see an ability to interact with people of all ages and races that isn't present (ironically...since the accusation I face often is that homeschooling in our area is racially motivated) in the conventionally schooled children that I know.


Oh my goodness, this is exactly why I want to homeschool! I see things that my older daughters are learning at even the Christian school that they attend now, and I don't like it! I want them to remain children with only age-appropriate concerns until the time is right for them to have other concerns. :yes

annettemarie
01-16-2009, 04:33 PM
A big reason we homeschool is because my husband is a pastor, and his schedule is kind of crazy. He has off on Fridays. We did have our oldest in school for a while, and it felt like we hardly had any family time together. Having them home definitely makes it easier!

Also, when we pulled our oldest out, everything was geared towards the PSSA. We want them to be learning for the sake of learning, not learning to take a test. I know it's not like this everywhere, but it was really bad here.

We also wanted to make sure that God, learning, family, all those things were integrated into life, and not compartmentalized.

oscaroscarmommy
01-22-2009, 09:04 AM
Respect for the childrens natural abiltiy to teach themselves and a desire to protect them from the negative effects of forced schooling on the developing brain.

WanderingJuniper
01-29-2009, 06:46 AM
A big reason we homeschool is because my husband is a pastor, and his schedule is kind of crazy. He has off on Fridays. We did have our oldest in school for a while, and it felt like we hardly had any family time together. Having them home definitely makes it easier! That is a large motivation for us as well.
Our family doesn't run on a traditional Monday through Friday daytime schedule. It is confusing for my oldest to go back and forth from our natural family schedule and the school schedule. We feel it is very important for her to have access to daddy time when he is home which is often during regular school hours.

We have food issues that the school can't seem to enforce. I can't fathom how the ps would do with Bird's gluten intolerance that actually makes her sick not just act wonky.

We've found that the ps cannot really do anything to protect a child from a bully or stop the bullying. They don't have the time or the staff.

My 7 year old child is stressed out by the whole thing.
My middle child does not excel in a large group setting at all. If there are more than 10 kids at awana she doesn't participate. I can't imagine how it would be for her in a class of 18 kids and one teacher.

After seeing how my oldest went from a child with an intense desire to learn to a child who was praying for a snow day this week so she didn't have to go to school I knew we made the right decision.

littlelady
03-06-2009, 09:08 PM
Thank you for your honest thoughts. We have been considering homeschooling for some time (our children are under 2 so we have some time) and have been working through the decision. You've stated a number of motivations that I've had on my heart, but haven't had the words to express. These posts are encouraging to me.

angelicmom
03-31-2009, 11:59 AM
this is good! I think most of the reasons for me you all have said it... but I wanted to add, some times I think, grrrrrr I should just send them to school and have some peace in my life, and right there God reminds me that this is a labor of love and the easy way out is not the best for my kids, and what they will learn out there is probably not what I want for them. :heart

veggiegirl
04-07-2009, 10:14 AM
Why do I homeschool? Because it is fun and why not?! :)

naturemama1
04-23-2009, 04:42 PM
I just realized another great reason this week -- I'm so happy that my daughters are being integrated into the community, into real life, during our days together. They're always with me, so we go to babywearing or breastfeeding meetings together, and I appreciate that they are going to grow up having had the kind of exposure and education that our generation largely missed. It has value for them, not just for me. My 4yo and her poor abused baby doll tried to copy the babywearing leader's instructions as she demonstrated a back carry last month, LOL. At LLL last week, my 7yo put down her book and was listening avidly while we all talked about newbie breastfeeding tips with a pregnant mom.

It suddenly struck me that this is the way it was supposed to be -- girls learning about things like breastfeeding from a young age, watching their mothers and cousins and aunts help solve each others' problems and offer help and suggestions. A lot of women miss that basic foundation of knowledge, and have to re-learn it all from scratch when they have babies. Being able to weave my daughters into our community and mother culture from a young age is an amazing blessing!

kiloyd
04-23-2009, 07:18 PM
I just realized another great reason this week -- I'm so happy that my daughters are being integrated into the community, into real life, during our days together. They're always with me, so we go to babywearing or breastfeeding meetings together, and I appreciate that they are going to grow up having had the kind of exposure and education that our generation largely missed. It has value for them, not just for me. My 4yo and her poor abused baby doll tried to copy the babywearing leader's instructions as she demonstrated a back carry last month, LOL. At LLL last week, my 7yo put down her book and was listening avidly while we all talked about newbie breastfeeding tips with a pregnant mom.

It suddenly struck me that this is the way it was supposed to be -- girls learning about things like breastfeeding from a young age, watching their mothers and cousins and aunts help solve each others' problems and offer help and suggestions. A lot of women miss that basic foundation of knowledge, and have to re-learn it all from scratch when they have babies. Being able to weave my daughters into our community and mother culture from a young age is an amazing blessing!


That's beautiful! :)

illinoismommy
04-24-2009, 10:23 AM
I changed my answer to reflect where we are now. :rockon

mykidsmom
04-24-2009, 02:18 PM
This is going to sound funny, but another reason I'm glad we've homeschooled is that I've noticed that homeschoolers tend to be very accepting of others. We're part of a fairly large co-op and there's quite the variety of people there. Some who could care less how they dressed or what others thought of them, some who try to keep up with appearances and many others in-between.

Well, in ds's Chemistry class there's a kid who's, a little nerdy, I guess you could call him, but VERY smart. Ds has mentioned some of the funny-odd things he's done, but no one makes fun of him or tries to exclude him. During their last class, after this kid answered a difficult question, one of the other kids says something like, "you remind me of Albert Einstein". They all agreed and started mentioning all the good things about Einstein. The smart kid was quite proud to be compared to Einstein. Then one of the kids goes, "you know, Einstein used to shower with his socks on?" and the whole class, including the smart kid start cracking up.

In my experience with public schools, the smart-nerdy types were horribly mistreated. Something like the above mentioned scenario never would have happened. I'm glad my ds has had a better experience and naturally accepts others, despite their differences. I was also impressed how much a bunch of 5-6th graders knew about Einstein... :scratch I'd be surprised if half my 5th grade class even recognized the name...

kiloyd
04-25-2009, 10:20 AM
This is going to sound funny, but another reason I'm glad we've homeschooled is that I've noticed that homeschoolers tend to be very accepting of others. We're part of a fairly large co-op and there's quite the variety of people there. Some who could care less how they dressed or what others thought of them, some who try to keep up with appearances and many others in-between.

Well, in ds's Chemistry class there's a kid who's, a little nerdy, I guess you could call him, but VERY smart. Ds has mentioned some of the funny-odd things he's done, but no one makes fun of him or tries to exclude him. During their last class, after this kid answered a difficult question, one of the other kids says something like, "you remind me of Albert Einstein". They all agreed and started mentioning all the good things about Einstein. The smart kid was quite proud to be compared to Einstein. Then one of the kids goes, "you know, Einstein used to shower with his socks on?" and the whole class, including the smart kid start cracking up.

In my experience with public schools, the smart-nerdy types were horribly mistreated. Something like the above mentioned scenario never would have happened. I'm glad my ds has had a better experience and naturally accepts others, despite their differences. I was also impressed how much a bunch of 5-6th graders knew about Einstein... :scratch I'd be surprised if half my 5th grade class even recognized the name...


:yes I totally agree! I like this aspect of hsing too.

JavaMama
04-25-2009, 10:43 AM
This is going to sound funny, but another reason I'm glad we've homeschooled is that I've noticed that homeschoolers tend to be very accepting of others. We're part of a fairly large co-op and there's quite the variety of people there. Some who could care less how they dressed or what others thought of them, some who try to keep up with appearances and many others in-between.

Well, in ds's Chemistry class there's a kid who's, a little nerdy, I guess you could call him, but VERY smart. Ds has mentioned some of the funny-odd things he's done, but no one makes fun of him or tries to exclude him. During their last class, after this kid answered a difficult question, one of the other kids says something like, "you remind me of Albert Einstein". They all agreed and started mentioning all the good things about Einstein. The smart kid was quite proud to be compared to Einstein. Then one of the kids goes, "you know, Einstein used to shower with his socks on?" and the whole class, including the smart kid start cracking up.

In my experience with public schools, the smart-nerdy types were horribly mistreated. Something like the above mentioned scenario never would have happened. I'm glad my ds has had a better experience and naturally accepts others, despite their differences. I was also impressed how much a bunch of 5-6th graders knew about Einstein... :scratch I'd be surprised if half my 5th grade class even recognized the name...


:yes I totally agree! I like this aspect of hsing too.

I was just having a similar discussion with my brother (who like me, was mostly homeschooled) and my great-uncle who is a retired PS teacher (who incidentally, very much approves of HS now). Like how HS'ers tend to be more comfortable with people of all ages instead of just people in their grade or age range, how HS allows you teach the how and why of history and not just dates of major happenings.

I know it can be seen as a gross generalization, but I do think most of the homeschoolers we know have kids who are well-socialized. In comparison, we watch about a dozen neighborhood kids interact with each other and my kids and I see an enormous difference in acceptance, attitudes and bullying.

blessedwith3
04-29-2009, 12:20 PM
There are several resons (we school at home), the biggest is I love being around my children :yes
Andrew is 16 and sadly I know everyday life with him is not going to include me for that much longer ;)

AmyDoll
05-13-2009, 06:59 PM
:cool I loved reading all the responses.
I did NOT register Sam for public Kindy next year. He's gonna be home. Doing exactly *what* remains to be seen :giggle
The biggest reason is bc gifted kids are asynchronous & our PS system doesn't have a CLUE what to do with him. I'm not sure what would happen to him if I sent him to school, but I doubt it would be pretty. And I don't think I'd catch it fast enough - the kid is NOT a talker.

mykidsmom
05-13-2009, 10:18 PM
I just watched The Beautiful Truth with my son. Not only did he understand what uranium was, but he was aghast that someone would think it's o.k. to inject it into a human body. His words exactly, "why would they put radioactive material in someone's body?! Were they trying to blow him up?!" :hunh You're how old and you know this? :hunh

But also, about the movie, that awesome boy was a homeschooler. :heart I'll bet his mother is so proud of him. :candle :heart

CelticJourney
05-14-2009, 06:25 AM
I have a new one - hs is probably the only way your 14 year old will read Martin Luther and report back that she likes it and thinks his style is 'snarky'. :giggle

tempus vernum
06-08-2009, 04:54 AM
I am working on teaching our dd why we homeschool - we are "relaxed" bordering on unschoolers and she's been expressing some interest in school. . . well, she was. . . . not so much as I share my reasons for homeschooling.

I wanted to thank all of you. . .t his thread has helped that part of our journey as I needed to "flesh out my reasons for homeschooling".


It's also helped because I feel tempted to send them to school regularly. I am in "tired" mode at the moment/ burnout so to speak.

:ty3

pookel
06-25-2009, 01:47 PM
The only reasons we might NOT homeschool (bear with me) are if we can't manage to swing it on one income, or if my kid expresses a strong need/desire to go to public school. (Right now, my husband is just starting the third year of running his own business, and it's not nearly profitable enough yet for us to live on. My income is the primary one at the moment, but he can't "quit" because he needs to establish his business. My oldest is 4, so we'll have to decide next summer how to handle it.)

Anyway, the point is, I've wanted to homeschool for so long that it's become the default choice to me, and while there are a few reasons we might not be able to, I don't feel like I need a reason "to" homeschool, if that makes sense. Homeschooling is the plan - public school is the backup if homeschooling is impossible for some reason.

Some of the things about homeschooling that appeal to me, though, are: flexible schedules, one-on-one study, less wasted time, studies tailored to children's interests, being able to teach what I believe and not the bland public school version (e.g., issues of American colonization/Indian wars).

popsiclemom
07-03-2009, 07:53 PM
I have decide to home school next year because;

1) I love my kids and I really want to experience learning with them.

2) we live in an urban school district. Even if I wanted to send them to a PS, this one is just not and option. We would need to move.

3) I want to give my kids the kind of education I want for them, not a one size fits all state sponsored one.

4) My dh has to work 2nd shift. He would almost never seen the kids if they went to school all day. having a close knit family is really important to us, so that just not acceptable for us.

probably alot more, but thats what I thought of for now.

rdsmommy
07-12-2009, 04:29 PM
1. The class size for kinder is huge.
2. Dh hated school.
3. I want to be the biggest influence on my children.

Redeemed
07-19-2009, 12:44 PM
I volunteered in my elementary school when I was in high school, and I didn't like seeing how the kids treated each other, nor the teachers.

My DD has gone to public school b/c my XH does NOT like homeschooling, so that is a bit frustrating. DD has been bullied, and been the bully, and hasn't had good discipline in her schools.

My DH and I have decided that both DS1 and DS2 may be going to a private Christian school at first if we can't pull off homeschooling in the beginning.

Ultimately, though, we just don't like what the public schools have turned out like.

NCmom
07-21-2009, 01:40 PM
1. I want to spend more quality time with my children.
2 I find rushing to get somewhere early in the morning makes me a grouchy parent.
3. The amount of homework young children have to do steals valuable family time.
4. I'd like to be the main influence on my childrens; values.
5. I'd like to be able to travel as a family without worrying about absence policies and school schedules.
6. My son thinks outside the box, which is something that busy teachers with 30 students don't have time to deal with.

Dorothy
07-27-2009, 04:24 PM
I hadn't really known much about homeschooling until a friend talked to me about it. I read Home Grown Kids and other books about homeschooling and it made sense. We talked about teaching our daughter at home. She was past 3 yrs when I called that friend to let her know that "our" midwife had passed away. She said "Oh, Sara died. I gotta go, I'm in school." My reaction, not spoken, was that if that is what homeschooling make you do to your friends, I don't want to do it. My daughter went to a good quality Christian school for K-5 and 1st grade. K-5 was okay but 1st grade was torture for me. My happy little girl was gone all day, came home grouchy, and had a LOT of homework. We kept her home the next year so we could enjoy her. We have homeschooled ever since and I agree with the reasons listed above. I really don't feel comfortable enough to get involved with the public schools.

LisaMarie
03-03-2010, 10:19 AM
I just wanted to say a quick thanks for this post. I was reading it the other day after having a particularly challenging day of doubting my choices and this thread inspired me to sit down and THINK of WHY I wanted to homeschool.

If you'd like to read them, I posted them here:
http://jandlfletcher.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-top-ten-reasons-for-homeschooling.html

andrea_r
03-04-2010, 12:11 PM
You know, whenever someone asks me this, I still have to stop and think. We've been homeschooling for so long now, the questions for me is "why would I ever put my kids in school?"

While some of my reasons for continuing are the same as when I started, keeping on with it has led to new & better reasons for continuing. Especially now that 2 of the 4 are adults.

I live in a province in eastern Canada where we are typically economically depressed. Most jobs are blue-collar. A government job is seen as the pinnacle of a "good job". The literacy rate here is at sixty percent.

Literacy. 60 %. :jawdrop

That right there should be reason enough for anyone who lives here. When 3 of my 4 kids were reading fluently, I had a better literacy rate in my household than the education system here was doing.

And both of the older kids have said college/school was like a game. Do what the schools want, get the "points", jump thru the hoops - pass to the next level. It is training to be a cog in the machine. My kids don't want to be "normal" and average and that's not what I want for them ether. I want them to be happy & satisfied, doing what they love.

craftymama
03-07-2010, 11:18 PM
This thread is immensely inspiring, thank you all for sharing! My oldest is only 3 1/2, but we suspect he is autistic (slowing going through the evaluation process currently), and I am seriously considering homeschooling him. I'm thinking that I will be better able to give him the time and attention he needs to learn well. Being at home we can be flexible when he's having a bad day, he can get up and wiggle around if he needs to. I'm still not 100% sure, but after reading a bit of this thread I'm feeling excited about the possibility!

jenny_islander
03-08-2010, 12:50 AM
Three more reasons have come up recently. First of all, because we're on a six-day-a-week, year-round schedule with a very light curriculum, we have plenty of time to get everything done. If we get whacked with one germ after another, as in this cold season, we can let things slide until we are all feeling OK and still be on track--no dragging anybody to school with a pocketful of Kleenex because they're "not too sick" and the absences are piling up. Second, I don't have to worry about getting a little girl to the bus stop when the snow is going sideways, the preschooler would rather be asleep, and the baby wants to nurse. Third, because we start our school year in July and end it in June, we can keep Easter Week and the Twelve Days of Christmas, take birthdays off, and blow off schoolwork to hit the beach when the weather is perfect (where Sophia is exploring tide pools, examining how to make water run all the way down an inclined plane made of sand, hunting fossils, etc., so that's really school--but still!).

BusyB
03-19-2010, 04:21 PM
We home school for many reasons.

Both my Hubby and I were board in school and got in trouble a lot. I was lucky to have a mom who was able to let me do independent study starting in Jr. High. I did this off and on (private Christian school and 1 semester of public high school) until I graduated early from High school. My hubby was not so lucky and never did well in school.

So when we talked about schooling our kids we knew we wanted to be in control of what they learned and how much time they spent sitting still and doing school work. Our oldest son is very out going and artistic. He easily gets distracted. We didn't want him to be in trouble all the time and be labeled.

We also liked the idea of getting to spend the time with our kids. Learning about their passions and being there when they discovered the world. Not hearing about it after a long day and lots of home work.

I read a wonderful book about HS when we were first talking about it I think it was called Homespun Schools. I was really surprised to hear that most kids aren't ready for traditional sit down book learning at 5. When they're supposed to start school. He had lots of stories of families that did hands on things like field trips, and working around the house. Planting gardens and helping in the kitchen. Until the kids were closer to eight and they were at the same grade level as other "schooled" kids their age and doing better in school then they were. So that inspired me.

We're in our 2nd year of "book" learning with our oldest son and he's doing very well. I can't Imagen doing normal school.

ThreeKids
03-19-2010, 04:28 PM
Just because I don't have a big list of reasons to do anything else.

joshsmom
03-19-2010, 05:31 PM
*No one loves or knows my child like me. He is a quirky, intriciate little boy and homeschool will allow us to help him reach his best potential. He is very sensitive and loves doing 'his own thing'.

*I taught lower elementary and LOVED it. I certainly don't think every parent needs that experience to homeschool, but I am very excited to use my education background and the mountains of materials in my attic with my own kids for a few years.

*Our public schools are not horrible, but not great. Someday we may be in a better district and be more open to public schools, but this one is not an option we're willing to even consider.

*Our church run K-12 school has a phenomenal reputation in the JR/SR high and they'll likely end up there. (DH is actually on the board.) However, an elementary school was recently merged and they have a lot of work to do to get it up to par. We're not willing to spend $7000+ for a medicore elementary education when we can comfortably provide a much better experience for our kids at a fraction of the cost.

*I was homeschooled a little bit and turned out ok. ;)

Call Her Blessed
04-13-2010, 02:28 PM
When our daughter was a baby, 14 years ago, I just couldn't imagine letting someone else have the privelege of being with her for most of her life. I'm so glad God worked it out so that my husband allowed us to have a "trial" of homeschooling for a few years. Life just grew up around the idea that we were a family who could rely on one another for what we needed to grow.... and we didn't need someone else to raise our daughter for us during weekdays.

Now that I'm older, I can see the hand of God throughout the process and am so thankful that the culture of our home is one that depends on the Lord to guide us. He gives us all things pertaining to LIFE and GODLINESS... what more do we need to be able to homeschool?

It's not about education, primarily, it's about being stewards of these Little Blessings by serving God and one another each day.

TrinMama
08-14-2010, 06:21 AM
great thread

ambergentlemom
09-18-2010, 04:48 PM
This is awesome to see all the responses and is very encouraging! It absolutely concretes my reasons for homeschooling our children... thank you, thank you!

jenny_islander
12-19-2012, 01:59 AM
We had a blizzard today, with wind chill skating on the edge of the frostbite zone. The roads were glassy and the sidewalks were choked with plowed-up berms. There was no refuge from the wind or the stinging snow.

My daughters didn't have to deal with any of that.

Peaceful Meadows
05-13-2013, 04:47 AM
I've never posted to this thread. I initially started homeschooling because of my personal experiences with public and private schools as a child, because two of my LLL co-Leaders homeschool - their homeschooled children were so sweet, smart, and well adjusted, and because my oldest son didn't take change well at all. The school he would have gone to for kindergarten was different than the one he would have gone to for 1st grade. It seemed like the best fit for our family at the time.

My reasons for homeschooling now:
1. We can choose the curriculum, learning styles, and place of learning to fit the child.
2. It is flexible and portable...the whole world can be our classroom.
3. It fits our eclectic family.
3. We can go to school in our pajamas.
4. We can take birthdays as a holiday and can have rain days off as well as good weather days, etc.
5. FREEDOM FOR CREATIVITY !!!!!!!
6. We can concentrate on one subject a day if we want to.
7. A child can concentrate on a his interests. For example, if a child is interested in birds he can develop a whole unit study around birds if he wants to.
8. It best fits my beliefs that learning is a lifestyle.
9. It teaches children that learning doesn't happen in a classroom ans teaches them how to be life-long learners.
10. FREEDOM FOR CREATIVITY !!!!!!
12. We can go v visit out of state family in the throughout the school year.
13. multi-age levels working and learning together.
14. My very active 12 yo can move and doesn't have to sit still in order to learn. He can wiggle, sit down, jump up, drum his feet, rock his chair, eat an Apple, talk, etc. without getting into trouble.
15. FREEDOM FOR CREATIVITY!!!!!!!
16. We can incorporate learning and knowledge into everything we do and the children grow up seeing that learning is a lifestyle.

jenny_islander
10-23-2014, 12:58 PM
Because our science lesson today is watching the solar eclipse. When I was in middle school in our local district, before NCLB drowned the curriculum in busywork, we took half a day to learn about eclipses and viewing safety and watched a total solar eclipse together. Just went to the middle school homepage. You can take a selfie at 6:00 tonight in their gym as part of an anti-tobacco rally, which is worthy I guess, but the eclipse isn't happening according to those NCLB standards that are STILL on the mission statement for the district YEARS after it became widely known that NCLB is based on snake oil, so it doesn't get a mention. Because the physics standards related to eclipses were scheduled to be taught some other time. Pshhhh, reality, get with the program.

Sorry, juuuust a bit bitter.

ETA: We've been observing it using a sheet of paper with a pinhole in it taped to the window. Hold a whiteboard or other flat white object up a few feet from the pinhole and move it gently around until you see a tiny image of the sun on it. You can watch the eclipse happening on the whiteboard, no protective gear required! Awesome.