Piper2

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!

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!

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.