WHY WE HOMESCHOOL

I get asked often “Why do you homeschool?” and “Will you homeschool through high school?” even “How do you homeschool four kids?”

It always comes to simply one answer: God has called us to homeschool.

I do love it when people ask me about it. It gives me a chance to share the incredible opportunity to help my kids learn and grow in a safe environment that supports their personal academic needs.

Why we homeschool is that personal decision of choosing what we feel is best for our whole family.

The Beginning

Even before I was married I knew that I wanted to homeschool my children one day. God had put it in my heart. And when I met my husband and shared this with him, and he agreed with me, I knew he was a keeper.

I had dreams of field trips, reading LOTS of books, and crafts upon crafts being done on the kitchen table. All the hallmarky ideas of homeschooling, though not completely realistic.

Shortly after we were married, we had our first child and to our surprise, she was born with a disability. Her name is Faith and she has Down syndrome.

This obviously was not something I expected. But I absolutely know that God did. He created our little girl perfectly and perfect for our family. Every step we took was an act of faith, just like her name.

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She had needs early on that forced me to learn new and creative ways to teach her. I was also given lots of support and education on how to help my daughter live to her greatest potential.

As she grew, so did our family. We added one sweet and sensitive son, then another little guy who checked all the boxes of being wild and active.

Through all this growth, I was working from home and juggling all my momma hats. Cleaning, teaching, potty training, working, cooking, laundry, reading, leading my littles, and trying to maintain my marriage and self-care.

When people ask the How? question, I always answered “Grace and coffee!”

It took us several years before we knew just when the time was right for us to begin homeschooling, but when it was time we knew.

It was right as our oldest daughter was ending Kindergarten in our public school and our fourth baby was about to be born.

Since our oldest has a disability, she was on an IEP (individualized education plan). My husband and I sat in the conference room with her teachers and the special education team. We knew that Faith required a one-to-one aid because she lacked the focus to work independently. The SPED team disagreed and it was in that meeting, and on the car ride home that my husband and I knew it was time to venture into homeschooling!

So I began preparing and planning, organizing and buying….lots of buying…all kinds of curriculum, games, tools, and toys.

We began that September with a first grader, kindergartner, a busy toddler, and a newborn!!

WOW – it was crazy. Crazy amazing in so many ways. God really met me and as I reflect back I can see His faithful hand guiding me and directing.

What Keeps Me Going

I never want to sugar coat homeschooling. It is HARD! But knowing why we do anything is what keeps us going until the end.

Each year I choose a bible verse to anchor my heart and my year. This is 100% necessary for me. It gives me a reminder to meditate on during those hard days when I want to quit.

We have a Family Motto out of 1 Corinthians 13 that I repeat often –

“Love Always Protects“

To us, this means that we protect one another with our words, actions, tones, and motives. This is an area where we are ALL still working on all of the time.

We have also gone through the process of writing down why we homeschool in a Family Mission Statement. Some of the basic precepts on our “why” and our homeschool objectives are:

Christian Character before Academics
Opportunity to grow in a safe space (greenhouse homeschooling)
Relationship building
Encourage independent thinking & Strong work ethic
Actively Living (outdoors, nature, relationships, connections)
We are all God’s “work in progress”
Ownership

What I love about Homeschool

First and foremost, our main objective in homeschooling is to educate our children from a Christian Worldview. A Christian Worldview means that we believe in moral biblical truths and that all things relate back to a Divine Creator. We teach humility, kindness, love for others, and that all people are created in the image of God. Here is a great description of What’s a Christian Worldview? by Focus on the Family.

Freedom! We have the freedom to do school when, where, and how we want to. Each of my children (and yours) is so incredibly unique. This requires a unique academic plan for them. I get to choose what curriculum is best for them and if it doesn’t work? Then I can change it mid-year!

My kids don’t usually get snow days so that they can have “SUN” days off. This flexibility means no crowds for field trips and being able to vacation during “off-seasons.” I often say how spoiled I am if I have to go out on a Saturday with all those people…ha ha!

Since independence, work ethic, and life skills are very important to us, we get to foster these character traits in our kids right at home. Helping to meal plan and cook, clean and take care of their bedrooms and laundry are all part of growing life skills. We also do the “see a need, meet a need” philosophy. If the dishwasher is clean and you take out a cup/dish, then you should also empty it completely.

Community! We have been so blessed to be part of several amazing communities. All of us in my family are “people” people, meaning we love to be with others. Having great cooperative programs to be part of and communities to connect with are some of the BEST parts of homeschooling.

One of the greatest reasons I love homeschooling is when I get to experience “AHA” moments with my kids. When that lightbulb goes off and your child finally makes that connection in their brains….it is priceless to watch!

What I not-so-love About Homeschool

Even with all the things I love about why we homeschool, there are some cons. These are mostly due to my personality than homeschooling in general.

I am the lead learner in my home and, like it or not, I am the one who sets the tone!

This challenges me daily! Many times I have realized that I am learning MORE than my children are.

Maintaining routine and balance. Even though I prefer schedules I also prefer variety!! My husband says i am weird because I wont eat the same lunch two day in a row….why would I? I totally prefer the variety. Same thing applies with our “school” schedule. I know my kids thrive with routine and rhythm, but I still like to try and mix it up.

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Being a “box checker” This kind of goes along with the above and routine. But I have to really be intentional about not getting too concerned with just checking boxes. Academics must be completed, but there are days that I am doing it just to check it off the to-do list.

Noise! I do not love noise and boy are my kids noisy!! Making sure I have daily quiet time has been tough in some seasons, but it is necessary to help me recharge.

Homeschooling for the Long Haul

The longer we homeschool, the more convinced I am that we are in it for the long haul.

My journey has been so different than what I expected! It’s much harder than I imagined. But it has also been so rewarding as I watch my children learning alongside one another, and when the light goes on with that *AHA* that they *GET* it.

Personal Discipline is necessary for long haul homeschooling. In order to pour into my children, I must practice good self-care by filling my own heart with God’s word. Connecting with other Moms and friends is critically vital to avoid isolation and receive encouragement.

It has been an amazing joy to experience all of it with my loves. Not only as a teacher but as a mother.

Totally amazing!!! We have grown as a family unit and all have learned so much more than academics. Lots of opportunities for character training these days for sure.

As of this update, we are in our eight year of homeschooling!! I honestly can’t believe it!

Here are my crazy amazing humans!!!

Soon I will be praying and ask for God’s word to guide me as I begin the planning and organizing of yet another year.

Here on this bloggy page of mine, I hope you are encouraged and inspired as I share my homeschool journey and some of my favorite parts like planning, organizing, encouragement, curriculum choices, printables, and resources. As for the “not so favorite” parts, I will share those also and maybe you can tell me that I am not alone.

Why we homeschool our kids might be different than why you homeschool. But we are all in this journey together to be an encouragement and inspiration to one another.

So how about you? I’d love to have you share your experience and expectations and why YOU homeschool.

With so much love,