My name is Amanda. I'm kind of a hippie. No really. I have another blog that says so. This year my husband and I decided that next school year, we would homeschool our hooligans. (They aren't really hooligans. They are actually the best kids in the world. Please don't tell them I called them hooligans. They prefer the term monsters.)
Why did we decide to homeschool? Because seriously, there are days I forget. It used to be that I couldn't wait til Monday. Spring break was a nightmare. Summer vacation was great the first few days, but then....well....not so much. Sounds like we are the perfect homeschooling candidates, right?
Well, we are. Here's why. My whole perspective on parenting changed. God opened my eyes and my heart to the fact that instead of enduring my kids' childhood, I should be enjoying it. So I did some prayer and soul-searching. And then I did some more. Turns out, I'm crazy about my kids. And they are (most days) crazy about me too. So why not spend more time with them?
Without further ado, my top reasons for homeschooling my boys:
1. More individualized attention- My oldest son needs more individual instruction. He has an amazing teacher this year. She is seriously awesome, and I know that she has done a great job. But J isn't getting what he needs. He needs more one-on-one time. I can do that with homeschooling. After regular school, he is too tired to do much reviewing. It pushes past the frustration point. Most adults don't want to work after work, so why would a kid?
2. Learning at the perfect pace- My oldest, J, needs a bit more review time. Schools now have to be so focused on standardized testing that they can't slow down as much as they might like. My youngest, A, needs less review time. Homeschooling lets both guys learn at their own pace.
3. Plenty of family time- Lots of parents have 9-5 jobs with weekends off. That works great with traditional schools. My husband is a restaurant manager. He does not ever work 9-5, and he hasn't had a weekend off in 3 years. Homeschooling allows us to spend time together with the whole family.
4. Choosing what we learn- I have always enjoyed teaching my kids stuff. We love to learn things together. Let's take advantage of that! If we want to learn about Indigo Buntings, we can!
I'm sure I could list another million reasons why we chose homeschooling. But no one would read them. And my fingers would get tired from typing. We'll leave it at that for today.
I also want to point out that while we won't start homeschooling officially until July or early August, I'm working hard at putting some lessons together. I hope this blog will be a place where we can talk about homeschooling, share ideas, and laugh about the crazy in our lives.
The four reasons you listed are perfect reasons to homeschool! I am an "accidental homeschooler". I never intended to homeschool, but now I can't imagine any other way. Your reasons to homeschool are among the many reasons why I homeschool. I discovered that I actually liked my kid. Of course I love her, but I like her, she is neat and quirky, and an amazing individual. I would not have known that if she spent 6-8 hours a day in a traditional school. Since you are just beginning this wonderful journey I would mention that Welcome to Homeschooling Guide helped me a lot when I was first diving in to homeschooling. Homeschooling isn't for everyone, but when you have a pretty clear idea of why you are doing it, and a good support network, it can be a wonderful experience. Happy homeschooling!
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