Our journey to homeschooling

"Why do you homeschool?!" That is a question I know people wonder, and some of you have even asked. I'm always eager to TRY to answer it, because this decision has been an exciting one in our family's life.

First of all, I have to say it is humorous, and also sad to me, when people say in astonished voices, "I could never spend all day with my kids!" or "I'm not a teacher - I could never be organized enough to do that!" Most homeschooling families will admit they weren't super-organized to start with, but out of necessity, develop a routine that works. That's the case with us. James can attest to the fact that I'm not incredibly organized yet. :-) And, I don't quite get the argument about not wanting to be with your own kids, to be honest. I mean, why do people have children if they just absolutely do not want to be with them? I realized whenever that thought enters my mind briefly, it's not the kids that are the problem - it's my own selfishness. I don't want to give up my time, or my leisure, or hobbies. I really DO want to spend time with them. I longed to be a mom my whole life. God blessed me with the answer to that prayer. So, I finally figured out how much I do love these babies of mine, and that since God so graciously answered the desire of my heart, how can I not spend as much time ensuring they are loved and educated to the best of my ability?

Secondly, I am not implying those who don't homeschool are doing their families a disservice. There is no need to defend your education choice, as some folks feel the need to do everytime they hear we homeschool. I am not judging anyone else for the way their kids are taught. I know that for now, this is what our family is supposed to do. I am passionate about that, and it's a freeing thing to know that at least in one area of my life, I am being obedient. :-) There is no doubt in my mind that God led us to this point, and it's been a hard journey, but a rewarding one, already. If you are a public school supporter, or your child attends a private school, then I just encourage you to be the best parent of your child wherever he or she is! Everyone should not homeschool, and not everyone is able to, for various reasons. I totally understand that and my reasons below are what we've discovered for OUR family, no one else's. These are simply our family's convictions and realizations. That's who we're accountable for, after all.

O.k., here's our journey--

Though I taught elementary school for 5 years, I never planned on homeschooling, though I also thankfully didn't ever say I would definitely not do it. :-) I loved my public school experience, then thoroughly enjoyed teaching in a private, Christian school.

James and I weren't sure exactly what our plans were for our own children, until we adopted Isaac. Once it became clear he'd benefit from ECLIPSE, the preschool program our public school system offered, to help him with speech and physical therapy, we decided to try that for 2 years.
Then, we decided to stick with the public school for kindergarten, since our experience there was so positive during preschool. That year wasn't awful, but it was filled with conflicting emotions. Isaac's teacher was kind and concerned about the individual kids, but she had a class full of many different needs and personalities, and without consistent help from any aide, it quickly became clear that he was getting lost in the large group. He wasn't doing well, and became very frustrated with himself, more insecure, and I became increasingly concerned that my 5 year old already disliked school.

That fall, through a neat conversation with a new friend, at our boys' soccer practice, who also had been a teacher and was planning to homeschool her kids, God really challenged me. Mindy asked why I didn't think I could teach Isaac, and I gave a list of reasons (excuses), including my lack of experience with children with learning delays, no idea how to start homeschooling, I had a 1 year old, etc. She kindly answered, "Well, if God thought you were equipped to be Isaac's mom, He might help you be the kind of teacher he needs to." I sat there, stunned and ashamed, because it basically all came down to fear and selfishness on my part, not a lack of desire to be with my son. So, when I tearfully told James what I was afraid we might need to consider, he reminded me that he'd always encouraged me and hoped I'd want to teach our children. We started praying in earnest that we'd make the wisest decision. By Christmas, we were heavily leaning towards homeschooling, though we kept him in kindergarten through the year. We all learned a lot through that year, and I'm thankful we had the experience to meet some great people and also know what a public school education would be like.

The next year we began school, repeating kindergarten at home, and now this is our 3rd year. It's my best beginning, as far as being more organized and excited, and the kids were very happy to begin this year also. It's Abigail's kindergarten year, so she's so proud to be officially "in school" with us.

The thing I've found about homeschooling that surprised me is how the extra work that people say they dread actually makes our lives run so much more smoothly. When we have a flexible, but consistent schedule of classtime daily, we're all so much happier in the afternoons and evenings. The kids have watched much less TV, since after class, they are in creative mode a lot of the time and paint, build, play games, and entertain each other. It's like their brains are working better since they've been challenged early in the day. It's exciting to see them play with each other as best friends, pretend, help one another with tasks, and learn conflict resolution with Mama nearby, overseeing.

Homeschooling has been an adjustment of priorities - every single day of the last few years. It's an amazing adventure, an awesome undertaking, as exhausting a job as parenting, and one of my great passions. I haven't yet regretted it, though at times I'm tired and would like to pretend to just be "mom," not "teacher" also. Then, I remember all the reasons we do this. They're next.