Why We Homeschool

"Why don't you send your kids to school?"

I get that a lot.

"I couldn't stand being around my kids all day long."

I get that a lot, too.

That one makes me really sad.

"I have trouble with keeping up with one kid, how can you do it with FOUR?!"

Are you going to send them to school once they get to ____ grade?

(fill in the blanks....usually it's "high school" that I'm asked about)

The thing is.....

I love being with my kids. All. Day. Long.

Oh, sure, we have days where we all get on each other's nerves. This is a home with a teenager, a pre-teen and two preschoolers. There are days where I'm just waiting for them to fit me for my personalized straight jacket.

But those days aren't often.

I really do love being with my kiddos every single day.

But I'm not really wanting to do a blog post about all that: the joy of it all.

I want to talk about another frequent question that I get:

What made me start homeschooling in the first place?

Believe it or not, sending my kids to school never crossed my mind.

I remember when my daughter was born and I always had her with me. People would remark "Oh my gosh, just you wait. You might like being with her now when she's tiny, but you'll be so excited when the day comes when you can put her on the school bus and have some time to yourself."

Wait. WHAT?!

Ummm....no. Never gonna happen.

They just smiled that knowing smile, patted me on the shoulder and just waited....

But my feelings never wavered.

The day that I heard of the term "homeschooling" (when my daughter was about 4 years old), I swear that I heard angels singing.

I guess that I had always thought that I would have to live like a fugitive and hide my daughter (and later my sons) under the stairs and secretly educate them in utter darkness. Off the grid completely.

So when I realized that staying home with your kids and teaching them yourself was an actual real thing, I was stoked!

I had ALWAYS wanted to be a teacher. My parents had hung a chalkboard in our playroom when I was little and I would pretend I was a teacher, writing math problems and spelling words on the board every day. I would talk to my teachers about buying used school books that they had stored away in classroom closets, so I could make my pretend teaching even more real! (oh, those poor kids that my my mom babysat...they were my "school room" hostages, forced to learn all sorts of stuff that I made up. hahaha My mom actually got complaints about it, so I had to retire from teaching them....but my teaching dream lived on in my heart, yo! You can't stop meeeeee! hahaha)

So it seemed completely and totally logical and natural that I would teach my kids.

I never considered any alternative.

I realize that this is my calling from God. Seriously. He put it in my heart. And I have never faltered or felt lacking, really. Yes, I have rough days and difficult lessons to teach, but I never thought that sending them to a "real" school would be a better choice. It has always been firmly in me that this is what I am supposed to be doing.

I understand completely that this is not a lifestyle for every family. I am not anti-school. I have many friends who are amazing and loving teachers. But this is what is perfect for us.

I think that if someone feels that homeschooling is what they need to do, they definitely need to give it a go. It could very well be what has been destined for them. There are so many different ways to homeschool that they are bound to find a way that works for their family and their child(ren)'s learning style.

If anyone is interested in hearing my opinion on what some of the pros are with homeschooling, let me know in the comments below (or on Facebook) and I'll blog about that soon!