I am going to be completely honest from the start of this post and say that all of the thoughts and opinions of others regarding me homeschooling the girls that I am going to share, are thoughts that I too have had about others homeschooling before I started researching. Homeschooling is not something that I ever considered for our family, until this year. So what led us to this decision? Did something terrible-awful happen this school year that pushed us over the edge to homeschool?
Our oldest girl just finished up her first year of middle school and absolutely loved it. She is without a doubt our kid who is the most worried about homeschooling, and rightly so. In her short “school career”, she has gone to 5 different schools due to Army moves. She has learned how to quickly adapt to new surroundings and makes new friends with ease. Her biggest concern with homeschooling is that she will not have a lot of friends, which is something that I also always thought must be true with homeschooled children. Her first year of middle school was a very eye-opening and stressful year for us as parents. The things that she was exposed to, at just 12 years old, were very scary things. Her peers having sex, smoking weed on the bus, and the violence were all things that she shared with us. Y’all… this is MIDDLE SCHOOL today. I do not even want to think about what is happening in high school. With God already being removed from the schools across America, how hard is it for Christian children to go to school and thrive?
While I feel like that reason alone would be enough to push us to homeschool, it is not the only one. I feel like the emphasis put on students to perform well on standardized tests is right down ridiculous. The teachers are stressed, because a lot of the times their jobs depend on their students passing those tests and the curriculum and what is taught is based solely on those tests. Children in schools are not allowed to truly explore their interests, because so little time is spent on each subject. The large class sizes across America make it nearly impossible to be able to individualize instruction to fit each child’s needs.
While I could go on and on with the list of reasons I am excited to homeschool our girls next year, I will instead focus on some of the responses I have received when I announced our decision and try to share some facts that I’ve learned along the way.
- ‘You are crazy!” – I sure am! I mean really, what do you say to that?
- ‘You are brave; I could never homeschool my kids!” – I am the first to admit, I have moments when I am terrified that I will fail at this or fail our girls. It is a hard thing for me to do sometimes to trust that “Gods got this”, and he will not allow me to fail them. I am a work in progress, and would not say I am brave.
- “You are so patient!’ – HA, another thing I am working on daily.
4. “Girl, I want OUT of the house. You are going to be stuck in your house all day” – we may live for “Field Trip Friday’s”, and I am ok with that. When you homeschool, you can be ANYWHERE. Not made to sit still in a desk all day, free to take your books outside and soak in the sunshine and fresh air.
- “My kids would hate homeschooling, they need that social interaction that only school provides” – Umm, have more kids? Ha, but really. Join a co-op, get involved in a church or playgroup. There are so many ways for children to get social interaction that does not involve sending them to public school.
- “I would fail my kids, have you seen the work they are doing these days? I hope you’re good at math!” – I am TERRIBLE at math, but I have researched and found a curriculum that I feel will not only allow my children to thrive, but may also help me brush up on my skills. There are resources everywhere, and when that does not help… there are tutors!
- “Homeschooled kids aren’t as smart as other kids their age” –Absolutely not true. Let’s look at some facts!
Not what you thought, huh? Us either!
While I understand homeschooling is not for everyone, before you form opinions about it… look at the evidence based facts and be informed.
Deciding to homeschool was the easy part for us, deciding on a curriculum has been much more time consuming. Tomorrow, I will share which curriculum we have decided on and why I am excited for the upcoming year.
Life In The Pines 
My kids loved home schooling. They got to experience real life and mix with all age groups. They are so well rounded and everyone and I mean everyone that meets my kids are very impressed with them. Nope not social outcasts…they are so outgoing and very comfortable in their skin. I’ve asked them throughout their home school days if they ever want to go to public school and a resounding NO would be their answer! They got to explore and find out who they are and what they want to do in life. Their minds are their minds…not the influence of others. It was awesome. It isn’t for everyone, but for us, it worked! Best wishes!
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