The A B C's of why I am choosing to homeschool

A. More time with Dad and time as a family
B. Increased learning
C. More sleep (and better sleep)

A. My husband (and my children's father) is deploying this summer. Yes, he is active duty military. His job is such that he can usually come home for lunch, but rarely is home in time for dinner. When our daughter was in school, he was usually getting home in time to spend about 15 minutes with she and our boys before I felt the need to rush them to bed so that she wouldn't be too tired for school and the boys wouldn't be too tired the next day. Sometimes my conscious wouldn't allow me to rush them to bed and we'd face meltdown's the next day. Those melt-down's were well worth it to me for them to spend time with dad. Some women would disagree. In addition, he's had to work a lot of Saturdays and occasional Sundays so no, the weekend didn't guarantee family time. With homeschool, Dad can eat and interact with them nearly every day at lunch, sometimes before work, and nearly every night before bed. We don't keep a late schedule, but with the small time adjustment it adds a lot to our family time.

B. With all of the time reserved for school (6 1/2 hours per day, 5 days a week) my daughter wasn't progressing in her learning. Much of her learning would more accurately be described as entertainment and socializing. Yes, some of the activities were great: making patterns with buttons, sorting by color, listening to a read aloud, doing a handwriting page for a letter each week, dramatized play with the toy kitchen in the room, computer time, library, P.E., and field trips. But was she learning? Growing? Advancing and building on knowledge she already had? Being creative? At home, I am watching her every day. I listen to her read, I watch her write, I participate in the math activities and know where her learning lacks and what foundational principles she has that we can build on. I'm not a pro at this, but I try and because I have an understanding of where I want her learning to be in 10+ years, I can work her toward it. More on this at a later date. Hint: I was a public school teacher. The other side of the equation has a lot to offer in this discussion as well--meaning the teacher's perspective.

C. To bed by 8 p.m. and up between 7 and 8 a.m. This isn't much of a change in schedule from when my daughter attended school, but because there is no pressure it feels like we have a new life. Students were to be at school by 7:45 a.m. I could let my daughter sleep in until 7 a.m. if need be and rush her from there. My boys I could let sleep until 7:30 if I really needed to and then toss them in the van in their pajamas. The problem is that none of them were getting to sleep to the point of waking up naturally on a regular basis. This really bothered me. I thought there was no alternative, but there is always another choice. In this case, it was homeschool. And it's been great!!

Why homeschool?

This is an on-going question to be answered I hope someday. For now, the answer is "Because it's right for right now." Although I subscribe to the idea of taking it one day at a time because I can always send my children to public/private/charter school later, I think this is a beginning that will not end. The joy, relief, and peace I've felt with my children over the last month have been enough to make me believe this ought to be a permanent way of education for our family.

So why homeschool? The nitty-gritties are simple to say, but run deep.

A. More time with Dad and time as a family
B. Increased learning
C. More sleep (and better sleep)
D. Worries put to rest
E. Greater family cohesiveness
F. Acknowledgement and understanding of important and unimportant priorities on the part of my children
G. Less stress
H. Less wasted time
I. Healthier habits
J. I am less lazy and less selfish.

I will flesh these out in subsequent posts. One or two of these might be enough for someone to homeschool, the conglomeration of them and the additional feeling that we should just do it (and do it now) was enough for me. Was I born to homeschool? I don't think so. I studied elementary education, have a bachelor's degree, taught 6th grade for two years, and LOVE teaching, but I would say I was born to be a mom not necessarily a mom and a teacher. But I am learning to discipline myself and have mentors and friends who are helping to make my weaknesses less weak :). Other women are so inspiring!! If they can do it, surely I can at least try. Right?!