A few days ago, I sat down, and wrote two posts as a start to a small homeschooling series. A few minutes ago, I re-read the first post, for the 5th time, and deleted the whole thing.
Not because I didn't like what I wrote, or because what I wrote wasn't true; it was because I left out so much of what I should have been sharing.
The original post talked a lot about learning styles and the need to foster a love of learning in my kids. While that is true, that in and of itself can be done while still attending public school. There are lots of very involved parents that do something called "afterschooling".
The main reason we chose homeschooling for us is because we feel called to it. Everything I have learned, everything I thought I was going to be when I grew up, has led me to be right where I am: at home, teaching and raising my kids.
I have prayed lots about this. I knew a few homeschooling families growing up, I met a few more before I had kids, and it was always something so foreign to me. I remember having a conversation with my husband when my son was about 2, about how neither of us believed in homeschooling.
After much prayer, lots of research, and long conversations, we have chosen to homeschool our kids. It is our goal to train them up to be genuinely good, Christ-following people. We feel that there is no better way for us to truly train up our children outside of homeschooling them. I do not believe this is true for everyone. Some people choose to send their children to public schools (or private), and that is their calling. It is just not for us right now.
Homeschooling fits us. My husband and I both love to travel, and homeschooling fits right in with that. That may sound like a selfish reason to some. On the other hand, maybe our love for travel was given to us so that we can share that with our children, while teaching them about the places we go, the cultures we learn. The people we encounter.
Of course, I am also looking forward to the fact that while childhood is really very short, by the time my children are grown I will be able to say that I spent as much time as I could with them while they were young.
Now for a little bit of the nitty gritty of our decision. Most students are taught subject matter based on tests they need to pass. I did okay at tests in school, but once the test was over, the information that I had "learned" was gone. I learned basics, but most of my learning came after high school. I have self-taught myself so much since I graduated from high school, and I hope to teach my kids in a way that they will not only enjoy learning, but learn how to do it on their own, before they graduate high school. Schools are geared to educate based on certain learning styles. I love the idea of choosing my own curriculum and following a lesson plan that is tailored specifically for my children's learning styles.
Next week: Homeschool Options
How did you choose how your kids are schooled?
No comments:
Post a Comment