Why I Chose to Home-school

*Contains sexual language that is not suitable for children!

Let me first begin by saying, I would like to thank each and every educator that strives to make a positive difference in the lives of children. My hat goes off to you!

The Question

"Why did you decide to home-school your kids?" is a question that I am often asked. If I'm being completely honest it is a question I still ask myself after six years from time to time. Well, there are a few things that lead me down this road.

My Oldest

She was in fourth grade, doing very well in her subjects. But I noticed some changes with her. Her brother noticed them too. One Sunday morning he said, "Mom, I think Sydnee has the devil in her because her stomach always hurts at church." I laughed, but he was right. Her stomach would bother her just about every Sunday. At first I thought it was her menstrual cycle, but that wasn't it. Another red flag was, the back of her hair had broken off pretty badly. She had also bitten her nails all the way down. We had had some issues with bullying, there was an incident with a substitute teacher, and because Sydnee is who she is, she was putting extra pressure on herself because she wanted to be inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. All of these things were causing her anxiety. She would rub her hair and bite her nails when she felt stressed. Her stomach was hurting on Sundays because she had school the next day. I had spoken with the administrators at the school, but ultimately I had to do something to help my baby. I didn't really know what to do, so I prayed. That was the first time I had the "thought" to home-school.

Transportation

My children's father would take them to school and pick them up. The issue with that is that he worked in another state. That involved a lot of tardy mornings and some late pick-ups. I worked from home, but I wasn't always able to get them to school, or get to them if something were to happen. Their teachers understood our situation, and I appreciated that so much, but this caused me stress. Something had to change. I prayed some more.

Say What Now?

People have asked, "What socializing do your kids get since they're home-schooled?" I laugh and cringe every time because I'm reminded of a dreaded conversation I had to have. One of my children had been exposed to the topic of oral sex!! Can you imagine your elementary-aged child coming home and asking you if you've ever put a penis in your mouth (umm...excuse me)? My child went on to tell me a friend had seen someone performing the act. The friend demonstrated the movements at the lunch table, and my child showed me. Now, I don't normally shy away from conversations with my children, but that was too much... I was mortified!! I prayed REALLY hard after that conversation!

Be Careful What You Pray For

Saying that there were signs EVERYWHERE to home-school is an understatement. I was in line at the store and a lady behind me just began talking about how she missed homeschooling her children. The young lady that worked at one of my favorite clothing stores asked how the kids had been. I told her they were great, and I was thinking about schooling them. She began telling me she was home-schooled and loved it. I had taken the kids to a birthday party. I didn't feel like going, it was cold, but we went anyway. As I'm sitting there talking to the other parents one of the mom's said she had to get home to prepare her lesson plans. I asked what school she taught at. When she replied, "I home-school", I was blown away. Lastly, but certainly not least, a friend of one of my daughters was "missing in action". We hadn't seen that family for the whole school year. One day while I was grocery shopping I saw the friend's mom. She told me she had decided to school her kids. I wanted to dang near shout in the grocery store. She invited me to observe her family during one of their school days. I told her I would be in touch. Although I had gotten all of those "signs" I needed more confirmation.

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

By this time the kids were on summer break. I was still on the fence about schooling. I had taken, my now friend, up on her offer to observe her family during a day of schooling. I was impressed, but I still wasn't sure. Well, God has a way of speaking clearly. When it comes to the youngest two, their issues weren't as noticeable. Like Sydnee, they were doing well in school. They each earned Student of the Month. I had gotten great reports on how helpful and polite they were. One had scored in the 90th percentile for math. I couldn't have been happier with all of their achievements. But the joke was on me. During summer break I found out one of them was memorizing books, and the other was struggling in math. Y'all my kids couldn't read, write, or do this new age math. I was hurt! I was really upset with myself. Why didn't I know this? How did I drop the ball, and where?

The Decision

After the school year Sydnee had, the discovery that one of my babies couldn't read, and a year of praying I took the leap of faith and decided to home-school. One of the younger two wanted to go back to school. I was okay with that, home-schooling isn't for everyone. We worked all summer and we were going to be ready to tackle the next grade. Would you believe two weeks before school was to begin my little holdout decided to be schooled at home!

Here and Now

So here we are six years later still home-schooling. Has it been a walk in the park? NOT AT ALL! I have cried, my kids have cried. I have questioned my decision and sanity some days. I have even asked the Lord if HE was sure I was capable. In spite of that I have been able to give my children something no school could give them...time. If we needed to close the book to go into the kitchen to cook in order to understand fractions, we did it. If I had to go all the way back to letter sounds for my baby to grasp reading, we did it. If my child wanted to spend a whole school day in her room only doing math and piano because it's a stress reliever, we did it. We have been able to say, "No more eight hour school days, no more late hours doing homework, no more anxiety, no more to so much".

The Answer

I home-school because it's my job to protect my children. My goal is to raise my children to be good humans. I've been told they "need to leave the nest". My response to that is, "The world will get its turn with my children. Until then, I pray that the educational, biblical, social, and life resources I give them will prepare them for what the world will try to throw at them." So with that being said, we will continue walking on this water.