Why do we Homeschool? This is a question that I often hear followed quickly by their story about someone that they know who homeschools. Yes, in our area, homeschooling is very popular. We’re not considered too odd around here which is nice. We always have tons of activities in which we can be involved. People wonder how our daughter, an only child, can possibly be socialized properly. Yet, they’re always commenting on how well behaved she is.
I have always been drawn towards homeschooling our daughter, but didn’t actively pursue the idea until it was time for her to enter kindergarten. At the time, my husband wasn’t really comfortable with the idea, so off to kindergarten she went. She changed over the time that she was there. While she did well in school, she didn’t thrive and she wasn’t as sweet of a little girl. I talked to my husband more about it, and by the end of kindergarten, we had decided that we were going to start homeschooling.
At first, he wasn’t completely sure about the whole thing, and we decided to take it year-by-year to see how it went. Well, she flourished and bloomed at home. She quickly progressed through a couple of grades at her own wishes. She’s set a higher standard of learning for herself than I would have set for her.
We Homeschool first and foremost because we felt it’s what God wants us to do. Second, we homeschool because it is honestly what is best for our family and for our daughter. We can take time off as needed. When my husband is gone and she needs some time to adjust, we can just go do something fun. If she’s sick, we can just take time off. If my husband has off, we can spend time with him. Our schedule doesn’t revolve around her school schedule.
Plus, with being military, she has continuity in her schooling. We don’t have to worry about if she’ll be behind or ahead of her peers in her new school. We don’t have to be concerned with those “bad days” during deployments. We just take whatever time is needed to adjust. Our moves aren’t dictated by a school schedule. Instead, we can move whenever needed. Homeschooling is truly a blessing for our family.
Is it always easy? No, nothing in life that’s worth doing is easy, but I wouldn’t change it. We’re all much happier now that we’re homeschooling. She’s learning much more than she would ever learn in school alone. She’s learning life lessons right along with her schooling. We can follow her interests and take field trips whenever we want. Another wonderful benefit is that not only are we learning as a family, but we’re also connecting more as a family. We would hate to miss out on all of these wonderful times with our daughter. Life is too short and too precious to waste on being apart. We are already apart more than we like due to being a military family. We’ll gladly take the ups with the downs as we continue our homeschooling journey.
I actually stopped by to read your WFMW post and it caught my eye that you are also a homeschooling family. I really appreciated your post about why you homeschool. I’m thankful that we, also, live in an area where there are a lot of homeschoolers. Yet, we do still get the glazed over stares of confusion at times and the “why would you do THAT?” questions. I think it is wonderful that you’re able to spend more family time, especially being military (which would be a very difficult life, in my opinion). Tell your husband thank you for serving. We are grateful for men and women like him who serve our country. Thank you and your daughter, too… because in a sense, you are also serving our country by being so supportive of your husband and, at times, having to hold things together if he is deployed. May God richly bless your family!
🙂 Kit
What a wonderful post. I grew up in a military family. My father was in the Air Force for 30 years. Every two years we were restationed. My mom did a wonderful job of making any house a home but I am sure that continuity would have been even more pronounced if we had homeschooled. I’m not saying I regretted being in school, or that my mother and father didn’t do the right thing, I’m simply saying I can see your point of view VERY clearly.
God Bless you and your family. And thank you for serving in the Armed Forces, it takes true dedication.
Rean Day
We appreciate your support.