We should homeschool because…

This is an excerpt from our Homeschooling Mission Statement. I highly recommend that all families write one. I wrote this in May 2017.

We should homeschool because: It should be acknowledged openly that homeschooling is not an option available to all, but it is available to us. I don’t mean that homeschooling won’t come without sacrifice: it will require me to be home with the kids instead of going back to work, which will be a financial strain on our family. But it’s an opportunity. Should we not take opportunities as they come our way, even if those opportunities come at a price?

We should homeschool because: it will allow my children every chance to explore and pursue their dreams.

We should homeschool because: it gives my husband and me the gift of time with our kids.

We should homeschool because: Again! This is an opportunity. An opportunity for me to experience my children’s joy in learning. An opportunity to be involved in their daily lives, rather than just viewing it from the fringes of morning rush and evening sleepiness.

We should homeschool because: I want my children to be well-rounded.

We should homeschool because: I do believe Americans in general tend to be rushed and place too much emphasis on their schedules. Instead, I would wish a much more meaningful approach to life where we can make our decisions with intent and purpose, rather than out of the necessity of rush. I want a relaxed lifestyle for our family.

We should homeschool because: I want my children to be able to follow, discover, and most importantly experience their passions, rather than just learning about them two-dimensionally, if their passions are even brought up in the classroom at all. What if, like me, one of my children has a burning passion for horses? Or we might say more generically, what if one is interested in the process of farming? These are not subjects they will learn about in a classroom.

We should homeschool because: I want to allow my children the ability to dream, to change their minds, to dream some more.

We should homeschool because: I want my children to be who they want to be, without the influence of cliques and popularity.

We should homeschool because: I want to keep my children as far from bullying as I possibly can, especially while they’re young and impressionable. Not just in the sense of being bullied, but also from being in the position of witnessing it and not being able to stop it. Traditional brick and mortar schools have a lot of time in which the interactions between children are unsupervised. I have a deep and visceral reaction when I think about the gentle spirits of my children, most especially my son with his sensitive nature, and how they would fare in such a brutal setting.

We should homeschool because: I want my children to have the chance for their personality and character to develop naturally and at its own pace.

We should homeschool because: I want their lives to revolve around more than just the clock.

We should homeschool because: I always have, and always will, value creativity above conformity.

We should homeschool because: this is a bloody world. School shootings and weapons in class are becoming commonplace. To me, keeping my children away from such things is not a blind and irrational desire to shield them from the world. Homeschooling would be an intentional guardianship, taking into account a world that has changed vastly in recent years, a different world than the one I grew up in. This is my response to that change. Might some call it being overprotective? They might. I see how it could become that. But there is a fine line between an appropriate amount of protection, and slipping over the edge to overprotection. I feel if we are intentional in our choices, we can come down on the right side of it. I feel strongly that this extra protection is most necessary while my children are very young. They will not, could not possibly, receive the same amount of protection from an institution.

We should homeschool because: I want my children to spend more time outdoors than their peers.

We should homeschool because: in the age of the internet, homeschooling has gotten easier. Not easy, in any way, shape or form. I know it will be harder than anything I’ve ever done. But with the world only being a mouse-click away, there is more support, there are more resources, than ever before.

We should homeschool because: due to the improved accessibility, homeschooling has become much more common and readily accepted. Neither of those are reason enough on their own, but factored in do make admittedly nice perks.

We should homeschool because: this is a cookie-cutter world. Standardized testing, assembly line lessons, sometimes uniforms but certainly dress codes. Everything is regimented, and individuality is lost. Homeschooling is a way to stand strong as the government slowly worms its sly way into every aspect of our lives.

We should homeschool because: I want to teach my kids to both respect and to question authority. This is not a lesson easily learned in an institution where questioning authority is at best a behavior to be reprimanded, and at worst a punishable offense.

We should homeschool because: I am up for the challenge.