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Top 10 Reasons Our Family Continues to Homeschool

When I first began homeschooling it was for one basic reason: I felt called by God to bring our daughter home. She had a newly diagnosed vision problem which was affecting her ability to read. Though I was happy with her private school at the time and I knew the teachers would try their best, I just didn’t feel confident that she would get the attention she needed to improve her reading if she remained in a classroom full of children. After talking and praying about it together, my husband and I made the decision to bring all three of our kids (at the time) home, and we are just about to complete our ninth year of homeschooling. Home education has been the right decision for our family. Today I’d like to share with you the top 10 reasons our family continues to homeschool.

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Top 10 Reasons Our Family Continues to Homeschool

  1. There is no need to pull our kids out of school or to find a new one when we move. Homeschooling has provided some much-needed stability through 6 different moves during the years that we have homeschooled. I count it a special blessing that my children did not also have to get acquainted with a new school, new teachers, and new rules all while trying to catch up on whatever lessons had been missed in any particular school during any particular year. We ended and picked right back up where we left off whenever we felt ready.
  2. My kids really know one another’s good and not-so-good qualities. Spending a lot of time with your siblings can be difficult at times. When you have 4 siblings as my children do, it is especially trying. There are not many spaces to go in our home where there isn’t at least one person already sitting, standing, playing, talking. Homeschooling has been a refining process that we are not quite through yet. God uses our times together to knit our hearts, and also to bring out character traits that we need to work on….and I’m grateful.
  3. I really know my kids’ good and not-so-good qualities. Spending a lot of time with my children can be difficult at times. With 5 of them, all in different stages of life, it can be especially trying some days. I’ve discovered that homeschooling is a ‘refiner’s fire’ for me. God brings out the character traits in me that need work….glaringly obvious to all of us in this space on the harder days. But He also has knit my heart with my children’s. I know them in a way that I do not think I would know them if they spent hours out of our home each day. Even on our most difficult day, I wouldn’t trade in the time that I get to spend with them, studying them, laughing and playing with them. Knowing them.
  4. I have the opportunity to disciple my children more readily than if they were in school all day. As Christ-followers, discipleship is important to my husband and me. What better way than to spend hours and hours with our disciples? I want them to become like me….as I follow Jesus. If I am following Him then being like me will reflect Him. Jesus spent a lot of hours with His disciples. Again, if my children had to catch the big yellow bus every morning and ride it home every afternoon, we would be missing out on many discipleship hours.
  5. We can take vacations any time we like. We have the ability as homeschoolers to plan vacations any time. We do not need to consider when school is in session, except for how it may affect our activities while we are away….such as, are the kids in Florida out of school when we plan a trip to Disney? My husband sometimes takes business trips, and homeschooling has also allowed us the freedom to take a few days off on occasion and travel with him on an impromptu vacation.
  6. The opportunity to study in-depth any subject that strikes our fancy. My older kids are very into art. They have studied pencil drawing, painting, marker drawing, watercolor, pen and ink drawings, and more. My eldest son has spent a lot of time on writing and my eldest daughter on photography. Both boys have spent hour upon hour building with legos. I love the freedom to follow our interests in homeschooling!
  7. We can get involved in service opportunities. There are many opportunities to serve within our community. As homeschoolers, we are not boxed in by the hours of the school day. If a new mom or a sick friend needs a meal, we can drop the book work for the day, prepare a nice meal, and take it over to our friend. When a local church provides a winter shelter for the homeless, we can go to the church to deliver food and hygiene items, play games with the guests, or to help with setup/cleanup. I am thankful that we do not need to worry about when we can serve. We can do so almost any time!
  8. We can take a ‘mental health day’ any time we need it. Sometimes mom or kids (or both!) just need a break. Maybe we’re sick, or perhaps we’re simply run down from all the busyness of life. We all need a ‘mental health day’ at times. Take it when you need it!
  9. We get to declare birthdays an off day and celebrate all day long. Birthdays are very special around here. My husband is not always able to take the entire day off, but he does when he can. He is almost always able to meet us for lunch. So we ditch the book work, enjoy a leisurely breakfast as a family, open gifts, then head out at lunch time to meet Dad. In the evening it is time for cake, a special movie or game, and generally just celebrating the birthday boy or girl. It’s simple but we love it, and I am glad I have the freedom to proclaim birthdays a ‘no school’ day.
  10. The bulk of the daily influences on my children come from their siblings, their father, me, and Jesus. As a Christian homeschooling family, we are concerned about the kinds of books, people, and environments our children spend time with and in. Being educated at home provides shelter for our kids. We are able to guide them daily, even hourly, as needed in their decisions, music choices, clothing decisions, and so much more. We are here any time we are needed as a sounding board or to pray with them. We can bring our kids to the cross and make sure that God’s Word and our lives are lived out for Him through major influences in their lives.

Do you have a “Top 10”? Re-read them and renew your passion for homeschooling. If you don’t, write one. Creating this list will help you to more easily define your reasons for homeschooling, and it will be a list that you are able to add to over time. 

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One Comment

  1. Even though both my husband and I work outside the home and homeschool our 2 youngest of 4 children, we keep deciding to do it for so many great reasons. The main reason is that our kids continue to request it, even though we give them the option to attend traditional school. Now the consideration for a Tutorial or Co op has arisen, but each time, they prefer the freedom of learning what they want at their own pace and saving their social entertainment for sports, recreation activities and summer camp time. For me as a working parent, it’s easier than having them in traditional school because I don’t have to get up and get anyone ready to leave the house but myself. My husband and I also enjoy teaching and administering school to our kids. It has been a great ride and has bought our family closer together. I don’t believe that traditional school isn’t a great option, it’s just not one that we feel is the best for our family this time around, even though we’ve only been homeschooling for 2 years.

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