Why I Love Homeschooling

Yes, I know I have a homeschooling blog, and I know I've been more than a slacker about it. My last post there was November, I think. Oops. But I simply don't have the energy to keep up with more than one blog right now. So, we'll have a bit of crossover. Nothing wrong with that.

Lately, I've been thinking about all the things I love about being a homeschooling family. It hasn't been easy this year, with being sick and oh, so tired with the pregnancy. I haven't had a lot of motivation and, for the first time, wondered if Ethan would be better off in school for the time being. I know, though, that that is not the answer. Not for us, anyway.

SO, it's a good exercise for me to remember the reasons we homeschool and why I love it so much. Many of the reasons I love it are not actually our reasons for doing it, but are simply the fringe benefits of it.

1. I love the fact that when my son grasps a concept and truly internalizes it, I'm the first one to see it.

2. I love that I get to be there while he learns to read. This is truly one of the most amazing things to watch as a parent.

3. I love that my boys get to spend so much time together. I believe this extra time Ethan and Silas have (time that Ethan would otherwise be out of the house) has cemented a deep frienship between the two of them, in spite of their 4 year age gap. Watching them play together (when they're not fighting) is truly a joy. I would miss (and so would Silas!) that extended play time if Ethan just weren't home.

4. I love it when, after Ethan has struggled with a task or challenge for a long time, he finally masters a skill. I love that I'm there to see it, and that he's not mastering these skills away from me, where he might forget to tell me about it later.

5. I love the way homeschooling challenges ME, to find out more, to learn more, to find ways of explaining, helping, guiding, that I might not be as motivated to do if I were allowing someone else to bear this responsibility every day. I know myself. I think I would be a "lazier" parent if my child went to school, counting on an over-worked, underpaid teacher to do the things that I SHOULD be doing as a parent.

6. I love that my kids aren't exposed to as many germs/colds/illnesses as school kids. (Although, I can't control the same crap their father brings home from HIS school.)

7. I love how homeschooling has bonded us as a family. We are a pretty tight unit, spending so much time together. I've had other parents tell me they don't know how I do it, and they'd go crazy if their kids were home all the time. I'm the opposite. It would hurt to be apart from my kid every day. Every once in a while is fine, but on a daily basis would be just way too much. Man, I'd miss him!!

8. I love how my teacher husband supports me 100% in teaching our children at home. Seeing the areas where schools are lacking, he is such an advocate for the way we do things here at home. I could NOT do this without his full support.

9. I love knowing that I'm able to guide Ethan in his learning, waiting until he's ready, watching his cues, finding just the right moments to impart "knowledge". I think it makes me a more in-tune parent, having to watch for his readiness cues in regard to learning.

10. And related to that last one, I love how homeschooling is transforming ME, both as a person and a parent. It is making me realize that all kids are on their own schedules and to stop comparing my own to others. Ethan's readiness for new things and learning is his own, and I'm slowly embracing that. It's teaching me to fully embrace who HE is, HIS strengths, HIS abilities, and HIS own perfect and unique way of seeing the world. I really don't think I'd have this mindset if we didn't homeschool.

There are many more. But these are the ones that have been sitting in my head. I'm so glad we've chosen this path. Like everything else we've chosen in the last 6.5 years, this works! This works for our son. This works for our family. Nothing else matters.