Why are you homeschooling?

Why am I homeschooling? I wanted to think on this question for a very long time. This is actually a 5 year old question that I struggled with when my husband first brought up how we wanted to educate our first born child. It wasn't until a year ago, when we found out that we were moving to the East Coast, that I finally decided to start investing my time in answer this question.

My husband and I do not want our kids to be educated in a public school just because we don't feel that our children will not receive the education we want them to have. We have nothing against those who have their children in public schools; that's their choice, as it is our choice on what we feel is good for our children. I wanted our children to be in private school as did my husband, but then he brought up the idea of homeschooling.

I'm thinking "homeschooling? No way I want to do that! I want my freedom away from my children; to have some me time."

Sounds selfish, doesn't it? 

Let me move forward 5 years later for a bit....

Today (August 22) I read an article from The Blaze News that was talking about a book on the recommended reading list for the Common Core Curriculum that our education system is trying to implement into our society. The book is called "The Bluest Eye." You can read the article about it here.  *I do have to warn you, there are passages from the book in this article, and they are very graphic.* To summarize the article, the book basically is written in the view point of a rapist. It goes into detail about pedophilia, incest, etc. It is said that it's supposed to be a teaching tool to help students to reject that sort of mentality and abuse. 

Um, really? Do you really think reading a book like that will deter your child away from that kind of mentality? When did it become the government's job to teach my child about this kind of thing and in a school setting no less?

I got into a discussion over this through a famous networking website. The person had the gaul to say that I am naive if I think I can keep my children away from being exposed to those sort of things. Also claimed that I would be making my children socially dysfunctional by homeschooling them. Well, if that's the case, then my kids will have the best education I give them, even if they become hermits, ha! (More on this topic in a few...) 

Anyways, as a parent, it is my responsibility to decide when my child is ready to be exposed to this, and it is my duty and responsibility, as a good parent, to be able to sit my children down and have a conversation about it. I don't want my child to be exposed to this through some sort of book from a reading list at a school. My children will respect their sexual life. This is one of many reasons I decided I want to homeschool.

Ok, now going back 5 years...

I must confess that I used to have the same mentality as the person I had a conversation with today about homeschooling. I used to think that my children would not become social like they would if they were in a school setting. I fought long and hard against homeschooling our oldest and kept pushing private school. I didn't want to budge from that decision at all. I wanted that space away from my oldest, especially if I had younger ones roaming around my legs, wanting my attention all the time. Thinking about it now, it was very selfish of me to even think this way. This is my own observation of my life, not anyone else's. I'm not saying that every person, who puts their children in public schools, are selfish either. Some people have the opportunity to homeschool their children, and some people don't. It's all about where the parents are in their life.

My mentality changed, or I should say, “I woke up” about a year ago, when we found out we would be moving and the closets private school was about 35 miles from our home. On top of that, all the school’s ratings (public and private) were below 4. I kept doing research around the surrounding areas to try and figure something out that would work for our children. During my research time, I talked with a few people that lived in the same state as we were going to move to and they all suggested to either homeschool or put them in private school. Again, private school wasn’t a viable option for us and so we looked into the Memoria Press curriculum (as I mentioned in a previous post).

I really started to get excited about everything that came with the curriculum. Princess Pea would be learning about classical music, getting art history lessons about some inspiring artist, and reading poetry from all the classic authors. And to think that I get to teach her all of this and watch her grow as she learns! It will be the most rewarding experience of my life.

As my excitement grew, so did my curiosity on what I could so Princess Pea could have the social experience. I found a homeschooling support group that planned holiday parties, P.E. days, field trips, and any extra curricular activities the people in the group could come up with. I even talked with Princess Pea’s preschool teacher before we left and she also suggested putting her in some kind of sport. Luckily Princess Pea was already in tumbling and we want to keep her in it since she really enjoys it. We were also thinking of putting Cuddle Bug in tumbling as well since she is a little more reserved then Princess Pea, but we haven’t hit that milestone quit yet. J

So why am I homeschooling?

I get to teach my children what morals actually are, what responsibility is. They get to learn the classics from music, art, and poetry. It’s rewarding to see how well my child is doing and get to cater to her needs.

In the end, we (my husband and I) made the right choice for our children when it comes to education, and I am glad that we decided to homeschool.