Homeschool? What for?

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Home Sweet School

Ah, the dreaded "why would you homeschool" question.  Actually I find that most people who ask are sincerely interested in why someone would pursue such an oddball thing.  The rest don't bother asking and instead launch into an litany of reasons why they would never or couldn't ever... almost like I asked them why they don't.  Believe me I can think of lots of reasons NOT to...


But, the topic at hand is why we choose to spend our time and effort to do what is already being done for free by professionals less than a five minute drive away.


A number of years ago I was quite captivated by a family we knew of hiring private tutors for their children.  They had wonderful adventures, travelling around learning things as a family, not tied to someone else's schedule, a real sense of doing their own thing and calling the shots for their family.  They had great relationships with their teenagers.  I LOVED it.  It's just that stubborn streak God has ordained in me that makes we me want to do something different than the status quo. I don't like the status quo results.  So this huge commitment of entrusting the best hours of my kids' day to the government just didn't sit well with me.  I just want something more. 


I don't know if we have something more or not. Most days it just seems like a lot of work. And it can be really tiresome and frustrating when not everyone's on my agenda. And the house is never clean because we actually live here all.day.long. And I could be making a lot more money and feeling a lot more successful at my old career - my hair would look better that's for sure!  A lot of things would look better if I had 15 minutes to myself in a day don'tcha know.  So the the jury's out, this is sort of a long term project, like 20 years long (my youngest will graduate in 2026!) and maybe we'll have to wait till then to see whether it's been worth it. 


I may not appreciate how good we've got it with my myopic daily focus but I sure do get a lot of compliments on my great kids and how well they treat each other and everyone else. That's a good thing. I ADORE snuggling with my 3yo and if I'm lucky my 5yo until - dare I say it - 8:30 every morning.  (Yeah, we could start the day earlier but no way I'm giving up back rubs and kisses from my littles while I can still get them! CBC needs to change their morning cartoon line up though, seriously.)  We LOVE each other all day long. The kids (mostly) love me and I (mostly) love them : )  and they (mostly) love each other.  What's cooler than your brother making you your own website?  Your sister writing you notes about treasure maps and mysteries?  Or how about doing Math on the patio with your sunglasses on? Or on the trampoline? Or in your bed?  Everyone celebrating when you read a new word? This stuff is pretty cool, I need to ponder it more often.


I just want "different" for our family.  Love, togetherness, adventure, good works, freedom, purpose, serving, peace, no debt, simplicity, sharing, giving, trust.  Not too much to ask for in one life time is it?

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