Thirsty Thursday: Why Do You Homeschool?

I wanted to start a meme that I hope will be fun for my readers. You see, I am Thirsty for your answers and anecdotes. So each Thursday I am going to ask you a probing question. Just post your answer on your blog and sign into Mr. Linky below. I will come by and read your story. I also would appreciate it if in your post you would like back to Thirsty Thursday so others can join in the fun! Feel free to copy my image!

Todays Question:

Why Do You Homeschool?

This is a question that I know gets asked in different places from time to time. I don't think that I have taken the opportunity to answer it here on my blog, so I will tell you why I homeschool and I would love to hear your reasons as well!

I hadn't even heard of homeschooling until about the time my first child was born (about 10 years ago). What little I had heard of it, led me to think that homeschooling was something done by kooks and wierdos! But as I watched my own son begin to grow and saw how much he was learning at an early age, I begin to rethink my understanding of homeschooling.

I had already seen my two stepsons go through several years of public schools and I had had to deal with several issues that gave me grave concerns. They had been bullied. They had been belittled with name calling. They had teachers who were unable to stimulate their learning process because they were too busy dealing with the slower children in the class and they were having to constantly worry about the Virginia SOL's and accredidations. Before I go any further, I want to say I have the utmost respect for teachers. I think the education system needs a majore overhaul, but I believe that the vast majority of teachers are doing the best they can with the support they receive from the school and from parents.

I watched as my oldest stepson stopped being as interested in learning and became more interested in fitting in with his peers. I dealt with a teacher who witnessed my son being terrorized by a teen three years older than him, but when we got to court, she backed down because she was afraid of th the teen. I shuddered as I heard my son coming home having learned such tidbits as 'you can 1 1/2 space your papers and no one will know the difference.' He heard this from a teacher!!!!! I hated fundraisers which seemed to pop up every month. I wasn't happy with the fact that my stepsons were terrorized on the bus and no one did anything to combat it. The list of horror stories is long, but the above events started making me think perhaps those homeschoolers I knew weren't such kooks after all.

By the time Jack was two, he recognized all the letters of the alphabet. By the time he was three, he could add numbers in his head. I was scared that if he went to school, he would be deemed a trouble maker because he would be bored having to relearn the stuff he had known for years. So my husband and I did some research, read some articles, I put out feelers into the homeschool community and we made the decision that for as long as we could and it worked, we would homeschool our youngest children.

I would like to say we did a bunch of reading and had our plan chosen from the beginning, but that would be a lie. We started with baby steps. Mostly using workbooks purchased at Sam's. The first year (kindergarten), I was so paranoid that I didn't know what I was doing, I gave Jack the Kindergarten CAT test at the beginning of the year so I would know what he needed to learn. Imagine my surprise and delight when he got a 100 on the test! So we moved on to 1st grade learning!

I love homeschooling because I love knowing who my kids are friends with. I love being able to spend time with them. I love being able to recognize when something isn't working learning wise and being able to adjust, to change curriculums, to try something new pretty much at the drop of the hat. I love the fact that when I realize they are wiped out from life events, I can give them a day or two off and know that no one will be breathing down my neck because they haven't been in school. I love the fact that I know I can give them a firm belief foundation which will hopefully help them to be strong when they are older and have to deal with more varied view points. I love that we stay healthier now that the children aren't bringing home all of those germs from school.

I love that we can all sit snuggled on the sofa watching animal documentaries and it is science. I love that when we are in the kitchen cooking, I know we are having fun and learning math. I love watching my children learn and I love it when they put together concepts on their own (and I get to see it!). I love that when opportunities come for us to travel with my husband we can take them. And i love that we can go on vacation during the off season and that we can go to museums and zoos when they are less crowded. I am not sure what the years ahead will hold. Jack is in 6th grade this year and we are taking the years to come one step at a time. But I am very glad for the time we have had together. I hope when they grow up and have families of their own and look back, that they will be glad too.

So now you know why I homeschool (assuming you didn't fall asleep), don't forget to tell me why you homeschool! I really would love to know!