Why We Homeschool (Part 2)

I thought alot about homeschooling, even before I was married and had any children. I first heard about it on Focus on the Family many years ago and something about it just fascinated me. So when our first son was in pre-K, we started to talk more about it. Around the same time, his brother was born, and I just felt too overwhelmed to think about homeschooling. I didn't think I was organized enough and that I didn't have time with a newborn. Of course, now I look back and laugh. Any veteran homeschooling mom will tell you that Kindergarten takes all of about an hour a day! But of course, I did not know that at the time, so we decided to pursue other options.

We went to a couple of open houses at the local Catholic schools, but I was immediately turned off to the long days. Why the heck does a 5 year old need computers, Spanish, art and music in K? I mean we do art stuff at home and listen to music all day. I would rather he been in school for a few hours and just do the basics. Didn't anyone know about the 3 R's anymore? Though I never pictured my kids going to public school, I knew they only had half day Kindergarten, so we decided to pursue that option. And besides, we were in one of the highest rated districts in NJ. And we lived 5 houses and a path through the woods from the school. The only problem was that when we went to visit, I was turned off once again that the school was trying to accomplish too much at such a young age - only this time in a 2 1/2 hour day! That settled it for me. I figured we would just keep him home and teach him the basics, and hopefully teach them well.

Honestly, our decision was made without really reading anything about homeschooling. Over the next few months I did alot of research. I was surprised to find out that book after book was confirming our gut feeling - that it is better to teach the basics well and skip the 'fluff' - at least for now. What I also learned is that it is better to keep the formal education to a minimum at this age and let the child work at his or her own pace. Even now, as my second son is Kindergarten age, I do very little 'formal' sit at-the-desk kind of teaching. We spend a lot of time reading, which I've learned is really the best way for them to learn. Most of us were turned off to Science and History because they were taught from boring text books. So the backbone of our homeschooling is reading. We have a lot of books. And I do mean A LOT of books. I love a good book, and am quite picky about what my kids read. We do visit the library, however I find that the library gets rid of alot of their best books, mostly because many people prefer the newest Dora the Explorer book over the wonderful, old, falling apart books the library has had for decades. I learned to always bring a bag of quarters with us on our weekly visits, because we often came home with piles of discarded books! And an overflowing stroller! I think I lost most of my baby weight after Damian simply by pushing he and Christian and 20 pounds of books home from the library.

So we started on this journey we call homeschooling. We have since learned that it is not just a way to teach our children, but truly a way of life. Teaching extends far beyond the reaches of the kitchen table, which is the desktop for many a homeschooler.