The Top Ten Reasons We School At Home

We had such a wonderful Christmas and are still enjoying another full week of vacation so I will be posting a few random and leftover posts this week.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to judge or affirm any other family’s school choices; it is simply a top ten of the reasons why we choose to school at home. :)

10. Fun.  It really is fun!  Most of the time that is. :) 

9. Control.  It allows K to have some control over her day.  Rarely do I “make” her do a certain subject.  I give her the choice: Math or Science?  Vocab or Spelling?

8. No bullying.  It’s seems like everywhere I turn I hear someone else talking about the “bullying epidemic” in our country and I’m thankful that we don’t have to deal with that.  Even in our small town we’ve had three different sets of friends who have had bullying issues against their children.

7. No homework.  During Sunday School one morning several of our friends were talking about the massive amounts of homework their kids are coming home with.  Our little neighbor down the street had 14 pages in one weekend!  She is in the 3rd grade!

6. Character building.  Time management and self-motivation are two qualities that K is really developing through online school.  She is really starting to realize that she and she alone determines how long our day is.  If she dawdles around it takes longer, if she stays focuses and disciplined she gets more time to play.  This has taken several months, but I think she’s finally getting it!

5. Activities.  I’m pretty sure the only reason that we are able to have so many outside activities is because we are home all day.  If we were off and running all day there is no way I would have the energy to run around in the evening too!

4. Protection.  One of the biggest benefits for me is knowing who my girls are around.  The other day I read that 10% of school children have been abused by a teacher.  That is a VERY high amount in my opinion.  I struggle with finding the balance here.  I want to teach my girls to trust their fellow mankind, but it’s also my job to protect them. 

3. Faith.  T and I are very committed to our faith and online schooling gives me the opportunity to monitor exactly what is going in their little minds.  We don’t necessarily agree with everything taught through K12 but when I am sitting right next to her we can talk about what other people believe and what the bible says about the subject.

2. Sleep.  I’ve made no secret about the fact that I am NOT a morning person!  The girls love mornings as long as they are able to wake up on their own.  If we try to wake them up early for anything it makes for a grumpy day so it is very nice that there is rarely a day when we have to wake up early! 

and number one…

1. Time Recapture.  This is probably my biggest reason for schooling at home.  It’s hard for me to believe that K is already 6 1/2 and I know the next 6 years are going to go just as quickly.  I love the fact that I am not missing out on 7-8 hours of her life every day.

And here’s another benefit…a fun homeschool group of friends!  Here are the girls at the December homeschool gathering.

I know school at home is not for everyone, an option for everyone, or even for every child.  At this point I hope we are able to keep the girls home for the foreseeable future, but nothing is set in stone.  If we ever find that traditional school would work better for our family or for a particular child in our family then we will re-evaluate.  Sometimes I feel bad that our girls are missing out on the general “school experience” but for now we are happy with our choice. 

This is one of my favorite quotes:

That’s definitely how I feel about this season of life!  I try very hard to remember not to take a single day for granted.  I know these “long” days will be over before I know it!