Top 5 reasons why I homeschool

Since my oldest son plays baseball for our city, I often get asked by the other parents what school he goes to. If you homeschool, you have likely been asked the same question, and have been in this scenario before- 

Other mom- "does your child go to (insert local school name) also?" 

Me- "no, we homeschool" 

Other mom- "...oh...."

You know what I'm talking about, that very mild but condescending, what is she thinking, how will she ever teach her kids all they need to know... "oh".  So let me just put it out there for all of you that may be questioning those that are homeschooling or maybe even those that are considering it. Homeschooling may not be for everyone, and I certainly will not be criticizing you if you don't do it, every family's needs are different and every situation is different. I have a lot of friends that homeschool , and a lot that don't. If you were to ask me my opinion about doing it or not, I would tell you, if you don't ask me that's fine too. I don't intend on losing friends over it, and you shouldn't either. Stand firm in your decision, know who you are as a christian and do what you know is best for your family. Be the parent that YOU need to be for YOUR family. Homeschooling is right for us for right now so that is what we are going to do. It's hard and it's stressful and very overwhelming at times, but (IMO) the rewards and benefits far out weigh all of that.  Here is a list of reasons (in no specific order) why we do it:

 1) IT SAVES OUR VALUABLE TIME. We have friends that go to our local public school that are in the same grade as my oldest son. They told me that after being in school for 8 hours a day, he comes home with HOURS worth of homework! This is kindergarten! and what has he been doing all day to have that much to do when he gets home?! We can get all of our work done in an hour to an hour and half ( keep in mind it is K5, so it's nothing difficult yet). We have the whole rest of the day to do whatever we want. We can spend it as a family, and get to truly know our kids. 

2) I CAN CATER MY TEACHING TO EXACTLY WHAT MY KIDS NEED AND WANT TO KNOW.  I can teach them each the way they need to be taught and the way that they learn best. There is no way that you can teach 30 students the exact same way, and all of them understand what is going on. At home, if my son has a problem understanding something, I can spend as much time on that one specific thing as he needs me to. I can also change the curriculum mid year if he is not understanding that one. I can teach my kids things that actual matter and things that they will actually learn in life. Plus, if they have a bigger interest in one particular subject over another, I spend more time teaching that subject in depth, where as public school will just move on, and not help cultivate his passion for it. We can experience things first hand by actually going places and researching things more, growing things, doing things. There are no caps on their learning, the sky is the limit! 

3) WE CAN TRAVEL AND HAVE MORE FUN. There are no certain times or days or breaks that we have to follow. Don't get me wrong, we do keep a schedule, but we have the opportunity to be flexible with it. If we want to travel, we can take our school with us. If we want to go to the park, we can do school when we get back. We can have play dates and shopping trips and run errands and do lots of other things, all while still getting our school done for that day. While we are on the subject of socialization, I will just briefly say, I know a lot of people think negatively about homeschooling because they think that the kids are just at home in a bubble with their parents. Well that is definitely not true! My kids have plenty of friends and get plenty of socialization. The thing is, now I get to be the one that picks their friends. They aren't learning negative things from those at school that don't have the same values we do. Call me over protective if you want, I don't care. Because in the end, I will be the one that stands in front of the Lord when he asks me what I did with the 3 little blessings he gave me. It's my job to protect my children and my job to teach them right from wrong.  My job to turn them into the best adult and spouse that they can be. 

4) I FEEL LIKE THEY ARE SAFER AT HOME. Again,call me over protective if you like, but I watch the news. I see the horrible things that happen to child when they are not under their parents supervision. I hear about things that go on at schools- shootings, rape, drugs, abductions...these are just not things that I can deal with. I want to protect my kids as long as possible, and keep them innocent as long as possible. The world has turned to a hard dark and corrupt place, and I want to keep my kids from experiencing that for as long as I can. 

5) I LIKE MY KIDS. (today anyway, tomorrow could be different lol) I want to spend time with them, I love seeing them grow and learn, I love being together with them. I don't want to send my kids to school for 8 hours, come home and do 3 hours of homework, then send them off to bed, only to do it again the next day. My time is valuable to me, and my time with my kids is even more precious. I know there will come a day where it won't be cool to hang out with their mom, and I want to know that when that day does come, I didn't waste the time I did have with them. Again, I understand that homeschooling is not even a possibility for everyone, and that makes me appreciate it so much more. I am so grateful that I get to stay home with my kids and teach them and watch them turn into the young men that the Lord has called them to be. For us, for right now, it works. I love it and can't wait to see what's in store next for our family. 

Battle of the Mamas

These are just a few of the things I have encountered while being a mom to my 6, 3 and 5 month old kids. Somethings are my personal belief, and somethings I said because, well, everyone else was just thinking it :) 

As if becoming a mother isn't challenging enough with all the new things and sleepless nights, but little did you know, you also just signed up for war. And let me tell you, it's getting old. There is this silent (sometimes not) judgmental war that goes on among moms. Whether you breast feed or formula feed, cloth diaper or use disposables, whether you have stretch marks and loose skin or you don't, adopt or have your own, whether you have 1 child or 6, vaccinate or don't, have a schedule or fly by the seat of your pants, spank or don't spank, lost all the baby weight or still have it years later, use all organic food or take out, stay home or work full time, home school or public school, schedule a c-section or go with no drugs, all natural things or man made...so many decisions we have to make! Not only do we have that pressure, but then there is the pressure we feel from others too, the judgement. What will people think? What will they say if they find out? You know the one, she comes to play group with her homemade baby food, and is sure that everyone knows it. Or the one that openly breastfeeds her 2 year old child while talking about always getting at least 20 oz. every time she pumps. Or maybe the one that boasts about being skinnier now than when she was a teenager? It can come from a family member or a friend and I am so sick of this back and forth arguing that goes on. I'm not saying don't be passionate about things, I'm saying don't be judgmental of those that are not. Truth is, YOU SHOULDN'T CARE WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES! (as long as the child is not in danger) I personally struggle with the fact that I wasn't able to breastfeed all my kids like I wanted. I don't need to hear that "breast is best" I know it is, but the fact is, I couldn't do it. You don't need to make me feel guilty about it, I can do that on my own. You don't need to tell me that I did it wrong or that I wasn't committed enough, it just didn't work for me, unlike it did for you. Everyone struggles with issues and things they wish they could have done differently. We as moms need to be very careful about the things we say to other moms, and we also need to have full confidence in the decisions we make for our kids. If you are going to do something, do your research and be sure you know why you want to do it and don't back down because someone is questioning your decision. You have obviously made the best possible personal decision for your family. Different people do different things for different reasons, who am I to judge you? If you feel like you NEED to say something to another mom, first of all, be sure she wants your opinion and do it in a loving and caring, non judging manner. Be grateful for your mothers instinct and trust your decision, because it is YOURS. There are so many different people in the world, it would be an incredibly boring place if we all did the same thing. The truth is, just because something might be easy or come naturally to you, does not mean the same for someone else. And just because you don't understand why, does not give you the right to judge it. We need to be supportive to one another and not look down on those that may be different than us. Now having said that, I will say again, do your research, don't jump on the wagon just because everyone else is, and don't give people something to talk about. Know why you want to do certain things, and know why you don't. That is your call, just be educated. I feel like I am constantly doing research for different things concerning my family. There is always some kind of battle going on between someone who hates a certain thing and says it's the worst, and someone who loves it and is forever changed by the exact same thing. Each family is different, and each mom is different, we need and require different things for our specific situations. You need to surround yourselves with positive and uplifting people and throat punch rid yourselves of the bad ones :) Love yourself and have confidence, you are beautiful you are perfect, and you are the exact mother the Lord wants for your child! "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25 

 Refuse to sign up for this "war", and stand up for what you believe in, support your friends and ask questions, you might just learn something :)