Why we home school

Home schooling enables my children to be creative, to learn anywhere, to develop flexibility and independent thought. It helps them learn to see anything as a science lesson, to ask questions, to explore, and to actively wonder about the world around them.

Home schooling means choosing books, flash cards, videos, CDs, games, and curriculum that works for my child. No two children are the same. Home education allows me to cater to each child's individual needs regardless of how different he may be from his brother. What works for one child may not work for another, and that's okay. Home schooling celebrates differences instead of chastising them.

Home schooling enables us to take field trips whenever we want as inexpensively as we want. There is no juggling 30 kids to have a fun day exploring the police station, visiting a museum, or going to the zoo. Instead, we can take off during the middle of the week and go visit a local farm, see a historic site, or even take a crafting class as a family.

Home schooling teaches my kids that it's okay to be silly, awkward, weird, uncool, strange, or different. It celebrates and encourages differences rather than trying to force my children into a mold of what they are expected to be, what they are expected to learn, and what answers they are supposed to give simply based on their birth date.

We home school because it means we get to spend more time with our children and enjoy every aspect of their growth, not just the hour or two after homework each night. We get to play games, go on walks, tell stories, and enjoy watching our kids learn and grow as people. I love that I don't have to miss out on my child's first anything because he was at school.

We home school because it means it's okay to be nerdy and spend every weekend at the renaissance festival. Home education means that it's okay to study renaissance history in the first grade instead of in the 12th. It means it's okay to study and learn anything and not just what we're "supposed" to be studying at this age.

One of my favorite reasons for home education is that it means I get to witness, firsthand, just how different my children are. Home schooling allows me to cater to those individual needs. If my son excels at math but struggles with reading, he can do second grade math in kindergarten. It's okay. It's not bad or somehow "weird" that he's better in one area but has difficulty in another. There is no "repeating" grades if my child can't figure out one concept but does wonderfully with others.

Whether or not you choose to home educate your child, these are a few reasons we do. I love getting to teach my children one-on-one and knowing that they're getting an education that is tailored perfectly to their needs, learning styles, preferences, and interests. School isn't supposed to be boring. School is supposed to encourage learning, critical thinking, and awareness of the world. We have found that in home education.