Homeschooling is a big interest in our family.
Want to know why?
Read on.
Think I'm a nut?
It's all good... I think I am too.
It all comes down to what I believe the purpose of education is. I think that Elder L. Tom Perry said it well.
Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go”, ultimately this responsibility rests with parents. According to the great plan of happiness, it is parents who are entrusted with the care and development of our Heavenly Father’s children. Our families are an integral part of His work and glory—“to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. On God’s eternal stage, it is usually intended that parents act as the central cast members in their children’s lives. Fortunately, there are understudies involved in the production who may step in when parents can’t. It, however, is parents who have been commanded by the Lord to bring up their children in light and truth.
Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world. The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of children in the home (Elder L. Tom Perry, Mothers Teaching Children in the Home, April 2010).
As we have thought about and researched homeschooling, we've decided that homeschooling makes a lot of sense for our family, and we feel that it will help us to fulfill the important responsibility of educating our children. Here are the reasons (in no particular order) why I like the idea of homeschooling:
We move a lot. It will be nice to be able to move our family together anytime the Army tells us to move, instead of having Hub move while the kids and I wait until the school year is over.
More Time. I like the idea of being able to teach the same academics that the kids would get in school in half the time, and having that extra time for them to be able to pursue things that they are really interested in and learn other valuable life skills.
Socialization. Going to school and sitting in a classroom with a bunch of kids our same age for 12 years is just what we do. It just seems freaky to a lot of people to mess with this common practice, to actually remove it from a child's life experience. Even for me, as much as I love the idea of homeschooling, it's still strange to think of my kids not walking into the elementary school, backpacks on, lined up with their class, following their teacher to the classroom, looking at the students' artwork on the walls, seeing the name-tags above the coat-hooks, and smelling the smells of school. This seems to be such a vital part of our social development, but the truth is, it's not. Positive socialization can happen in so many ways, and in my opinion, homeschooling is very conducive to positive socialization.
So long as the kids' are not kept locked in the house, only sneaking peeks through the window curtains when mama isn't looking.
Which in our case is very unlikely, seeing how by about lunchtime, I am so ready to send the kids, and myself, outside.
Family Bonds. Quality time is so important, but it's not all that matters. I think quantity is also very important. Homeschooling means a larger quantity of time spent together, leading to more opportunities for quality time... strengthening the parent to child bonds, but also strengthening the sibling to sibling bonds.
Values, Values, Values.
So there ya have it, my reasons for wanting to homeschool. And just to clarify, referring back to the quote teaching children at the beginning of this post, I know many families who embrace this view even while sending their kids to school. This attitude toward education is not just a homeschooler thing. Every home can be a place of learning. I'm so happy that I am able to be a stay-at-home mom, making it possible for me to homeschool. But I know that not everyone is able to or chooses to do that. There may be times when I will send my kids to a school for one reason or another, but really it's all about being involved in our childrens' education, and creating a positive learning environment in our homes. That's what really matters.