Let me start by saying that I don’t believe that homeschooling is for everyone. It’s a personal decision that every parent must make for themselves. The experiences and thoughts I’ll share are for the person who is considering homeschooling.
Maybe you’re sitting there just as I was about 10 years ago, trying to weigh this HUGE decision. Of course, I asked God to help me know if it was the right move for us, but I also needed to gather as much information as I could.
I found lots of people with strong opinions about homeschooling who had never done it. I’m afraid I couldn’t give as much credibility to them since assumptions are… well… assumptions. Have I found some to be true? You betcha. But many aren’t. I really needed honest answers from people who were already homeschooling. That’s what I hope to offer in this series.
This won’t be exhaustive, but I do want to cover a bit about why we choose to homeschool, what we’ve experienced (the good, bad & ugly), a look at resources we’ve used and currently use, and how we go about getting “school” done each day.
What this series won’t be: an attack on any other form of education. I went to public school and it was the best place for me to be. I had some terrible teachers, but I also had some wonderful teachers who instilled good things in me. I had some awful experiences, but I also remember great experiences that homeschoolers miss out on apart from public education. The truth is, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything in this life. I believe that this is the place we must arrive at before we can give an honest assessment of anything.
I have no idea how many posts this will end up being since my goal is to make (what can be) an overwhelming topic, easily digestible. We’re going to eat this elephant one bite at a time.
I’ve always found it helpful to narrow down BIG decisions. So I leave you with a few basic questions to consider.
What is education? Is it the training of the mind? Or are the heart, soul and hands important as well?
Is satisfaction in our work a worthwhile pursuit?
What do I consider to be a successful future for my child? Is financial success the most critical aspect or is relational success toward God and others important as well?
This isn’t to say that if we follow a certain formula we’ll be able to guarantee the outcome. But we do consider that our influence plays a most important role.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts and ask any questions. I’ll do my best to give you honest answers from my experiences. I still have SO much to learn!
In life, faith & art ~ Jamie = )
