Why I Homeschool

Many how-to-homeschool books and articles suggest writing down why we chose to homeschool (our philosophy of homeschooling) in order to make our efforts more focused and effective.  I did many years ago and it helped me tremendously.  Now that I feel like I've sort of lost some of our focus, I figure it's a good time to do it again.  So here goes:

I want my kids to be confident in who they are and what they are capable of.  By validating their feelings, emotions and desires, I can instill that confidence in them.  They never have to wonder if their clothes are the right style because, in the real world, no one cares!  My 15 year old son doesn't have to feel embarrassed because he still likes to play LEGO.  My 18 year old daughter isn't mocked for not wearing makeup.  None of them have to feel the need to "follow the crowd" because their crowd is going in a million different directions.

I want them to be intelligent - truly intelligent.  Not 4.0 gpa intelligence.  I want them to know what they know and not need a test to prove that they know it.  I want them to be allowed to forget information that is not important to them and to retain what they find useful.  I don't want them to be forced to learn arbitrary facts about things that are not of eternal importance to them.  I want them to own their educations.

I want them to grow up knowing that they are loved - unconditionally and eternally.  I want their first teachers to be people who love them and want what's best for them.

I want them to have time to pursue their own interests.  Lots of time.

I want them to learn on their own timetable.  When they are ready.

I want them to be able to explore many subjects and ideas and pick the ones they want to pursue.  I want them to have time to find direction in their lives long before they are pushed out into the world.
I want them to read great literature.  But it also needs to be good literature.  Worthy literature.  Literature I wouldn't feel the need to hide if the Savior visited my home.

I want them to love life and to not have to wait for graduation for life to start.  I always felt that way.  Life was just school until I graduated from high school.  I want graduation to just be another step in the road for them.

I want them to live in the real world, not a contrived one full of bells and asking permission to talk or get a drink or go to the bathroom.  The real world, where you interact with people in your community, or people with similar interests or situations in life, of all ages and colors and beliefs.  Where they learn to stand in line at the grocery store and are allowed to chat with the person in front of them and are not lined up alphabetically.  Where they have time to relax in nature and revel in God's creation.  Where park days last until it's too cold to play outside and nature walks rarely have to cater to the weather.  Where we learn about bugs and birds and trees by being outside with them.

I want them to know and love God.  I want them to see His hand in everything around us, in science and history and even math.  I want them to have time to study the scriptures and learn the gospel and learn wisdom to apply what they learn to their lives.

I want my children's first and best friends to be each other.  I want them to be sad when one leaves home, to miss each other when they are apart.  I want them to be able to share their secrets, their joys and their sorrows.  I want them to be able to turn to each other for support when I am gone.

I want them to always know that they can come to me with absolutely anything.  I won't judge them.  I'll do whatever it takes to help.  I want to know them as well as any parent knows their child.

I want them to be able to take care of themselves when they leave home.  I want them to be able to plan meals, shop, cook, do laundry and dishes, take care of their cars, homes and other belongings, apply for and effectively interview for a job, rent or buy an apartment or a house, read a map, plan a vacation, hire a plumber, save money, spend money wisely, mow the lawn, sew a button, bake a cake and myriad other things.

I want them to be grateful for what they have and not expect things to come to them because they "deserve" it.  I want them to work hard for the things they want and need.  And I want them to be happy for the opportunity to do so.

I want them to be loving and giving and to think of others. I want them to not see a dog-eat-dog world but a world full of our brothers and sisters who have the same desires and dreams but maybe not the same opportunities as us.  I want them to want to help those around them and to have the courage to do so.

And, while we're at it, I want them to have the courage to follow their own dreams - to not be held back by their own fears and inhibitions.

I want them to be happy.

Could they get all of this and still go to public school?  Maybe.  But it'll be a lot easier from home.  (At least for us.)

Random Thoughts on "Rebooting" Our Homeschool

At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, I had the year all planned.  I had created lapbooks and activities and scheduled out all of our reading and worksheets and everything we were going to do for the year.  A week or so before we were to start, I had the distinct impression that we were to put all of that aside and unschool for a year.

Yeah, that was hard.

I prayed about the impression and it still felt right so that's what I did. It was a good year.  I had Amelia in October at home and it took a long time to recover, so that was good.  We were involved in park days and field trips and I had my mom's nights and things, so we weren't completely bored.  Everyone spent time doing things they were excited about.

The next year came and we got involved in our homeschool co-op.  We did school 2-3 days per week that year, but it never felt quite right.  It felt off to me and I still don't know what was wrong.  We did finish our history book, but not much else.  

Then came last year.  We had put the house on the market in June, planning to move during the summer.  School shouldn't have been affected.  It was a sellers' market and the house was expected to sell within a matter of days.  It took six months.  We finally moved in the beginning of December.  Problem was, I had packed all of the nonessentials and put them in a storage unit back in June - only for a month or so - to make the house easier to keep clean and to sell.  That included our school books.  I was able to do some planning before everything was packed, but not all of it.  By the time the books were unpacked and I had finished the planning of the school year, it just seemed pointless to start before the holidays - especially when it was such a busy time of year anyway.

We had a couple of false starts in the spring.  I tried to use the plans I had so carefully made, but they never seemed to fit quite right.  Some of the things we were doing needed to change and I tried to just tweak things but it didn't work.  Then I broke my leg and that was the end of trying to do school for the year and for summer.

I'm finally getting around to where I can walk a little again - on crutches anyway - and I can do more around the house, so I've been thinking a lot about school this year.  It's supposed to start a week from tomorrow and I don't have any idea what I'm doing.  I keep telling myself that I can just use the plans I set up six months ago, but I know they won't work.  It seems like such a waste to not use them.  

Anyway, I know I need to completely "reboot" our homeschool and I'm a little lost as to what needs to change.  Eli's a sophomore this year and I am so scared of failing him.  Miri will be a freshman next and I want to start her high school out right.  I've had the feeling that what I need is a reminder of why I'm homeschooling.  I've been doing this for so long, that it's no longer a question of whether I will homeschool the kids or not, but I think I need to keep hold of the why.  I wrote down my philosophy of homeschooling several years ago and I wonder if I can find it again.  I know it helped tremendously back then, so I think I'm going to do that again.  Hopefully I will be able to find my direction again.