Whether you are new to homeschooling or have been in the game for a while, there is one question that you will be asked repeatedly. “Why do you homeschool?” This is usually followed by rapid-fire follow-up questions like, “Are you going to send them to public school when they reach high school?” and the ever-popular, “What about socialization?”
In the beginning, when I was really new to homeschooling, I would become flustered with these types of questions, and my words would seem to get lost. Around year three, I would become annoyed and answer with a simple “Because it’s great.” Now that we’re almost ten years in, I am typically more even-tempered and prepared in my responses.
Sometimes it’s tough to answer these personal questions patiently and thoughtfully. After all, this is your family’s decision - what does it matter to anyone else? The truth is, it actually matters a lot. Whether you like it or not, you and your child(ren) are now the face of homeschooling for those that know your family. Friends, family, neighbors, and the like are now watching to see what this homeschooling business is all about. You can bet there will be judgments, impromptu quizzes, and questions being asked that you don’t know the answers to yet. But, if you know your “why”, the questions no longer matter. Your purpose and your reasons are enough.
Our oldest daughter was just a couple days shy of meeting the mandatory birthday cutoff to start kindergarten in 2014. Out of frustration, I said to my husband “I’ll just homeschool her.” I had no clue how to homeschool, or what the laws for my state were. I didn't even know anyone who homeschooled. Thank goodness for the internet!
I researched everything! I looked up the laws for my state, which are actually pretty conducive to homeschooling. I searched for local homeschool groups on Facebook and asked a ton of questions. I looked at different curriculums and scoured Pinterest for hours. There was just so much to know! And then, I became overwhelmed.
The negative thoughts started running through my head. “Can I really do this?” “What if my child doesn’t learn anything or gets behind?” So I put the whole thing on the back burner.
A couple of days later I was playing outside with my daughter. She was helping me pull weeds from the garden bed and enjoyed showing me all of the rocks she found. As I worked, we talked about the rocks' shapes and colors, how the word rock starts with the letter R, and the sound the letter R makes. She then said, “What else starts with R, Momma?” I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at her little face. I’d been teaching her the whole time I was pulling weeds from the dirt. She was learning and wanted to know more. Of course, I could do this! It was what we had already been doing since she was born, teaching.
That evening I looked around our house for things that began with the letter R. I found a roll of red ribbon that we could use for measuring. I found a page in a coloring book of a little girl reading that my daughter had yet to color. And of course, the rocks she found outside. We were getting somewhere! The next day we visited our local dollar store and picked up a writing tablet. On one page I wrote the letters of the alphabet and on another, I wrote numbers. I then had my daughter trace over them. That’s it. That is how our homeschool journey began. No fancy curriculums. No stress for either of us. Just fun playing and learning, together.
I am proud to say that she is now in the eighth grade and we still homeschool. She is currently working on her Silver Award in Girl Scouts, she’s in a competitive homeschool robotics group and has several close friends. When people say, “You’re homeschooled?” She very proudly says “Yep, and it’s awesome!”
Our list of reasons why we homeschool is probably a mile long by now. But, at the top of the list, always, is “To do what is best for our child, as a student and as an individual.” There may come a time when homeschooling is not what our children need. Or maybe one child will later thrive in a school environment, while the other continues to thrive at home. We'll see what happens.
So, what is your “why”? What is it that you and your family hope to gain from homeschooling? What tangible goals can you set for your child’s homeschool year? Maybe your child needs more than a couple of weeks to thoroughly understand a topic of study. Maybe you have a desire to incorporate your religion into your school day. Maybe the violence in schools keeps you up at night and you just want to keep your baby safe. Whatever your reasons, you decide what is best for your child and your family. When we know in our heart our “why” the answer comes quickly.
If you have been thinking about homeschooling and the doubts have held you back, please know that YOU CAN DO THIS. No one knows your child, loves your child and understands your child better than you. If you start a curriculum and you both hate it, change it. Even if you have only worked a few pages of the book - switch things up. The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility of what, when, where, and how you teach.
There are so many resources available to help you not only get started but to help you along your journey. It’s very common to feel overwhelmed, but the majority of homeschool communities are willing to answer any questions and help lead you in the right direction. You can also reach out to me here and I will do my best to help. Just know your “why” and the rest will fall into place.
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