There are many reasons why I want to homeschool.  For my friends and family who are curious and incredulous, I wanted to get those reasons down on paper…at least the internet kind. 

~Disclaimer: I am not judging anyone by sharing these ideas.  Where there are judgments it is a personal judgment about the public school system itself and what is right or wrong for our family.   Not everyone should homeschool.  Raising children is an incredibly hard job and there is so much variety among children, parents, and unique family situations that no one can make the decision about what is right for another’s family. However, because people can get defensive on both sides when this topic is discussed, I just wanted to add my little disclaimer before I begin.~  

Reason 1.
I can tailor my children’s education to them individually.  They can go as fast or as slow as they need.  As deep or as broad as they want.  We (parents AND children) get more choice and more control over what they learn.  We can feed their curiosity (nod to the Weiss family!).  A classroom teacher cannot do that as well.  

Reason 2.
I don’t want them to be gone for the best part of their day. If I send them to school, I get the leftovers after homework, friends and after school extras. I do not want the school system dictating how I spend my time with my child.

Reason 3. 
I can incorporate the gospel into their learning.

Reason 4. 
I am a teacher and I’m good at it.  I want to be the one to teach my children and not give some other person the joy of doing it.  I want to be the one to read them all the wonderful books out there!

Reason 5.  
I want to be the one teaching our values and beliefs rather than the “state” or society.

Reason 6. 
I can give them a Classical Education.  This kind of education is heavily based on the classics of history, literature, math, science, etc.  Their education is basically built around history and they study the corresponding subjects at the same time.  So when learning ancient history they study the science, literature, art, music and math that came from that time period.  It creates a more complete and whole picture of the world. 

Reason 7.  
I think socialization happens better outside of the  classroom, for the most part.  Children do need to have lots of opportunity to work and play with other kids and adults.  But there are plenty of ways to do that while homeschooling, especially now days when co-ops abound and the number of homeschooling families is at an all time high. 

Reason 8.   
Along those same lines, I want my children’s focus to be on God, family and education- not friends.  I want their family relationships to be the most important.  That doesn’t mean that friends aren’t important.  It just means that friends should not be their main focus.

Reason 9.
I want my kids to be leaders, not followers.

Reason 10. 
I want my children to love their country and to revere the men who established it.  I want them to understand the founding principles and be able to defend them and uphold them.  That is not something they teach well enough in the public school system today.

Reason 11.   
I have three little boys and they need to wiggle and move more than a desk and classroom can allow.

Reason 12. 
I want to take them out into the world to explore and experience life in a way they cannot do while sitting in a classroom.

Reason 13. 
I think children today are too scheduled and I want my kids to have the freedom of time to explore and play and just be a kid without adults running every part of their life.  A homeschool day can be much shorter than a regular public school day and will give them more time to play, explore and learn on their own.  I can accomplish in 3-4 hours a day what it takes a public school teacher 7-8 to do.

Reason 14. 
I want to learn with my children and get a better education myself.

The most common question I get when I tell people I want to homeschool is, “But what about those things they can only learn in school?”  To that my answer is, yes, there are some good things they can learn there, but for me, the advantages to homeschooling far out way the advantages to public school.  And the disadvantages of public school far out way the disadvantages of homeschooling. 

So there you go!  We are excited to start this journey together and look forward to sharing it with you on our blog!