I didn’t homeschool all our children for every grade. Our firstborn began Kindergarten in public school, but within three months, we decided it was going to be easy enough to homeschool her. And that is what I ended up doing for her K through 2nd grade.
When she was ready for 3rd grade and our next child was ready for Kindergarten, we chose to enroll in public school for a time. My Army husband was deployed, and I thought it would make my life easier. It didn’t.
This particular public school was a good experience. It was a block from our house, so we walked to and from most days. The two were in school, and I had a preschooler at home. Third grade public school buoyed my confidence that I had been doing a great job teaching her at home for the past 3 years (K through 2nd) because she handled her work easily, she scored well on school testing, and was identified as among the top of her class and invited to participate in extracurricular science club. The school was fantastic. We had great teachers and a fabulous principal. The oldest sang in choir, and I volunteered as their accompanist.
But for the following reasons, I discovered I wanted to homeschool again:
- I dislike packing lunches
- I dislike getting everyone ready for school in the early mornings
- I dislike that my children have homework after being at school all day, especially in grades K and 3.
- We had no time for laid back fun because we also chose to participate in dance and gymnastics after school.
- I dislike mandatory dress-up days at school (crazy hair day, halloween, school spirit day, etc.)
- I dislike the constant barrage of fliers coming home in my child’s backpack
- I dislike fundraisers
- I dislike that my children only had 10-15 minutes to eat their lunches
- I dislike that with our military life and the regular moves it requires, our children would be constantly adjusting to different academic standards in each new school district we moved into. With homeschool, my student's learning has continuity of education in spite of our moving every few years.
- I prefer to avoid the pressure of dressing my children cute for public school when we can be more laid back with play clothes at homeschool.
- I didn’t like the way my oldest treated her siblings during this time. Because she was accustomed to spending time with other children her own age, she acted as though playing with her younger sisters was beneath her at times. This changed for the better when we came back to homeschool where they interacted with each other all day, and at our co-op where she spent time with various ages of children. My children don’t focus on the ages of their peers as much as they focus on interests in common.
- I didn’t like the negative social influences my daughters picked up from her peers—snarky attitudes toward me and each other, annoying popular culture stupidity and twaddle.
So, when the Army said it was time to move, I chose to return to homeschooling. I’ve not regretted it since.
There have been times we have considered public school again, when the school district we moved to had a good reputation and when our child asked us to consider it. But prayerfully and as a married team, we discussed the pros and cons and were convinced that homeschooling was the choice we still wanted for our children.
In the beginning of our homeschool journey, we took it one year at a time, making the decision on whether we should continue or change course. At this point, we have one graduate who thrives socially and academically and is college bound. The other four are learning and growing equally well in this environment, and I have learned an exceptional amount along the way about my children, myself, teaching, and parenting.
When she was ready for 3rd grade and our next child was ready for Kindergarten, we chose to enroll in public school for a time. My Army husband was deployed, and I thought it would make my life easier. It didn’t.
This particular public school was a good experience. It was a block from our house, so we walked to and from most days. The two were in school, and I had a preschooler at home. Third grade public school buoyed my confidence that I had been doing a great job teaching her at home for the past 3 years (K through 2nd) because she handled her work easily, she scored well on school testing, and was identified as among the top of her class and invited to participate in extracurricular science club. The school was fantastic. We had great teachers and a fabulous principal. The oldest sang in choir, and I volunteered as their accompanist.
But for the following reasons, I discovered I wanted to homeschool again:
- I dislike packing lunches
- I dislike getting everyone ready for school in the early mornings
- I dislike that my children have homework after being at school all day, especially in grades K and 3.
- We had no time for laid back fun because we also chose to participate in dance and gymnastics after school.
- I dislike mandatory dress-up days at school (crazy hair day, halloween, school spirit day, etc.)
- I dislike the constant barrage of fliers coming home in my child’s backpack
- I dislike fundraisers
- I dislike that my children only had 10-15 minutes to eat their lunches
- I dislike that with our military life and the regular moves it requires, our children would be constantly adjusting to different academic standards in each new school district we moved into. With homeschool, my student's learning has continuity of education in spite of our moving every few years.
- I prefer to avoid the pressure of dressing my children cute for public school when we can be more laid back with play clothes at homeschool.
- I didn’t like the way my oldest treated her siblings during this time. Because she was accustomed to spending time with other children her own age, she acted as though playing with her younger sisters was beneath her at times. This changed for the better when we came back to homeschool where they interacted with each other all day, and at our co-op where she spent time with various ages of children. My children don’t focus on the ages of their peers as much as they focus on interests in common.
- I didn’t like the negative social influences my daughters picked up from her peers—snarky attitudes toward me and each other, annoying popular culture stupidity and twaddle.
So, when the Army said it was time to move, I chose to return to homeschooling. I’ve not regretted it since.
There have been times we have considered public school again, when the school district we moved to had a good reputation and when our child asked us to consider it. But prayerfully and as a married team, we discussed the pros and cons and were convinced that homeschooling was the choice we still wanted for our children.
In the beginning of our homeschool journey, we took it one year at a time, making the decision on whether we should continue or change course. At this point, we have one graduate who thrives socially and academically and is college bound. The other four are learning and growing equally well in this environment, and I have learned an exceptional amount along the way about my children, myself, teaching, and parenting.
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