Why do you homeschool? When I started homeschooling in 1985 I knew exactly why I was doing it. I liked my children and I liked spending time with them. I wanted to teach my children myself. I wanted them to learn to read at my knee, I wanted to see them grow and enjoy time with them.
Today, if I were starting over, I would still choose to homeschool. But now that I know more I would have even more reasons for wanting to homeschool. I feel concern about some aspects of modern school life, and I am not alone in my concerns. The National Centre for Educational Statistics in USA found that 91% of homeschooling parents had concerns about their children’s safety in school. This concern was the number one reason why parents were choosing homeschooling.
Other reasons for homeschooling are things like the wish to give children moral instruction and being able to pass on to their children their worldview, family values and faith.
Some parents are concerned about the academic standards of schools, and they also like the ability they have to provide the children with an individualised programme. This is very helpful for children with special learning or medical needs.
In effect, parents are able to give their children something similar to private school tuition without spending thousands of dollars per child per year.
All these reasons for wanting to homeschool are laudable but I still think the best reason for wanting to homeschool is because you LIKE your children and you want to be with them. I say it such a lot, but I mean it sincerely – enjoy your children! Don’t stress yourself about how much they are learning or not learning, what is happening in schools and whether or not you are ‘behind’. Just enjoy your children. It’s a precious time.
P.S. If you want to receive an encouraging email with a PDF lesson on how to enjoy homeschooling your children why not join me every week for 26 weeks at Successful Homeschooling Made Easy