This page is a place for me to answer questions some might have about why we homeschool and how we make homeschooling work for us. This is not meant to be a homeschooling resource. The three oldest small fries are not technically homeschooled at all, actually. They attend an online public charter school, at home. Some may call this homeschool cheating, I call it brilliant!
Here is the link to a wonderful option if you are considering homeschooling and don’t know where to start.
Here is the short list of why we homeschool:
- Precious A doesn’t fit the mold of traditional school. Her creativity is limited by the classes available, yet her creativity is what makes her who she is. God gave her an extra-large dose of creativity and in school she wasn’t able to develop that creativity. I could see her frustration growing and didn’t want to stifle the very essence of her personality.
- Precious A woke up at 6:30 to be on the bus by 6:55 and didn’t get home until almost 4 last year. Her school is almost 20 minutes from our home; Princess L would have had a similar schedule with her school being just as far away. We felt this was a bit much for a 7 and 13 year old.
- Princess L is above 1st grade work but below 2nd grade work. She needed to be able to advance where she is strong and take her time where she is weak.
- Princess L is a perfectionist. She needs a safe place to fail without fear.
- Big Boy turns 5 after the cut off but has been begging to do school. Even more, he has the ability to do school. He can fly through the work if it isn’t a challenge for him.
- I have a degree that I’m not using…I might as well use it with my own kids!
- They have time to do more without being too stretched; this applies to extracurricular activities too. Between BSF, soccer, dance, piano lessons, and youth group they have plenty of things going on but they aren’t completely exhausted.
- Although I love public school teachers and think they do a great job with the resources they have, I am not a fan of how the public school system works as a whole. Too many hours spent in school, too many students per teacher, too few options beyond the basics…I could go on…
- We think they can handle it. We believe our kids can learn to be responsible enough to take ownership of their education and learn without me standing over their shoulder telling them they need to. The little ones need a lot of guidance because of their age, but Precious A is at an age where she can work independently.
Here is how we make it work:
- Two desks set up in Princess L’s room for the girls; although, Big Boy has been squeezing in to do his work there too! I wish we had a room that could be designated as the homeschool room, but we just don’t have the space, so we make the space we have work for us.
- Three computers, provided by the school…thank you EPIC!!
- Core curriculum also provided by the school
- Supplemental curriculum – The Story of the World, Handwriting Without Tears, and Rosetta Stone (Spanish for the little ones, French for Precious A)
- A local teacher that sets Precious A’s assignments and lets me set the smallest of the fries work load. She is available as often as we need her to be.
- One day a week Precious A goes to her teacher’s house to do her work along with other kids her age. When she finishes, she is free to visit.
- A set start time.
- A set lunch time.
- Lots of snacks.
- Gum and drinks allowed anytime (as long as the drink has a lid).
- Lots and lots of grace.
Although this is not my first year to homeschool, it is my first year to homeschool all three at once. It is also our first year to homeschool through EPIC. I am sure things will get adjusted throughout the year. I’ll keep you posted!!
Here is a blog I recently read that sums up a lot of misconceptions that I found pretty accurate for us as well!!
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