Reasons to Homeschool

One of the neat things about moving to a new home is that you discover things you haven't seen or thought about in years. I recently found an old tattered list, stained and scrawled with many different colors of ink.

When I began homeschooling, I started a list "Why Homeschool?" I don't remember where I got the idea. It may have been a talk by Dr. Mary Kay Clark.

Whenever I discovered a positive reason for homeschooling, I would write it down on this list until it grew to two pages long. During my early years of homeschooling, this list was a lifesaver. On those days when I questioned my sanity in choosing homeschooling I would pull the list out of my desk drawer and review it. It helped to keep me from throwing in the towel during tough times.

Here is the list:

-- To nurture, train, and educate our children
-- To pass on our faith and culture to the next generation
-- To center our lives around family rather than school
-- The role models they follow will be their parents not their age-appropriate peers
-- To hold them close while they're young and then let them fly
-- We can vacation and travel on the off season
-- We can take field trips on the spur of the moment and lots of them
-- Instead of learning to socialize with 20 other 1st grade children they will learn how to socialize with children and adults of all ages
-- One-on-one tutoring far outweighs large-classroom teaching
-- To insure my children learn to read using phonics
-- The Church teaches us that as parents we are the primary teachers of our children
-- Pupils taught individually achieve 30% higher on standardized tests than pupils taught in a standard class of 25 students
-- To encourage a lifelong love of learning
-- Adds to the richness of our culture by promoting diversity in educational choice.
-- I can teach my dyslexic child using proven methods like Orton Gillingham ensuring he learns to read as well as non-dyslexic students
-- Every child is unique and learns in different ways and we can design our curriculum to each child's individual learning style
--We know EXACTLY what our child is taught
-- I am re-educated
-- To protect our children from sexual and drug pressure until they are ready to face it head on
-- There is no pressure to put my ADD child on drugs
-- We can accomplish more in less time
-- To provide a classical education
-- There are no concerns about serious food allergies while our child is in school
-- Our asthmatic child can keep his emergency inhaler close by instead of with a nurse across the building
-- Education still takes place on snow and sick days
-- In this computer age resources for homeschoolers are abundant
-- To foster emotional security
-- No cliques
-- To encourage creativity
-- To develop independent learners
-- I love being with my children!

I also made a list of reasons not to homeschool:

-- Housework falls behind