I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Why I homeschool
I got a comment from Zhu asking why I decided to homeschool. So I thought I’d share my answer.
Taken from my other blog, Mom Is Teaching.
1. I want my sons to get a hands on learning experience. I don’t want them to sit around all day reading about the world around them, i want them out in it. Every day. Getting dirty, finding bugs, exploring rocks, feeling the wind on their skin. I feel that we learn better by doing, so i want them to have every opportunity to do, feel, hold, and absorb the world around them. To me, keeping them locked up all day behind a desk is like keeping them in a bubble.
2. I want them to be able to learn on their own timetable. I don’t want my sons to feel held back or pushed beyond their means. If they are grasping a subject quickly then I want them to be able to move on and not be stuck reviewing it until they become bored because the rest of the class, or the school’s schedule. And the same applies the other way. If they are having trouble getting something I want the freedom to be able to go as slow as they need without feeling pressure to keep up with everyone else.
3. The S word. that’s right, socialization. Now, unless there have been some major advances in how the school system works I’m going to assume things work pretty much the same way as they did when I was in school. Go to class with the same group of childre who are the same age as you and from the same background, spend all day behind a desk unable to communicate with the other children, getting a few moments here and there to work together. To me that’s not socialization, at least not the kind I want my sons to have. Instead they are free to communicate with whom they want, people of all ages and backgrounds, all day long. To steal a quote a great article I read How to Answer the Socialization Question Once and for All
“Oh, I think the word you are looking for is socializing. Socialization is actually defined as the process by which the norms and standards of our society are passed from one generation to the next. I’ve never really thought that a complete strangers six-year old child would be a good source of information on the correct standards of behavior in our family and in society as a whole. As for socializing, I remember from my school days that it was something you weren’t supposed to be doing during class!”
4. I’ll admit it, they are my kids and I don’t want to send them off. OK, feel free to let loose the “cut the apron strongs” comments now. Done yet? Good, then back to what I was saying. I’m not saying I want to keep them by me every minute of every day for the rest of the lives. I’m sure that some day they’ll be going on sleepovers, out on dates, and hopefully moving out into the big world. But for now they are my responsibility. They are my children and it is my job to raise them, to teach them, to help them build a secure foundation that will allow them to walk confidently on their own when they are ready. And i just do not feel that sending them out to the world at such a young age is going to do that.
5. I love the freedom that comes with homeschooling. There is no set schedule that we have to stick with. Maybe we want to sleep in until 10 AM, maybe we want to head to the hiking trail in the middle of a Wednesday and watch birds, or maybe we want to take off for a week in the spring to go pick up trash off a beach down in Texas. We have the freedom to make our own schedule, to live our own lives, and to create the kind of environment that benefits our children specifically. And we love it.
So there you are, my top 5 reasons why I choose homeschooling. There are many other reasons, things that ebb and flow depending on the day and how our moods are. But these are the top reasons that I hold. And they are good enough for us.
homeschooling
All of those are reasons I want to homeschool my boys too.
All are great reasons and I couldn’t agree more!
As a home-schooled kid I am so very proud to learn of other home-schooling families that have opened their minds up to the wonder of unschooling. I myself have never been to a ‘real’ school, but I don’t think I could ever go to one. I mean I have friends that are 14 my age, and I have friends that are 40, but to be stuck in a classroom with 30 other kids who have little or no diversity in the group I can’t even imagine, nor do I want to. Though I think what you captured most in this blog is the ability to let you’re children grow at their own pace, and that is a truly wonderful thing. Because no two people are alike, therefore no two people learn the same way or at the same rate, and to be able to grow and develop into a well rounded person I believe you have to have the opportunity to take you’re special talents, and use them without fear of ridicule or reprimand. So thank you, awesome mom, I was beginning to wonder if anyone in this narrow minded society of ours knew what a real home-schooling experience truly is.
I enjoyed reading your post and want to thank you for joining my Thirsty Thursday meme. I hope you will come back this week and tell me about your worst babysitting memory!
Well stated! I homeschooled and rec’d a lot of flack from family and friends. My last 2 wanted to ‘try’ public school and both ended up back (their choice) in homeschool. There are so many resources available today that I did not have access to in the beginning (my oldest is 29). My last one is a Jr and I will be a retired homeschool Mom in a year. The kids were proud to be homeschoolers and did go on to college without any problems.
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I worry sometimes that mine might decide they want to try public school. Though most of the families I know say their kids were ready to go right back to homeschooling, I worry that mine might stick with it. It sounds kind of selfish, but it does worry me.
Summer, I homeschool my five year old son. The reasons that you gave are the same reasons that we have kept our son out of the public school system at this time. Someday he may decide that he wants to go to public school, but right now, he is very happy being at home!
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Homeschooling is something that I’ve been thinking more and more about now that we have Gretchen. It’s still a few years before we’ll need to make a decision, but if it’s feasible I’d like to keep her home at least a few extra years.
I think your reasons are great, and I look forward to reading more of your blog!
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