I can’t believe that it’s been exactly two years since I marched up to my children’s school and transferred them out to begin our homeschool journey. My daughter, Khimora, was starting the first grade and my son, Larynz, was starting the third grade. It was exciting, liberating, and scary all at the same time. I had done all of the homeschool research that I could do. I read homeschool blogs, watched homeschool YouTube channels, and I was still nervous about our decision. After all, we did not personally know a single soul who homeschooled so this was new territory to us. But still, we felt like we were making the best decision.
The very first thing that people ask me when they find out that we homeschool our children is, “What made you decide to homeschool?” I use to hate being asked that question because I felt like I was being judged with each reason that I gave, but then I realized that most people were just genuinely interested to know why.
So why did we decide to homeschool our kids?
1. We wanted them to get one-on-one, individualized learning.
Truth is every kid doesn’t learn the same. My children alone are like night and day when it comes to their learning styles. My daughter is artistic and a hands on learner, while my son is more conventional and a visual learner. We also noticed that our son thrived when he was able to get more one-on-one learning time. Homeschooling allows for us to be able to tailor our children’s education to their unique learning style.
2. We wanted more control over what they were being taught.
Our kids attended a great charter school that taught Black history year long and had curriculum that lined up with our morals and values, so we were quite blessed to have had that. Yet, it still did not give us the control of choosing exactly what they would be taught. For example, they implemented common core…need I say more? We are now able to incorporate entrepreneurial skills into their curriculum, and focus on useful life skills that they would actually use on an everyday basis.
3. We wanted flexibility with school hours and days.
I don’t know about you but I am not an early morning person….especially not with kids. Gone are the days of waking up before the sun and yelling “Hurry up!” every five minutes because the kids are half-sleep and moving at the rate of a tortoise. I don’t miss that at all. I’ll tell you what else I don’t miss… having to ask permission for my kids to miss school. I enjoy having the option to start our homeschool day in the afternoon or take a family vacation in the middle of September.
4. We wanted to have more time together as a family.
I have always wanted to be able to stay home with my kids and cherish every precious moment the best I could. After all, they’re only kids for a short while and then we have to send them off into the adult world. My husband works crazy hours, so on his days off we have the whole day to spend together. If we wanted to do a family outing at 10 a.m. on a school day, we could do that.
5. We wanted to limit their exposure to negative influences.
I’m not gonna sugar coat it, kids pick up bad habits too. Bullying, swearing, and yes, even talking about sex. The things that I can remember learning from my peers in school, no child should have known. I want to be the one to properly educate my children on certain things when I feel that it is the right time for them to know. Although it’s true that we can’t protect our children from everything, and sure they’re gonna make their own mistakes, but I’d rather limit those experiences and have more opportunities/time to instill good morals and values in them.
Are you a homeschooling mama? What made you decide to homeschool?
Home schooling our children was one of the best decisions we ever made for our family.
Agreed ❤
How do you even get started? I dont have children but when I do I want them home schooled.
The regulations differ for each state. In the state of North Carolina you have to file an intent to homeschool with the Division of Non-Public Education. There is more information listed on their website at ncadmin.nc.gov. I will be doing a blog on how to to get started with homeschool very soon and plan to post more homeschool blogs for anyone who may be interested 😊