Homeschool

Well, a couple of you posted comments asking for more details when I mentioned a couple posts back that I was homeschooling Isaac. I haven't had a chance to respond to those comments until now, but I certainly haven't forgotten them.

I read a book that gave an overview of various homeschooling methods when Isaac was a baby. The idea intrigued me, but I didn't feel confident at that time that I would be able to pull it off. I kept it in my mind as he got older and as he approached school-age, I felt more and more that it was something I wanted to do. We are working on a classical approach that is outlined in a book entitled "The Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise-Bauer. But I'm going to outline in general terms why I liked homeschooling on a broad level.

I loved the idea that my children could develop a deep and abiding love for learning here at home. I believe, admittedly based entirely on my own experience, that this is difficult to develop in the public school system, and virtually impossible when not countered with conscientious effort on the part of involved parents, and an atmosphere of learning at home. I liked the idea that our home could be more vitally central in my children's lives than it might be if they had to leave it every day for 7 or 8 hours or more.

Which brings up the time issue. A lot of time is wasted in school, it is a reality that simply cannot be gotten around. The formal part of our homeschooling takes a fraction of the time public school takes. Right now, we are working on phonics lessons (30 minutes) and writing (another 10-15 minutes). Of course that's just the formal part of it. It doesn't take into account the hours and hours I spend reading aloud to the boys, the songs we sing together, the conversations that we have each day, and the things they learn simply by watching and participating in my daily routine. The fact is that I have been teaching my children since the moment they were born. We are simply expanding that as they get older. My children can get a far superior education at home, personally tailored and guided by love. Those are some of my main reasons for homeschooling. My intention isn't to convert everyone to it. I just wanted to explain my own personal decision for our family.

There are days when I wonder if I'm really up to it. But, I can also say without a doubt that since we've started this, I have learned to have a much greater degree of patience and gentleness with my kids. I'm not a natural-born mother. Learning to control my temper has been a difficult thing for me. I also have a hard time with simply allowing myself to be a servant. It chaffs my feminist side. But since we've been here in our own home and homeschooling, I have been a kinder, happier mother. I have listened more carefully to them, been more accessible to them, and been able to devote myself wholly to them. I feel that this is connected to my homeschooling efforts.