I promised homeschooling content and one of the first questions people have is often; why? School is such a norm that it can be difficult to imagine choosing something different. Are we religious fanatics? Geniuses? Secretly running around in tinfoil hats?
Like most things in life, there isn’t a single answer.
I would like to assure you that I believe that about every family’s decisions on how to educate their children. There are as many answers as there are kids, and I am grateful to live in a country where my kids could access education for free if we needed them to. You won’t find me bashing public education just because I chose to do things differently.
That being said, the type of education taught in schools was made for a certain type of brain. My husband and I are both neurodivergent. We figured the chance of us making children who were going to fit well into that system was pretty low, and planned accordingly.
I had also re-found a love of learning as an adult, when I had the freedom to choose what to learn about and why. I devoured entire shelves of books at the library, watched documentaries, and taught myself new skills. Subjects I hadn’t enjoyed in school became favorites when I could research them on my own terms. I started to see the wonder in learning about the world again and was determined to find a way to keep some of that joy in it for my children.
We also just wanted more time with our children. We sincerely enjoy their company, and wanted the chance to experience life with them. Children change and grow so quickly, we wanted to be there with them on that journey. Homeschooling also sounded like more freedom. We could make our own schedule, go where we wanted. There would be more time to do everything from exploring the world to spending quality time with grandparents and great-grandparents.
It would also offer us the chance to customize our children’s educations. Spend more time in areas that needed more practice without the frantic need to catch up with the class, or jump ahead of things that weren’t challenging. Teach something in a different way if the first wasn’t working for them. Modify our schedule to fit their attention span or their need to eat or move their bodies. Spend time on the skill building that makes future study possible but can’t be graded on a test.
Most importantly though, it felt right. For us, for the life we imagined ourselves living, and for them. So many times since those early years we have been glad that this was our choice. On the good days; where we are through our schoolwork early and have the rest of the day to explore, when we have a beach or museum almost to ourselves on a weekday, when we are able to pack up and go on a trip or an outing without having to worry about someone else’s schedule. On the challenging ones; when we can take a day off for a child who is upset or didn’t sleep well without worrying about being behind, when they weren’t ready to master a skill yet that would have been a problem in a classroom, when we have needed to be there for sick or grieving relatives and been able to pick up and go help. This choice hasn’t always been an easy one, but for us it has always been the right one.
