This week is Birthday Week at our house, and we are smack dab in the middle of Birthday Season. 5 of the 6 of us have birthdays in an 8-week span during the spring season.
This week, my #3 is turning 7 and my #1 is turning 11. I won’t go on and on about how I can’t believe they’re this old.
But really. I can’t believe it. It truly does go by in the blink of an eye, doesn’t it, Mamas?
As I was thinking over Birthday Week this year, I was grateful all over again that we homeschool.
Why? Because we get to make our own schedule, and go at our own pace.
I’ll elaborate more below…
Yes, homeschooling can be challenging and we all have homeschooling seasons that are beyond difficult. But those are posts for another day.
Today, I want to share with you 6 reasons why I’m immensely grateful we homeschool. These are in no particular order.
Count your blessings, right?
1) Our family gets to make our own schedule.
I think I have always had a rebellious side to me where I didn’t like being on someone else’s schedule. That’s crazy talk, considering I was an RN for almost 10 years and I completely ran on the hospital’s schedule!
Being a homeschool mama has really amplified that for me, though. I even struggle with being on a monthly co-op schedule because it makes me feel tied down.
I want the freedom to stay at the library for an extra hour than I had planned.
I want to start school right after July 4th and school year-round.
I want to take the entire week of Birthday Week off and not feel guilty about it.
I want the freedom to go on vacation when the rates are super low. (You know, we can actually afford it.)
I want the freedom to drop what we’re doing and minister to someone else.
I want the freedom to structure our days in a way that make sense for our family.
And with homeschooling, I have the freedom to do all of those things and more.
We aren’t bound by track-out and the school bus schedule and teacher work days and an 8-hour school day.
We get to just live.
2) I can teach my children a Biblical worldview.
I am oh so aware that teaching my children a Biblical worldview does not secure their salvation. I can do all of the “right” things and they still may reject Jesus.
However, I can give them the tools and resources to know Jesus and know about Him.
I can structure our discussions so my children see God’s hand in the way the world was formed, how He’s present all throughout history, and how He is sovereign over the coming days.
Before you ask, yes I do certainly teach my children other points of view when they are emotionally ready. But the foundation of our home and our homeschool is built on a Biblical worldview.
And I’m so grateful I have that freedom.
3) My children are sheltered.
Oh yes, they are, and I am not ashamed to admit it.
The types of things that kids know about at 9 and 10 are the types of things that I didn’t learn about until I was 14 or 15.
Times are different and kids know much more at an earlier age.
I am unapologetically letting my young children have an innocent childhood. All children deserve that.
Will they learn those things? Sure. But not until they’re older.
Homeschooling affords us a bit of protection.
4) I can teach my children at their own learning level.
Since we homeschool, we are not defined by grade levels.
I have kids that are way above their grade levels in certain subjects. I have children that struggle to get to grade level in certain subjects.
When we first started homeschooling, I didn’t understand what a privilege it was to individualize my children’s educations. We started to get into phonics and math and spelling, and I realized that we could zoom ahead if they already knew the material, or stay behind and linger if they needed more reinforcement.
I have a child or two that would have drowned in a traditional classroom for various reasons. Being able to teach them just the right topic at just the right time is a gift.
I’m very thankful for that opportunity.
5) Homeschooling refines my character.
I have said many, many times that I feel pretty certain that God has me homeschool to shape my own character more than that of my children.
These little people watch what I do all. day. long.
It’s exhausting, I tell you. Don’t they know I’m an introvert?!
They see every time I lose my temper, every time I’m snippy for no reason, when I’m not doing what I should be, when I mess up.
Knowing that I am the person that influences them the most is an enormous burden to carry.
But I carry it gladly (most of the time), because I want to show them how to be a person of upstanding character. I want to show them how you apologize to people when you do them wrong. I want to show them how you can live for Jesus in even the most mundane of tasks.
The person I am today is not the person I was on the first day of homeschool back in 2010. God has taken me and is molding me into who He wants me to be.
I believe God has used homeschooling as the vehicle to draw me to him.
Since the kids watch me and are around me all day, they get a bird’s eye view into how I live, how I respond to people, how I react when things don’t go my way.
6) I get to really know my children.
I consider really knowing my children to be one of the greatest gifts and joys of my life.
I have my doubts that I would enjoy the same type of relationship with them if they were off at school all day. I’m sure that works for many families, but I have my doubts about it working well for us personally.
I know what makes them tick. I know what each of their little looks means. I know when they’re overstimulated or when they’re tired and need to rest.
Homeschooling gives me a relationship with my children that will last a lifetime.
Why are you grateful for your homeschooling life today?
Tips and Ideas for Children’s Read Alouds (plus a video!)
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