thoughts on homeschooling…

Yeah, you’re going to be hearing a lot about homeschooling on this blog for awhile. It’s what’s for dinner most of the time around here… and lunch, and breakfast, and afternoon snack. I’m going through books and pulling together things and educating myself, so I’m thinking through philosophy…

And I’ve realized a few things I haven’t articulated much here, so I thought I’d share with the two of you who are still reading…

I am not homeschooling because I’m afraid.

A lot of people start out homeschooling as a reaction to something negative that they’re up against in a traditional school setting. They’re primarily afraid of negative influences on their children from their peers. They’re afraid their children will reject faith in Christ. They wish they could afford private, Christian school, but they can’t, so they guess they’ll homeschool instead.

These are the motivators that start a lot of families down the homeschooling path, and they aren’t horrible motivators when you begin, I guess. But if they’re still the main reasons you’re homeschooling a couple of years in, then I think there is a problem.

See, many start homeschooling because of these fears, but then they discover, to their surprise, that these aren’t their main motivations anymore. Homeschooling has turned out to be so much more than they’d originally imagined it could be. They discover they love the style of learning, the ability to explore interests without time constraints, the flexibility, the time to just do and be as a family, and that’s, I think, when they turn into a homeschool family. They catch the vision for homeschool, not “school at home.” =)

I can tell you from a lifetime of watching my homeschooled peers growing up that homeschooling will not save your children. If you homeschool, your children will not be guaranteed to love Christ. Sure, extra time with parents who love Christ can be really helpful for their young faith, but there are no guarantees.

Teach your children at home because you love learning, and you (usually =) love being with your children, and you can’t wait to watch with joy while the wide world opens up before them.

And if you’re not there yet, make that a goal. =) That’s my two cents.