Why I Decided to Homeschool
Jan 09
The past 6 days have been full of deep thinking and decision making. For a long time I have had a number of concerns which I put on the back burner, probably hoping the problems would resolve themselves with no further effort on my part. Since Baylee was an infant I have occasionally thought about homeschooling and told myself I would look into it when the time came to make a decision. I even purchased some books on the subject which I never opened, thinking I had plenty of time to make a decision. Ever since I observed the change that one year of homeschooling had on my sister Deidre’s five young children almost six years ago, I’ve known that it can be a wonderful, uplifting experience for everyone involved. But when the time came for my daughter to begin school I decided since public school was the easiest option we would give it a try and if there was a problem then we would seriously look into homeschooling.
Why home school?
• My daughter is not happy at school. She’s 6 years old and she’s not happy. Something is wrong with that. She comes home from school dragging, stressed, and tired. She’s easily upset by her siblings who she normally is kind and patient with. She doesn’t usually complain but it is obvious to me that she is not acting like herself and it takes her a while to wind down and act normal again. She gets sad when she finds out we’ve done anything fun while she was gone. She feels left out of the family when she goes to school. I have been told that this is a normal response to public school at first but “she will get used to it.” I do not feel that this is healthy or necessary for her to become a happy, responsible and successful adult. I believe it is counter-productive and there is a better way for our family.
• This is the most important time to teach her about the gospel, to show her how much she is loved and how important she is as a cherished member of our family and a daughter of God. It is my duty to do everything I can to nurture and love her, to prepare her for life outside our home. I do not believe that I can do this as well when she spends more waking hours at school, under the influence of her peers, than she does at home. I have no control over what she learns there and there are still too many things I need to teach her at home.
• If all truth can be circumscribed into one great whole then it follows that teaching all subjects (math, science, art, etc.) in relation to the gospel of Jesus Christ only makes sense, and this cannot happen in a public school.
Read Full Article Here: “Our Big Decision” by Katie Garner
I totally agree with them coming home from school upset. I think a full day of public school is hard on little ones. By mid-October I was losing my child. She was ornery, tired, sassy and I’d have to “de-school” her. She also would feel left out if we did anything without her while she was at school. I agree that you are the one to nurture, educate and and prepare her.
Thank you so much for this post! I am so glad to hear multiple mothers have had my same experience. I too thought about homeschooling and then sent my oldest to public school only to find she was moody and needed “alone time” which saddened siblings who had been waiting all day for her to come home!