1. For one, we know that God gave us our bugs and what better reward than to be able to teach them about HIM and give them the gift of MY attention. I know what my children are being taught and I will not have to "unteach" them anything.
2. My children can develop better relationships with one another since they spend most of their time together. There is nothing better than to have brothers and sisters as best friends. That just makes my heart smile!
3. Bible is #1 on our schedule. We always start with the bible. With bible and prayer at the beginning, everything else just falls into place.
4. My children can develop deeper relationships not only with themselves, but with their father and me. We can take field trips together as a family and develop stronger and better relationships while learning and having fun. They also spend more time with their grandparents. Family is very important to us.
5. We can individualize our curriculum according to each student. I may have one bug that is two grades above level in reading, one grade above level in math and below level in something else and it's not a problem.
6. We are a family BIG on unit studies. We love learning together. That is one reason homeschooling works for us. We are able to study the same topic, regardless of age and everyone can still participate. I might have the oldest two go in depth about the topic (essay, five paragraph report, etc.) while the three younger ones might do a simple worksheet and the baby bug might color a sheet pertaining to the topic.They are still learning about the same thing, just in a different way. It's GREAT!
7. When there is a crisis or celebratory event occur, I know my children will be right there with me. They can help, if needed, or enjoy, depending on the situation. They don't have to worry about make-up work, homeschooling is flexible.
8. When Dad is home, we can take off! That is one of the advantages of homeschooling and schooling year round. We can take off as much as we like in the months when its not 90+ degrees outside and enjoy each other. We like schooling in the summer because most of the time here in SW MS, the summertime is miserably HOT! Why not stay in the cool and do a fun unit study on something fun like "Ice Cream"!
9. As you know, there are those day-to-day events that occur. "Mom might have a headache so we need to keep the bugs quiet for a while" or "lets hurry and straighten the house because someone might just call and be coming over unexpectedly!" So instead of stressing over the fact that we will not be getting much school done on these kinds of days, we "TRY" to stay calm and take care of the situations that arise. There will be another day for catching up on our studies. Like I said before, homeschooling is FLEXIBLE!!!
10. My last reason is not really a reason but a decision we made when we started homeschooling. We LOVE our homeschool conference!!! We look forward to going each and every year. It is AWESOME! We love our homeschool family. We have made so many lifetime friends. If you homeschool or thinking of doing so, this is something you do not want to miss. It has been such a blessing to our family each and every year.
Well, that about sums it up. I am sure everyone has different reasons for homeschooling. These are my reasons. If any of you have some different reasons, leave me a comment. I would love to hear yours!
God Bless!
