I have a confession to make. I was born in the 1980’s and I was homeschooled.
I am the oldest of 4 children, who my parents decided to homeschool. I was born and raised on the Canadian Prairies in a rural area. I was homeschooled during a time when homeschooling was pretty much unheard of in our area. My parents choose to homeschool me throughout my entire schooling career.
Did I always love to homeschool?
The short answer is NO.
That short answer is the exact reason that I resisted the idea of homeschooling our own children.
My husband and I were committed to a Christian education for our children, so we saved our pennies and sent our oldest child off to a wonderful Christian School.
Why didn’t I love to homeschool?
Honestly, the only reason I didn’t love homeschooling was that I didn’t have the opportunity to hang out with my friends as much as I would have liked.
So what changed my mind?
The simple word realization.
That realization was that I was really blessed to be homeschooled. You see, up until I started to think it over, I always thought about all of the things that I perceived I’d missed out on.
When I changed my perception, I started thinking about all the things that I’d taken for granted:
-All the time I had to explore and play as a kid. To just be a kid and enjoy life.
-To learn skills like helping my Dad in his cabinet shop, looking after a home, cooking, and baking.
-To learn how to play an instrument, sew, cross stitch, embroidery, and so many more things.
-To have a family band that got to travel to care homes, gospel festivals, and even sing in prisons.
The Examination
During my oldest daughter’s 2nd grade, she was bored beyond belief. She was able to grasp the concepts very quickly and was left with a lot of spare time in each day. She constantly told us that she already knew everything that she was learning in school. She had an awesome teacher, who even gave her extra things to do to keep her busy. (like a novel study) But all this got us thinking. Especially my husband, Bernd.
The Poking
It was during this time that God really began to poke at my heart. I really tried to ignore this poking because I really wanted nothing to do with it. We even enrolled our second child in kindergarten for the next year.
So what was holding me back?
- Fear that I wouldn’t be able to do it.
- That my husband would never go for it
Finally, I decided to bring it up to my husband. I was amazed when he said, “Let’s pray about it.” I couldn’t believe it!
Obviously, after prayer, we did decide to keep both our daughters home the following year.
What about my biggest con against homeschooling?
Socialization. I realized that there were several things that would make it very different for my family then it was for myself.
- We don’t live in the country.
- I don’t have to keep our children at home all the time.
In Conclusion
We are taking a year at a time to decide whether we continue to homeschool or not. However, so far, we are absolutely blessed to have this opportunity. We are truly grateful for this opportunity.
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