Why We Homeschool

There are dozens of reasons to homeschool. Some homeschool for religious reasons or to enhance educational achievement, but we tend to believe that education is an individual matter.

For us, we haven't always been homeschoolers. Princess was in fifth grade before we embarked on homeschooling. At the time, all of our children were having difficulty in school. Princess was just hitting puberty with all the usual hormonal mood disorders that tend to crop up at that time. AB was in the first grade, bringing home hours of homework each night and failing to complete his work in class. And I was called to the school at least twice a week to deal with Precious, who was constantly getting into trouble for hyperactivity.

We tried going the medical route, consulting with psychiatrists and psychologists and behavioral therapists, but that made things worse. Precious began to display obsessive-compulsive behaviors, even plucking out his own eyelashes! Weight loss was common for Precious and AB, and all of our children were miserable.

We tried working with the school district, but after months of trying to agree to some accommodations, we eventually realized that with the amount of effort we were putting into dealing with our inflexible school, we were getting nowhere.

So we began homeschooling, and things have been looking up. We're able to modify their education to fit their own strengths and weaknesses, and with greater supervision and personal attention, they've both been doing wonderfully!

That's not to say that our homeschooling journey has been without its ups and downs! We've gone through dozens and dozens of curricula, educational philosophies, and plans. Our daughter has returned to public school and, with a little more maturity, is doing quite well.

And the truth is that homeschool is never going to go according to plan, because homeschool is a part of real, everyday life. Kids get sick. Moms get pregnant. And the Army sends orders down so that the entire family has to move across the country. Life happens, and it doesn't happen in a vacuum.

But that's okay. Because it's a way to teach our children how to live. So we make our plans, and then we roll with the punches.