Why Homeschool?

Colm and I have decided to homeschool Jacinta, or at least try it out. We are taking it year by year with the hope that we will always make the best decision for our family. That is usually what is behind every decision we make, what is best for OUR family.  

We get that homeschooling is NOT for everyone. We get that we are NOT “normal”. We also get that every family and every person is different. Homeschooling may work for our daughter Jacinta, but it may be a bad idea with Ezra. Who knows until we get to that bridge

I wanted to, in writing, finally put out there what Colm and I have discussed with many friends and family. How on earth did I go from being completely against homeschooling to now being the excited and over the top Pinterest homeschool parent? Well, let me tell you.  

The conversation started 2 years ago when Jacinta was just 3, early I know but you will understand in just a moment. I am a HARDCORE introvert. I like my personal space. I like being in control of my environment and schedule. I truly dislike schedules and working around them. I am the type of person who, on a Friday, will begin to slowly panic knowing that in just 2 more days I HAVE to be at work. Now if you know me, you know I love my job. My job does NOT feel like work. I love the people I work with and I love what I do. I have also been fortunate enough to be able to coordinate a very flexible position so that I can be home with the kids, so the fact that I panic has NOTHING to do with the job, but everything to do with the words HAVE TO BE…..I have been this way since elementary school. As I read this it occurs to me that I should probably seek out some help. 

ANYWAYS, so rewind to two years ago when, uh oh, I realize that in 2 short years my daughter will be starting kindergarten. That means Monday to Friday my days were set. 8:45 to 3:20, every day for 10 months out of the year. This feeling did not settle well with me. Colm and I travel a lot between Calgary and Winnipeg to visit family. Weekend visits are hard, so we extend them for a few extra days. This would not be possible with Jacinta in school. Birthday parties would now occupy every weekend, which means I would have to engage in social activities more than I care to. Yes I know there is a lot of I, I, I statements. This is just the crazy panicked thought process I went through.  

A few weeks after this panic attack, I happened to come across a blog post similar to this about why this woman decided to pull her children out of school to homeschool. Now, I have encountered the entire spectrum of homeschoolers and I can say this, if the child is odd it’s not just the child. I have met some really cool and interesting kids whose parents were also the same. This woman; however, wrote in such a way that was not bashing the school system but simply stating the positive effects homeschooling has had on her family. I really appreciated that and from the get go Colm and I have tried to base the decision entirely on the POSITIVES for our family and stay away from any negatives towards school. The reason being if we decided homeschooling was not working out we wouldn’t be so tainted by our decision making. 

We have some amazing Catholic schools nearby, so right off the bat keeping a positive on school was easy. Now for the positives of homeschooling. Here is our list.

• We love spending time with our kids. I know most parents do, I would like to think that they do. I also know some parents need and love working. That is totally fine too. We just really thoroughly love squeezing out every ounce of our kids that we can. The woman in the article said “we realized we were giving the best hours of our kid’s day to somebody else. The time we had with them began turning into arguing to get them ready and out for school on time, then arguing to finish homework and eat fast to make it to ______________ fill in the blank. Quality time began to dwindle and when weekends came around we resented having to go to social events because it meant family time got shorter.”  For me that hit home. With how much we love family time and being together, that was a hard scenario to fit ourselves into. 
• Flexibility. This was HUGE! Like I said before we travel a lot. Being able to just pick up and go and take work with us was extremely appealing. We get not everyone can do this, but because we were in a position that we could, we felt we at least needed to try. 
• Field trips. I had a VERY difficult time in school. Colm was in the genius stream…..I was not. Hands on and tactical was the way I learned but it was not necessarily always the way I was taught. I did, however, LOVE field trips, and now we can do more of them, not to mention the cool classes we can take through the homeschool group or just on our own. Jacinta and I will be tackling sewing….God help me.
•  Socialization. This is always the biggest push back when it comes to homeschooling. What I have seen and love is that homeschool kids are always mixing with every age. When you get out into the work force you are never segregated by age. It’s by interests and commonalities.  We have many friends at different stages of life and it has been so fruitful for us. I would love for my kids to experience that from a very early age. Also, if you have met my kid, you would know that is NOT going to be an issue. 
• Finally, it just suits US. It fits with what kind of family we are. We have truly maintained the mentality that we need and are required to do what is best for our family. We are loving the possibilities that homeschooling offers. We are excited to see where it takes us, and love that Jacinta is just as excited.
  

I will admit, I am FREAKED OUT! I was a little sad when I heard the school alarm go off this week, and seeing everyone’s first day of kindergarten pictures and hearing their stories. I was sad because there are wonderful moments I experienced that she won’t. But then I looked back on our day. We woke up and went to mass as a family, had a back to school breakfast at Smitty’s, went to the Homeschool picnic, etc. Our day was full of time. Time that I am so grateful to have. Just a disclaimer: There was actual learning involved this week too.  

What do I hope to gain from writing this? Well one, when I get a message or email asking why we are homeschooling I can send them this link first, and two, if there is a parent out there feeling as I was feeling, then maybe this can get them thinking as the other article did for me. 

- Sharon Leyne