A colleague of mine asked me this question about two weeks ago: Why did you choose to homeschool?
There are several reasons why I chose to homeschool. Today I’m giving you my top three; but before I get to that I want to give you little background.
Around the time I was researching the best public and private schools in our district, there was a shooting incident in Newtown, Connecticut at an elementary school named Sandy Hook. It was an extremely tragic event. My heart goes out the families of those whose lives were short because I know what it is like to deal with such a loss. The fact that someone entered a school full of small children and caused such devastation really had me thinking, maybe I should look for an alternative.
There was another incident in which a young man, with guns and bombs, was arrested in Georgia with the intention to kill and maim. Luckily, the school bookkeeper, Antoinette Tuff was able to talk him down.
Can we say #teamtoomuch–>Violence.
Lastly, this incidence happened after I started “Schooling At Home,” The GA Ice Storm. I prayed hard for all the parents and children who were stuck because of the crazy and unbelievable traffic jam. I took it as a sign, I made the right choice.
Okay, now back to my Top Three Reasons as to why I chose to homeschool:
1 Individualize Education Based on Needs
I’m able to tailor the school schedule to meet our child’s needs. We can spend as much time on one subject or less time based on our child’s mastery level. I can focus on enrichment or move ahead if no extra practice is needed.
2 Scheduling Flexibility
I wanted to help my child to hone in on skills that would help to advance the career(s) he or she wants to do later on in life. For instance, if you have a student who wants to be an Olympian Gold Medalist like Gabby Douglas, the flexibility would allow you to have him or her attend classes during the week as opposed to only attending on the weekend.
3 Help My Children with their Dreams
My last reason is I want to help fast track my daughter’s career and dreams. I think this is one of the biggest reasons as to why I chose homeschooling over traditional schooling.
As a dancer she’s going to need lots and lots of training, and the convenience of having a program that allows us to have a flexible schedule would help to fast track her career. I read this book a while back called “Dream So Big” by Christopher B. Pearman, father of Raven-Symoné. He writes on page 91, “…you need to train your children to aim for the future they want – to aim their efforts and attention toward their dreams.”
So well put. Homeschooling allows me as a parent to help my child focus on the future she wants for herself.
I really think going with the home schooling option was the best fit for us and that’s why I chose to homeschool my kids. I understand circumstances can be limiting. Thus, if you are able, I encourage you as parents to seek out the options that are best for you and your family.
Amanda
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