Are Your Kids Homeward Bound?

I keep being totally floored at the people telling me they may homeschool this year!  I mean, anyone who knows me knows I’m a total and complete advocate of homeschooling.  But these changes that are upcoming are encouraging some very die-hard public schoolers to consider this amazing school choice. But invariably some people will choose to homeschool, and some will just go along with the changes while inwardly wishing things could be different.  Are you one of those people who has already decided that homeschooling just won’t work for your situation, or are your children homeward bound?

Anyone who has spent time with me can probably attest to the fact that I love homeschooling.  It’s not that I am completely CRAZY about teaching phonics or multiplication or spelling either. I have to be honest there and say those don’t hit my favorite things-to-do list at all.  But I do absolutely love watching my children learn!  For example, today my kids and I were outside playing, and my 9-year-old son sits down and starts asking me about traditional food preservation methods.  I mean, completely on his own and outta the blue, he wants to learn history, home ec., and who knows what other subjects.  Because you see, that’s real learning!  We don’t learn in broken up, disjointed parts in real life. We LEARN!  Its holistic and combines so many “subjects” that subjects no longer matter. 

We’ve been lied to by the “experts” and “professionals” that tell us we can’t possibly know as much as they do. After all, we haven’t spent 4 years focusing entirely on one subject. And guess what? They’re right about that. Because that kind of learning is generally not helpful at all! Imagine how helpful it would be if you went to a doctor, and he could help with basically any medical problem you had. But then imagine how shortsighted it would be to have your emergency room staffed with a sole doctor who only treated head injuries but nothing else. As people, we need a broad base for our education and a varied amount of knowledge. And that’s exactly why you as a parent are so suited to teach your children. You are the wide, varied “expert” on them!

I know it seems utterly impossible for most of us to believe, but you are truly the best person for this amazing task of educating your children. Some people will argue and say you should leave this to the professionals and that you are not qualified for this job. Hmmm. To me that is the same as saying since I’m not a professional chef or restaurant that I can’t cook food for myself or my family. Is there sense in this? Nope! And the other argument is just as foolish. And just like I get recipes or look up a specific cooking technique, I can also get help with any unknowns in the homeschooling department! Because let’s face it, no one knows everything, and if you aren’t learning, you are regressing!

I’m really hoping that more and more parents see that homeschooling is not just “a choice” but instead an “AMAZING CHOICE.” I hope that we can start to see that the current method of education is simply not working for so many parents and children. And there is a reason for that. It is broken because it was broken to begin with. There is nothing wrong with wanting an educated society, but when you separate education from wisdom, all you have is a bunch of intellectual fools. And unfortunately, that is exactly where we have gotten ourselves in current society. But homeschooling gives you the opportunity to take that waste of a childhood and turn it into something that will serve your children well throughout their whole lives. It’s a chance to redeem the time. A chance to impact generations to come in ways you may never know until you reach heaven. God has given you this opportunity; don’t waste it!

Jenny is a wife to her amazing husband of 17 years and stay-at-home momma to 4 kids.  She blogs at https://www.inconvenientfamily.com where she is learning that blessings aren’t always convenient.