How We Stay Together

     I thought this might be a fun time to share why we decided to homeschool. Jill Savage is doing her Hearts at Home Third Thursday Blog Hop, and the topic is "family togetherness". First of all, I'm not trying to imply that everyone who misses their children should homeschool; but when I see post after post on facebook about crying mommas, it makes me remember those days. I think that some of them might find homeschooling a good fit for their family. There was nothing wrong with our public school that we sent our girls to for three years.  The teachers were fabulous, and I felt very good about the education they were getting there. The only thing that really put me ill at ease is when I began to get the feeling that the education  board was making decisions for the school based solely on money, and not what was best for my child by cancelling a great effective program (not that I don't understand the importance of a balanced budget...we face the same challenges at home!).
     With that being said,  the primary reason we began homeschooling was wanting to be more involved in my girls lives. There is only so much time you can spend at the school when you have two little ones in tow. I also hated all the tears of my oldest when she told me regularly how much she just missed me. She loved school; she just wanted me there with her. It broke her heart, and it broke mine as well. I also began seeing a huge disconnect between the older ones and their younger siblings that disappeared by the end of the summer months. I just wanted the togetherness to continue, not stop as soon as school began.
     I also said that my children were a priority, but unfortunately house work sometimes ranked above them.  When I began homeschooling, I realized what a huge responsibility I now had in teaching them. It was easier to make them a priority over all the work that could be done,  and guess what? They would spend thirty minutes helping with house work later in the day when school was finished, and it was a win both ways. I was able to spend a lot more time with them reading, and talking, and learning with them. Conversely, they learned life skills like how to wash dishes or fold laundry. When they were in school, I felt so guilty asking them for help when I knew how hard they were working at school plus needing to complete their thirty minutes of homework every evening.
     The greatest thing I gained from choosing to homeschool last year was actually knowing my child again. It was too easy to loose touch with them when their teacher saw more of them in a week than I did.
     I don't know if we will homeschool our children forever. We will evaluate it year by year in the same way we did when they went to public school. My hubby and I am confident that this year the best choice for us is still to homeschool.