Coming Home

About 3 years ago I removed my kids from the public school system and brought them home full time.  WOW!  Had I known what it was going to entail, I never would have done it. Ignorance is bliss.  If it wasn't for being absolutely clueless, I would've missed out on one of the most fantastic experiences of my life.

My oldest was 14 when I brought him home, my other two were 11 & 10.  One heading for high school, one for middle school and one finishing elementary, and yes you're right, I did it backwards.  Most people start teaching their kids at home from the start, another large percentage within the first 2 years in public school, but very few begin as late in the game as I did, although the percentage is growing every year, but that's a whole other story.

Again I will say, ignorance is bliss!  We've always been a close family, in good relationship with each other.  As parents we are attentive to our kids' needs, we spend lots of time together, etc., but I was so unprepared to spend all day, every day with them.  That was huge!  Suddenly I found myself taking crash courses in "Who Are These Kids?" and "Being Together 24/7...Are We Crazy Yet?"  These are things you can read about in many a homeschool parenting book, but you really don't get it until you've lived it!

Responses have been varying when people find out I brought my kids home.  Some say I must be a Saint (yah...right), some say I'm so courageous (that one I agree with fully), and others look at me like I'm a lunatic but then try to cover that up with a very nice, "Well...why would you do that?" They have no idea how often I ask myself that question and it's been 3 years!

Even writing this I laugh.  I am still astounded that I'm doing this, it's an amazing adventure and one I would encourage any family to pursue as long as they have at least one ounce of common sense.  I have learned so much about my kids!  We have exhilarating conversations that teach us how to think outside the proverbial box, you know, the one that closes us all in, restricts our freedom of individuality and thought and eventually pressures us into acting just like everyone else, all the while thinking we are unique.  AAAHHHH!  I hate that box!  It's limiting & self righteous and I want my kids to be who they were created to be, not what the world says they're supposed to be!

So now I guess I've gotten to why I really decided to home school.  There were so many initial reasons that  led me to make this choice, but what it really came down to is that I wanted my kids to be free. To think freely, to explore freely, to learn that they can pursue whatever they want whenever they want and to not let the cultural way of thinking get in their way.  That success is not established by your standing in a community, or by how much money you make (although money is not a bad thing), nor, is it by what others think of you.  Success is knowing who you are, being able to look at yourself clearly, the good, the bad & the ugly, all the while increasing the good by addressing the bad and the ugly.

That's why I school my kids at home.  At least today it is.